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List of current world boxing champions

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This is a list of current world boxing champions. Since at least John L. Sullivan, in the late 19th century, there have been world champions in professional boxing. The first of today's organizations to award a world title was the World Boxing Association (WBA), then known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), when it sanctioned its first title fight in 1921 between Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier for the world heavyweight championship.

There are now four major sanctioning bodies in professional boxing. The official rules and regulations of the World Boxing Association,[1] World Boxing Council (WBC),[2] International Boxing Federation (IBF),[3] and World Boxing Organization (WBO)[4] all recognize each other in their rankings and title unification rules. Each of these organizations sanction and regulate championship bouts and award world titles. American boxing magazine The Ring began awarding world titles in 1922.

There are seventeen weight divisions. To compete in a division, a boxer's weight must not exceed the upper limit. Manny Pacquiao has won world championships in eight different weight divisions, more than any other boxer. The Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, held all four major titles in the heavyweight division from 2011 to 2013; they were the first brothers to hold versions of the heavyweight championship at the same time.[5]

Championships

When a champion, for reasons beyond his control such as an illness or injury, is unable to defend his title within the normal mandatory time, the sanctioning bodies may order an interim title bout and award the winner an interim championship. The WBA and WBC may change the status of their inactive champions to "Champion in Recess".

World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association (WBA) was founded in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA), a national regulating body of the United States. On August 23, 1962, the NBA became the WBA, which today has its head office in Panama.[6] According to WBA championship rules, when a champion also holds a title of one of the other three major sanctioning bodies in an equivalent weight division, that boxer is granted a special recognition of "Unified Champion", and is given more time between mandatory title defences. The WBA Championships Committee and President may also designate a champion as a "Super Champion" or "Undisputed Champion" in exceptional circumstances;[1] the standard WBA title is then vacated and contested between WBA-ranked contenders. When a WBA "Regular Champion" makes between five and ten successful defences, he may be granted the WBA "Super" title upon discretion of a vote of the WBA's board of governors.

World Boxing Council

The World Boxing Council (WBC) was founded in Mexico City, Mexico on February 14, 1963 in order to establish an international regulating body.[7] The WBC established many of today's safety measures in boxing, such as the standing eight count,[8] a limit of 12 rounds instead of 15, and additional weight divisions. More information about the WBC's titles including "Silver", "Diamond", "Emeritus", "Honorary", and "Supreme Champion" can be read at the WBC article.

International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation (IBF) originated in September 1976 as the United States Boxing Association (USBA) when American members of the WBA withdrew in order to legitimize boxing in the United States with "unbiased" ratings.[9] In April 1983, the organization established an international division that was known as the United States Boxing Association-International (USBA-I).[9] In May 1984, the New Jersey-based USBA-I was renamed and became the IBF.[9]

World Boxing Organization

The World Boxing Organization (WBO) was founded in San Juan, Puerto Rico (which is a self-governing commonwealth of the United States) in 1988. In its early years the WBO's titles were not widely recognized. By 2012 when the Japan Boxing Commission officially recognized the governing body, it had gained similar status to the other three major sanctioning bodies. Its motto is "dignity, democracy, honesty."[10] When a WBO champion has reached "preeminent status", the WBO's Executive Committee may designate him as a "Super Champion".[11] However, this is only an honorary title and not the same as the WBA's policy of having separate "Super" and "Regular" champions. A WBO "Super Champion" cannot win or lose that recognition in the ring; it is merely awarded by the WBO.

The Ring

The boxing magazine The Ring maintains its own version of the lineal championship. The original title sequence began from the magazine's first publication in the 1920s until its titles were placed on hiatus in 1989, continuing as late as 1992 in some divisions. When The Ring started awarding titles again in 2001, it did not calculate retrospective lineages to fill in the gap years, instead nominating a new champion.[12] Cyber Boxing Zone, a website dedicated to tracking lineal champions, commented in 2004 that "The Ring has forfeited its credibility by pulling names out of its ass to name fighters as champions".[13]

In 2007, The Ring was acquired by the owners of fight promoter Golden Boy Promotions,[14] which has publicized The Ring's world championships when they are at stake in fights it promotes (such as Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr. in 2008).[15] Since 2012, to reduce the number of vacant titles, The Ring allows fights between a number one or two contender; or alternatively a number three, four, or five contender to fill a vacant title. This has prompted further doubts about its credibility.[16][17][18] Some boxing journalists have been extremely critical of the new championship policy and state that if this new policy is followed, the Ring title will lose the credibility it once held.[19][20][21]

Current champions

The current champions in each weight division are listed below. Each champion's professional boxing record is shown in the following format: wins–losses–draws–no contests (knockout wins).

Heavyweight (200+ lb/90.7+ kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Anthony Joshua
Super champion
 United Kingdom
22–0–0–0 (21)
April 29, 2017 		Deontay Wilder
 United States
40–0–0–0 (39)
January 17, 2015 		Anthony Joshua
 United Kingdom
22–0–0–0 (21)
April 9, 2016 		Anthony Joshua
 United Kingdom
22–0–0–0 (21)
March 31, 2018 		vacant
Manuel Charr
Regular champion
 Syria
31–4–0–0 (17)
November 25, 2017
Trevor Bryan
Interim champion
 United States
20–0–0–0 (14)
August 11, 2018

Cruiserweight (200 lb/90.7 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Oleksandr Usyk
Super champion
 Ukraine
15–0–0–0 (11)
July 21, 2018 		Oleksandr Usyk
 Ukraine
15–0–0–0 (11)
January 27, 2018 		Oleksandr Usyk
 Ukraine
15–0–0–0 (11)
July 21, 2018 		Oleksandr Usyk
 Ukraine
15–0–0–0 (11)
September 17, 2016 		Oleksandr Usyk
 Ukraine
15–0–0–0 (11)
July 21, 2018
Beibut Shumenov
Regular champion
 Kazakhstan
18–2–0–0 (12)
July 7, 2018
Arsen Goulamirian
Interim champion
 France
23–0–0–0 (15)
March 24, 2018
Denis Lebedev
Champion in recess
 Russia
31–2–0–1 (23)
February 1, 2018

Light heavyweight (175 lb/79.4 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Dmitry Bivol
 Russia
14–0–0–0 (11)
September 23, 2017 		Adonis Stevenson
 Canada
29–1–1–0 (24)
June 8, 2013 		Artur Beterbiev
 Russia
13–0–0–0 (13)
November 11, 2017 		Eleider Álvarez
 Colombia
24–0–0–0 (12)
August 4, 2018 		vacant
Oleksandr Gvozdyk
Interim champion
 Ukraine
15–0–0–0 (12)
March 17, 2018

Super middleweight (168 lb/76.2 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Callum Smith
Super champion
 United Kingdom
25–0–0–0 (18)
September 28, 2018 		vacant José Uzcátegui
 Venezuela
27–2–0–0 (23)
July 5, 2018 		Gilberto Ramírez
 Mexico
38–0–0–0 (25)
April 9, 2016 		Callum Smith
 United Kingdom
25–0–0–0 (18)
September 28, 2018
Rocky Fielding
Regular champion
 United Kingdom
27–1–0–0 (15)
July 14, 2018 		David Benavidez
Champion in recess
 United States
20–0–0–0 (17)
September 8, 2017

Middleweight (160 lb/72.6 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Canelo Álvarez
Super champion
 Mexico
50–1–2–0 (34)
September 15, 2018 		Canelo Álvarez
 Mexico
50–1–2–0 (34)
September 15, 2018 		vacant vacant Canelo Álvarez
 Mexico
50–1–2–0 (34)
September 15, 2018
Ryōta Murata
Regular champion
 Japan
14–1–0–0 (11)
October 22, 2017 		Jermall Charlo
Interim champion
 United States
27–0–0–0 (21)
April 21, 2018

Light middleweight (154 lb/69.9 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Jarrett Hurd
Super champion
 United States
22–0–0–0 (15)
April 8, 2018 		Jermell Charlo
 United States
31–0–0–0 (15)
May 21, 2016 		Jarrett Hurd
 United States
22–0–0–0 (15)
February 25, 2017 		Jaime Munguia
 Mexico
31–0–0–0 (26)
May 12, 2018 		vacant
Brian Castaño
Regular champion
 Argentina
15–0–0–0 (11)
October 22, 2016

Welterweight (147 lb/66.7 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Keith Thurman
Super champion
 United States
28–0–0–1 (22)
February 7, 2017 		Shawn Porter
 United States
29–2–1–0 (17)
September 8, 2018 		Errol Spence Jr.
 United States
24–0–0–0 (21)
May 27, 2017 		Terence Crawford
 United States
34–0–0–0 (25)
June 9, 2018 		vacant
Manny Pacquiao
Regular champion
 Philippines
60–7–2–0 (39)
July 15, 2018

Light welterweight (140 lb/63.5 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Kiryl Relikh
 Belarus
23–2–0–0 (19)
March 10, 2018 		José Ramírez
 United States
23–0–0–0 (16)
March 17, 2018 		vacant Maurice Hooker
 United States
24–0–3–0 (16)
June 9, 2018 		vacant

Lightweight (135 lb/61.2 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Vasyl Lomachenko
Super champion
 Ukraine
11–1–0–0 (9)
May 12, 2018 		Mikey Garcia
 United States
39–0–0–0 (30)
January 28, 2017 		Mikey Garcia
 United States
39–0–0–0 (30)
July 28, 2018 		José Pedraza
 Puerto Rico
25–1–0–0 (12)
August 25, 2018 		Vasyl Lomachenko
 Ukraine
11–1–0–0 (9)
May 12, 2018

Super featherweight (130 lb/59 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Gervonta Davis
Super champion
 United States
20–0–0–0 (19)
April 21, 2018 		Miguel Berchelt
 Mexico
34–1–0–0 (30)
January 28, 2017 		Tevin Farmer
 United States
26–4–1–1 (5)
August 3, 2018 		Masayuki Ito
 Japan
24–1–1–0 (12)
July 28, 2018 		vacant
Alberto Machado
Regular champion
 Puerto Rico
20–0–0–0 (16)
October 21, 2017

Featherweight (126 lb/57.2 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Léo Santa Cruz
Super champion
 Mexico
35–1–1–0 (19)
January 28, 2017 		Gary Russell Jr.
 United States
29–1–0–0 (17)
March 28, 2015 		Josh Warrington
 United Kingdom
27–0–0–0 (6)
May 19, 2018 		Óscar Valdez
 Mexico
24–0–0–0 (19)
July 23, 2016 		vacant
Jesús Rojas
Regular champion
 Puerto Rico
26-2-2-1 (19)
July 4, 2018 		Carl Frampton
Interim champion
 United Kingdom
26–1–0–0 (15)
April 21, 2018
Jhack Tepora
Interim champion
 Philippines
22–0–0–0 (17)
July 15, 2018

Super bantamweight (122 lb/55.3 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Daniel Roman
 United States
26–2–1–0 (10)
September 3, 2017 		Rey Vargas
 Mexico
32–0–0–0 (22)
February 25, 2017 		TJ Doheny
 Ireland
20–0–0–0 (14)
August 16, 2018 		Isaac Dogboe
 Ghana
20–0–0–0 (14)
April 28, 2018 		vacant

Bantamweight (118 lb/53.5 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Ryan Burnett
Unified champion
 United Kingdom
19–0–0–0 (9)
October 21, 2017 		vacant Emmanuel Rodríguez
 Puerto Rico
18–0–0–0 (12)
May 5, 2018 		Zolani Tete
 South Africa
28–3–0–0 (21)
April 22, 2017 		vacant
Naoya Inoue
Regular champion
 Japan
17–0–0–0 (15)
May 25, 2018
Reymart Gaballo
Interim champion
 Philippines
20–0–0–0 (17)
March 23, 2018

Super flyweight (115 lb/52.2 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Khalid Yafai
 United Kingdom
24–0–0–0 (15)
December 10, 2016 		Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
 Thailand
47–4–1–0 (41)
March 18, 2017 		Jerwin Ancajas
 Philippines
30–1–2–0 (20)
September 3, 2016 		vacant Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
 Thailand
47–4–1–0 (41)
February 24, 2018

Flyweight (112 lb/50.8 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Artem Dalakian
 Ukraine
17–0–0–0 (12)
February 24, 2018 		Cristofer Rosales
 Nicaragua
28–3–0–0 (19)
April 15, 2018 		Moruti Mthalane
 South Africa
36–2–0–0 (24)
July 15, 2018 		Kosei Tanaka
 Japan
12–0–0–0 (7)
September 24, 2018 		vacant

Light flyweight (108 lb/49 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Hekkie Budler
Super champion
 South Africa
32–3–0–0 (10)
May 19, 2018 		Ken Shiro
 Japan
14–0–0–0 (8)
May 20, 2017 		vacant Ángel Acosta
 Puerto Rico
19–1–0–0 (19)
December 2, 2017 		Hekkie Budler
 South Africa
32–3–0–0 (10)
May 19, 2018
Carlos Cañizales
Regular champion
 Venezuela
21–0–1–0 (17)
March 18, 2018

Minimumweight (105 lb/47.6 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Thammanoon Niyomtrong
 Thailand
18–0–0–0 (7)
June 29, 2016 		Wanheng Menayothin
 Thailand
51–0–0–0 (18)
November 6, 2014 		vacant Vic Saludar
 Philippines
18–3–0–0 (10)
July 13, 2018 		vacant

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Rules of World Boxing Association" (PDF). World Boxing Association. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  2. ^ "World Boxing Council Rules and Regulations" (PDF). World Boxing Council. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  3. ^ "IBF/USBA Rules Governing Championship Contests" (PDF). International Boxing Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  4. ^ "World Boxing Organization Regulations of World Championship Contests". World Boxing Organization. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
  5. ^ Lewis, Ron (October 13, 2008). "Vitali Klitschko impressive in comeback victory". The Times. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  6. ^ "World Boxing Association History". World Boxing Association. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  7. ^ "World Boxing Council". World Boxing Council. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Rules that have changed the History of Boxing". World Boxing Council. Archived from the original on September 25, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b c "History of the IBF". International Boxing Federation. December 4, 2000. Archived from the original on December 4, 2000. Retrieved June 6, 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "WBO logo". World Boxing Organization. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  11. ^ "WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests" (PDF). World Boxing Organization. Section 14.
  12. ^ "Boxing News : The Disputed Light Heavyweight Champion of the World". Web.archive.org. October 15, 2004. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  13. ^ DeLisa, Mike (August 2004). "What the CBZ Means When it Refers to "Lineal Championships"". The CBZ Journal. cyberboxingzone. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  14. ^ "Golden Boy Enterprises' Subsidiary, Sports and Entertainment Publications, LLC, Acquires The Ring Magazine, KO, World Boxing and Pro Wrestling Illustrated". Golden Boy Promotions. September 12, 2007. Archived from the original on November 19, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Kimball, George (April 27, 2008). "Calzaghe claim far from undisputed". Boston Herald. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  16. ^ "Chat with Dan Rafael". Espn.go.com. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  17. ^ The Horrible New Ring Magazine Championship Policy - Queensberry Rules Archived May 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Ring Magazine's pretend rankings upgrade 'championship' policy". Theboxingtribune.com. May 4, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  19. ^ "Chat: Chat with Dan Rafael - SportsNation". Espn.com.
  20. ^ [1] Archived May 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ "Ring Magazine's pretend rankings upgrade 'championship' policy". Theboxingtribune.com.
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