List of undisputed world boxing champions

This is a list of undisputed champions in professional boxing.

Championship recognition

Titles have been awarded by:

Criteria
  • 1922–1963, a boxer who held both the NYSAC and NBA (WBA) world titles simultaneously
  • 1963–1983, a boxer who held both the WBA and WBC world titles simultaneously
  • 1983–2007, a boxer who held the WBA, WBC, and IBF world titles simultaneously
  • 2007–present, a boxer who holds the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO world titles simultaneously[1][2][3]

Heavyweight
See also: List of world heavyweight boxing champions
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
July 24, 1922 September 23, 1926 Jack Dempsey NYSAC, NBA 2 2
September 23, 1926 July 31, 1928 Gene Tunney NYSAC, NBA 2 2
June 12, 1930 January 7, 1931 Max Schmeling NYSAC, NBA 1 1
June 21, 1932 June 29, 1933 Jack Sharkey NYSAC, NBA 0 0
June 29, 1933 June 14, 1934 Primo Carnera NYSAC, NBA 1 1
June 14, 1934 June 13, 1935 Max Baer NYSAC, NBA 0 0
June 13, 1935 June 22, 1937 James J. Braddock NYSAC, NBA 0 0
June 22, 1937 March 1, 1949 Joe Louis NYSAC, NBA 26[4] 21
September 27, 1950 July 18, 1951 Ezzard Charles NYSAC, NBA 4 4
July 18, 1951 September 23, 1952 Jersey Joe Walcott NYSAC, NBA 1 1
September 23, 1952 April 27, 1956 Rocky Marciano NYSAC, NBA 6 5
November 30, 1956 June 26, 1959 Floyd Patterson NYSAC, NBA 4 4
June 26, 1959 June 20, 1960 Ingemar Johansson NYSAC, NBA 0 0
June 20, 1960 September 25, 1962 Floyd Patterson NYSAC, NBA 2 2
September 25, 1962 July 22, 1963 Sonny Liston NYSAC, WBA 0 0
July 22, 1963 February 25, 1964 Sonny Liston WBC, WBA 1 1
February 25, 1964 September 19, 1964 Muhammad Ali as Cassius Clay WBC, WBA 0 0
Ali was stripped of the WBA title in September 1964, after agreeing to an immediate rematch with Liston, which was against the body's rules at the time.
February 6, 1967 April 28, 1967 Muhammad Ali WBC, WBA 1 1
Ali reunited the belts by beating WBA world champion Ernie Terrell on February 6, 1967. He was stripped of the WBA belt on April 28, 1967 for refusing induction into the United States army, but retained recognition by the WBC until February 3, 1970.
February 16, 1970 January 22, 1973 Joe Frazier WBC, WBA 4 4
January 22, 1973 October 30, 1974 George Foreman WBC, WBA 2 2
October 30, 1974 February 15, 1978 Muhammad Ali WBC, WBA 10 10
February 15, 1978 March 18, 1978 Leon Spinks WBC, WBA 0 0
Leon Spinks was stripped of the WBC belt for defending against Muhammad Ali instead of Ken Norton, who was their #1 contender.
August 1, 1987 February 11, 1990 Mike Tyson WBC, WBA, IBF 6 6
Mike Tyson became the undisputed heavyweight champion as the culmination of the heavyweight unification series, by unifying his WBA and WBC, with Tony Tucker's IBF belt. The Ring magazine later recognized him as world champion on June 27, 1988.
February 11, 1990 October 25, 1990 James "Buster" Douglas WBC, WBA, IBF 0 0
October 25, 1990 November 13, 1992 Evander Holyfield WBC, WBA, IBF 3 3
November 13, 1992 December 14, 1992 Riddick Bowe WBC, WBA, IBF 0 0
Bowe was stripped of his WBC world championship for refusing to fight Lennox Lewis.
November 13, 1999 April 29, 2000 Lennox Lewis WBC, WBA, IBF 0 0
Lennox Lewis became undisputed champion by defeating Evander Holyfield, successfully unifying his WBC belt (and the lightly regarded IBO title) with Holyfield's WBA and IBF belts. Lewis was stripped of his WBA belt due to a contract dispute regarding a clause in the 2nd Holyfield contract which stipulated he must fight the WBA number 1 contender next. The number 1 contender at that time was Henry Akinwande but he was ill so John Ruiz was later moved up to number 1. The WBA gave Lewis permission under these circumstances to fight WBC/IBF #2 ranked contender Michael Grant next as long as he agreed to fight Ruiz in the following bout. Lewis agreed but Ruiz's promoter challenged the WBA's decision in court.

Cruiserweight
See also: List of world cruiserweight boxing champions
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
April 9, 1988 1988 Evander Holyfield IBF, WBA, WBC 0 0
Evander Holyfield became the first undisputed cruiserweight champion by defeating Carlos De León, to unify his WBA and IBF belts with De Leon's WBC belt. He relinquished all the belts after moving up to the heavyweight division. The Ring magazine stopped recognizing the weight class in 1987.
January 7, 2006 2006 O'Neil Bell IBF, WBA, WBC 0 0
Bell defeated Jean-Marc Mormeck by KO then was subsequently stripped of his IBF world title for pulling out of a fight against Steve Cunningham.
July 21, 2018 March 27, 2019 Oleksandr Usyk WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO 1 1
Usyk officially vacated all his cruiserweight belts to move to the heavyweight division.

Light heavyweight
See also: List of world light-heavyweight boxing champions
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
June 1, 1963 March 30, 1965 Willie Pastrano WBC, WBA 2 2
March 30, 1965 December 16, 1966 José Torres WBC, WBA 3 3
December 16, 1966 May 24, 1968 Dick Tiger WBC WBA 2 2
May 24, 1968 December 9, 1970 Bob Foster WBC, WBA 4 4
Bob Foster was stripped of the WBA world championship for refusing to face a mandatory challenger.
April 7, 1972 September 16, 1974 Bob Foster WBC, WBA 5 4
Foster unified the titles again by defeating Vicente Rondon on April 7, 1972. He relinquished both belts upon his retirement on September 16, 1974.
March 18, 1983 September 21, 1985 Michael Spinks WBA, WBC, IBF 4 4
Michael Spinks unified the title by defeating Dwight Muhammad Qawi. He later was awarded the inaugural IBF world title, added to his undisputed recognition. He vacated all of the belts after moving to the heavyweight division.
June 5, 1999 September 7, 2002 Roy Jones, Jr. WBA, WBC, IBF 7 7
Whilst Dariusz Michalczewski was the lineal/WBO world champion, Roy Jones Jr. defeated Reggie Johnson for his IBF belt, successfully unifying with his WBA and WBC belts. Jones relinquished his titles after he moved to the heavyweight division.

Super middleweight
See also: List of world super-middleweight boxing champions

To date, there have been no undisputed super middleweight champions. The closest the division came to having an undisputed champion was on November 3, 2007, when Joe Calzaghe defeated Mikkel Kessler to unify the WBA (Super), WBC, and WBO titles; the IBF champion at the time was Lucian Bute.

Middleweight
See also: List of world middleweight boxing champions

Men's middleweight
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
August 10, 1963 December 12, 1963 Dick Tiger WBA, WBC 0 0
December 12, 1963 October 21, 1965 Joey Giardello WBA, WBC 1 1[5][6]
October 21, 1965 April 25, 1966 Dick Tiger WBA, WBC 0 0
April 25, 1966 April 17, 1967 Emile Griffith WBA, WBC 2 1
April 17, 1967 September 29, 1967 Nino Benvenuti WBA, WBC 0 0
September 29, 1967 March 4, 1968 Emile Griffith WBA, WBC 0 0
March 4, 1968 November 7, 1970 Nino Benvenuti WBA, WBC 4 4
November 7, 1970 February 9, 1974 Carlos Monzón WBA, WBC 9 7[7]
Monzon was stripped of the WBC world championship for not facing his mandatory challenger, Rodrigo Valdez.
June 26, 1976 July 30, 1977 Carlos Monzón WBA, WBC 1 1
November 5, 1977 May 22, 1978 Rodrigo Valdez WBA, WBC 0 0
May 22, 1978 June 30, 1979 Hugo Corro WBA, WBC 2 2
June 30, 1979 March 16, 1980 Vito Antuofermo WBA, WBC 1 1
March 16, 1980 September 27, 1980 Alan Minter WBA, WBC 1 1
September 27, 1980 April 6, 1987 Marvin Hagler WBA, WBC, IBF 12 10[8][9]
Hagler was recognized as the inaugural IBF world champion, adding the belt to his undisputed status. He lost the IBF and WBA belt recognitions after deciding to fight Sugar Ray Leonard. He then lost the WBC belt to Leonard.
September 29, 2001 July 16, 2005 Bernard Hopkins WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO 6 6
Bernard Hopkins became the undisputed champion after defeating Félix Trinidad in a Middleweight tournament to successfully unify the WBC WBA and IBF belts. He later added the WBO to his undisputed status after defeating Oscar De La Hoya, becoming the first man to ever hold all four titles simultaneously.
July 16, 2005 December 14, 2006 Jermain Taylor WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO 0 0
Taylor lost his IBF belt for taking a rematch against Hopkins instead of fighting the IBF #1 challenger Arthur Abraham. He officially lost his undisputed status after being stripped of his WBA belt on December 14, 2006

Women's middleweight
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
April 13, 2019 present Claressa Shields WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO 0 0

Light middleweight
See also: List of world light-middleweight boxing champions
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
1962-10-20 1963-04-29 Denny Moyer WBA, WBC 1 1[10]
1963-04-29 1963-09-07 Ralph Dupas WBA, WBC 1 1[11]
1963-09-07 1965-06-18 Sandro Mazzinghi WBA, WBC 3 3[12]
1965-06-18 1966-06-25 Nino Benvenuti WBA, WBC 1 1
1966-06-25 1968-05-26 Ki Soo Kim WBA, WBC 2 2[13]
1968-05-26 1968-10-25-Stripped Sandro Mazzinghi WBA, WBC 0 0
1969-03-17 1970-07-09 Freddie Little WBA, WBC 2 2[14]
1970-07-09 1971-10-31 Carmelo Bossi WBA, WBC 1 1[15]
1971-10-31 1974-06-04 Koichi Wajima WBA, WBC 6 5
1974-06-04 1975-01-21 Oscar Albarado WBA, WBC 1 1
1975-01-21 1975-03-22 Koichi Wajima WBA, WBC 0 0[16]
March 13, 2004 November 20, 2004 Winky Wright WBA, WBC, IBF 0 0
Winky Wright became the first undisputed champion of the light middleweight division after unifying his IBF belt with Shane Mosley's WBA and WBC belts. Wright lost the IBF belt for taking a rematch against Mosley.

Welterweight
See also: List of world welterweight boxing champions

Men's welterweight
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
December 8, 1962 March 21, 1963 Emile Griffith WBA, WBC 0 0
March 21, 1963 June 8, 1963 Luis Manuel Rodríguez WBA, WBC 0 0
June 8, 1963 December 10, 1965 Emile Griffith WBA, WBC 4 4[17]
Emile Griffith relinquished the title after moving to the middleweight division.
November 28, 1966 April 18, 1969 Curtis Cokes WBA, WBC 4 4[18][19]
Cokes reunited the titles after defeating Jean Josselin.
April 18, 1969 December 3, 1970 José Nápoles WBA, WBC 3 3
December 3, 1970 June 4, 1971 Billy Backus WBA, WBC 0 0
June 4, 1971 May 1975 José Nápoles WBA, WBC 9 7
Nápoles gave up the WBA world title after rematching Armando Muniz.
September 16, 1981 February 15, 1982 Sugar Ray Leonard WBA, WBC 1 1
Sugar Ray Leonard unified his WBC world championship with Thomas Hearns's WBA world title to become the first undisputed champ in seven years. Leonard later relinquished the title after retiring from boxing because of a detached retina.
December 6, 1985 September 27, 1986 Donald Curry WBA, WBC, IBF 0 0
Donald Curry unified his WBA and IBF world titles with Milton McCrory's WBC world title to become the next undisputed champ.
September 27, 1986 1987 Lloyd Honeyghan WBA, WBC, IBF 0 0
Honeyghan was later stripped of the WBA title for declining to box Harold Volbrecht, a South African during the apartheid period.
December 13, 2003 February 5, 2005 Cory Spinks WBA, WBC, IBF 2 2
Spinks won the undisputed title by unifying his IBF belt with Ricardo Mayorga's WBC and WBA belts.
February 5, 2005 January 7, 2006 Zab Judah WBA, WBC, IBF 1 1
Judah lost his undisputed championship to Carlos Baldomir, but despite being recognized as the "true" welterweight champion, Baldomir did not pay the sanctioning fees for the WBA or IBF. Consequently, the WBA relinquished Judah as its champion, while the IBF continued to recognise him. Judah later lost the IBF title to Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Women's welterweight
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
September 13, 2014 present Cecilia Brækhus WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO 10 10

Light welterweight
See also: List of world light-welterweight boxing champions
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
June 15, 1963 January 18, 1965 Eddie Perkins WBA, WBC 2 2[20]
January 18, 1965 April 29, 1966 Carlos Hernández WBA, WBC 2 2[21]
April 29, 1966 April 30, 1967 Sandro Lopopolo WBA, WBC 1 1[22]
April 30, 1967 November 16, 1967 (Vacated) Takeshi Fuji WBA, WBC 1 1[23]
November 3, 2001 January 19, 2003 Kostya Tszyu WBA, WBC, IBF 2 2
Tszyu became the undisputed light welterweight champ after defeating Zab Judah to successfully unify his WBA and WBC belt with Judah's IBF belt. Tszyu was stripped of the WBA and WBC world titles because of extended inactivity due to training injuries and lost his IBF belt to Ricky Hatton.
August 19, 2017 August 30, 2017 Terence Crawford WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO 0 0
Crawford became the undisputed champion after defeating Julius Indongo to unify his WBC, WBO, Ring, and lineal world titles with Indongo's WBA and IBF belts. He vacated the IBF world title 11 days later because he did not plan to return to the ring in time to meet an IBF-imposed deadline to fight its mandatory challenger, Sergey Lipinets, and shortly thereafter vacated all of his titles and moved to the welterweight class.

Lightweight

Men's lightweight
See also: List of world lightweight boxing champions
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
April 7, 1963 April 10, 1965 Carlos Ortiz WBA, WBC 3 3
April 10, 1965 November 13, 1965 Ismael Laguna WBA, WBC 0 0
November 13, 1965 June 29, 1968 Carlos Ortiz WBA, WBC 5 3
June 29, 1968 February 18, 1969 Carlos Cruz WBA, WBC 1 1
February 18, 1969 March 3, 1970 Mando Ramos WBA, WBC 1 1[24]
March 3, 1970 September 15, 1970 Ismael Laguna WBA, WBC 1 1[25]
Laguna relinquished the WBC world title.
February 12, 1971 June 25, 1971 Ken Buchanan WBA, WBC 0 0[26]
Buchanan gave up the WBC world title after a contractual dispute.
January 21, 1978 January 1979 Roberto Durán WBA, WBC 0 0
Duran, the WBA world champion, won the undisputed title after defeating WBC world champion Estaban De Jesus. Duran gave up the titles after moving up to the welterweight division.
August 11, 1990 January 18, 1992 Pernell Whitaker WBA, WBC, IBF 3 3
Whitaker, the unified IBF and WBC world champion, won Juan Nazario's WBA belt becoming the undisputed champ. Whitaker relinquished all of the belts after moving to the junior welterweight division.

Women's lightweight
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
June 1, 2019 Present Katie Taylor WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF. 0 0

Super featherweight
See also: List of world super-featherweight boxing champions
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
February 16, 1963 June 15, 1967 Flash Elorde WBA, WBC 5 4
June 15, 1967 December 14, 1967 Yoshiaki Numata WBA, WBC 0 0
December 14, 1967 January 19, 1969 Hiroshi Kobayashi WBA, WBC 2 2[27]
Kobayashi is stripped of his WBC world title for failing to fight Rene Barrientos, despite a written agreement.

Featherweight
See also: List of world featherweight boxing champions
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
March 21, 1963 September 26, 1964 Sugar Ramos WBA, WBC 3 3[28][29]
September 26, 1964 October 14, 1967 Vicente Saldivar WBA, WBC 7 5[30][31]
Saldivar retired after his title defense against Howard Winstone.

Bantamweight
See also: List of world bantamweight boxing champions
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
September 11, 1962 May 18, 1965 Eder Jofre WBA, WBC 3 3[32][33]
May 18, 1965 February 27, 1968 Fighting Harada WBA, WBC 4 4[34]
February 27, 1968 August 22, 1969 Lionel Rose WBA, WBC 3 3
August 22, 1969 October 16, 1970 Rubén Olivares WBA, WBC 2 2
October 16, 1970 April 2, 1971 Chucho Castillo WBA, WBC 0 0
April 2, 1971 March 19, 1972 Rubén Olivares WBA, WBC 2 2
March 19, 1972 July 29, 1972 Rafael Herrera WBA, WBC 0 0
July 29, 1972 April 14, 1973 Enrique Pinder WBA, WBC 0 0[35]
Pinder was stripped of the WBC belt shortly after winning the title for not defending against Rodolfo Martinez.

Super flyweight
See also: List of world super-flyweight boxing champions
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
July 5, 1984 July 5, 1984 Jiro Watanabe WBA, WBC 0 0
Watanabe had his WBA world title stripped for unifying the super flyweight championship with the WBC world championship held by Payao Poontarat.

Flyweight
See also: List of world flyweight boxing champions
Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses Beaten opponents
September 18, 1963 January 23, 1964 Hiroyuki Ebihara WBA, WBC 0 0[36]
January 23, 1964 April 23, 1965 Pone Kingpetch WBA, WBC 0 0[37]
April 23, 1965 November 1965 Salvatore Burruni WBA, WBC 0 0[38]
Burruni was stripped of the WBA belt in November 1965 for failing to defend against Horacio Accavallo.

See also

References
  1. Compare
    "WBC Bantamweight Ratings (incl. WBO)". WBC. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004. Retrieved November 15, 2008. and
    "WBC Bantamweight Ratings (excl. WBO)". WBC. Archived from the original on February 4, 2004. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
  2. "IBF/USBA Rules Governing Championship Contests" (PDF). IBF. May 2006. pp. 10–11. Retrieved November 15, 2008. For the purpose of unification of titles, the Champions of the World Boxing Association ('WBA') and the World Boxing Council ('WBC') may be designated as 'elite contenders' and may be permitted to fight for the unified title. Unification bouts with other organizations will be considered on a case to case basis.
  3. "IBF Ratings". IBF. February 2007. Archived from the original on February 2, 2007. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
  4. "Joe Louis, p. 575" (pdf). The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book. International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Retrieved May 26, 2019. Johnny Davis, Ret-World-H
  5. "Joey Giardello, p. 476" (pdf). The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book. International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  6. "Professional boxing record: Joey Giardello". Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  7. "Carlos Monzon, p. 608" (pdf). The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book. International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  8. "Marvin Hagler, p. 500" (pdf). The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book. International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  9. "Professional boxing record: Marvin Hagler". Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  10. "Professional boxing record: Denny Moyer". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  11. "Professional boxing record: Ralph Dupas". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  12. "Professional boxing record: Sandro Mazzinghi". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  13. "Professional boxing record: Ki Soo Kim". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  14. "Professional boxing record: Freddie Little". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  15. "Professional boxing record: Carmelo Bossi". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  16. "Professional boxing record: Koichi Wajima". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  17. "Emile Griffith, p. 496" (pdf). The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book. International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  18. "Emile Griffith, p. 414" (pdf). The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book. International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  19. "Professional boxing record: Curtis Cokes". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  20. "Professional boxing record: Eddie Perkins". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  21. "Professional boxing record: Carlos Hernández". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  22. "Professional boxing record: Sandro Lopopolo". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  23. "Professional boxing record: Takeshi Fuji". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  24. "Professional boxing record: Mando Ramos". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  25. "Professional boxing record: Ismael Laguna". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  26. "Professional boxing record: Ken Buchanan". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  27. "Professional boxing record: Hiroshi Kobayashi". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  28. "Sugar Ramos, p. 696" (pdf). The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book. International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  29. "Professional boxing record: Sugar Ramos". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  30. "Vicente Saldivar, p. 726" (pdf). The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book. International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  31. "Professional boxing record: Vicente Saldivar". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  32. "Professional boxing record: Eder Jofre". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  33. "Eder Jofre, p. 520" (pdf). The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book. International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  34. "Masahiko Harada, p. 504" (pdf). The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book. International Boxing Hall Of Fame. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  35. "Professional boxing record: Enrique Pinder". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  36. "Professional boxing record: Hiroyuki Ebihara". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  37. "Professional boxing record: Pone Kingpetch". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  38. "Professional boxing record: Salvatore Burruni". BoxRec.com. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
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