List of undisputed boxing champions

This is a list of current and past undisputed champions of boxing.

Contents

Boxing associations

Criteria

[1]

Heavyweight

Reign Began Reign Ended Champion Recognition
July 24, 1922 September 23, 1926 Jack Dempsey NYSAC & NBA
September 23, 1926 July 31, 1928 Gene Tunney NYSAC & NBA
June 12, 1930 January 7, 1931 Max Schmeling NYSAC & NBA
June 13, 1935 June 22, 1937 James J. Braddock NYSAC & NBA
June 22, 1937 March 1, 1949 Joe Louis NYSAC & NBA
September 27, 1950 July 18, 1951 Ezzard Charles NYSAC & NBA
July 18, 1951 September 23, 1952 Jersey Joe Walcott NYSAC & NBA
September 23, 1952 April 27, 1956 Rocky Marciano NYSAC & NBA
November 30, 1956 June 26, 1959 Floyd Patterson NYSAC & NBA
June 26, 1959 June 20, 1960 Ingemar Johansson NYSAC & NBA
June 20, 1960 September 25, 1962 Floyd Patterson NYSAC & NBA
September 25, 1962 February 25, 1964 Sonny Liston NYSAC & WBA
February 25, 1964 September 19, 1964 Muhammad Ali as Cassius Clay NYSAC, WBC & WBA
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 NYSAC, WBC & WBA
Ali reunited the belts by beating WBA 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 16, 1970.
March 8, 1971 January 22, 1973 Joe Frazier WBC & WBA
On February 16, 1970, Frazier defeated Jimmy Ellis for Ellis' WBA belt and the vacant WBC belt. Frazier gained universal recognition by defeating Ali on March 8, 1971.
January 22, 1973 October 30, 1974 George Foreman WBC & WBA
October 30, 1974 February 15, 1978 Muhammad Ali WBC & WBA
February 15, 1978 March 18, 1978 Leon Spinks WBC & WBA
Leon Spinks was stripped of the WBA 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
Mike Tyson became the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion by unifying his WBA and WBC, with Tony Tucker's IBF belt. The Ring Magazine later recognized him as champion on June 27, 1988.
February 11, 1990 October 25, 1990 James Douglas WBC, WBA & IBF
October 25, 1990 November 13, 1992 Evander Holyfield WBC, WBA & IBF
November 13, 1992 December 14, 1992 Riddick Bowe WBC, WBA & IBF
Bowe was stripped of his WBC championship for refusing to fight Lennox Lewis.
November 13, 1999 April 29, 2000 Lennox Lewis WBC, WBA & IBF
Lennox Lewis became undisputed champion by defeating Evander Holyfield, successfully unifiying his WBC belt with Holyfield's WBA and IBF belts. With that victory, he was also awarded the vacant IBO title. 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 Ruiz was later moved up to number 1. The WBA gave Lewis permission under these circumstances to fight WBC 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

Reign Began Reign Ended Champion Recognition
April 16, 1988 1988 Evander Holyfield IBF, WBA & WBC
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 March 31, 2006 O'Neil Bell IBF, WBA & WBC
O'Neil Bell unifies his IBF belt with Jean Marc Mormeck's WBA and WBC belt to become the second undisputed champion of the division's history. He was later stripped for not agreeing to fight the IBF's #1 challenger Steve Cunningham.

Light Heavyweight

Reign Began Reign Ended Champion Recognition
June 1, 1963 March 30, 1965 Willie Pastrano WBC & WBA
March 30, 1965 December 16, 1966 José Torres WBC & WBA
December 16, 1966 May 24, 1968 Dick Tiger WBC WBA
May 24, 1968 9 December 1970 Bob Foster WBC & WBA
Bob Foster was stripped of the WBA championship for refusing to face a mandatory challenger.
7 April 1972 16 September 1974 Bob Foster WBC & WBA
Foster unified the titles again by defeating Vicente Rondon on 7 April 1972. He relinquished both belts upon his retirement on 16 September 1974.
March 18, 1983 September 21, 1985 Michael Spinks WBA, WBC & IBF
Michael Spinks unified the title by defeating Dwight Muhammad Qawi. He later added the IBF title 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
Roy Jones Jr. unified the title after defeating Reggie Johnson for his IBF belt, successfully unifying his WBA and WBC belts. Jones relinquished his titles after he moved to the heavyweight division.

Middleweight

Reign Began Reign Ended Champion Recognition
August 10, 1963 December 12, 1963 Dick Tiger WBA & WBC
December 12, 1963 October 21, 1965 Joey Giardello WBA & WBC
October 21, 1965 April 17, 1967 Emile Griffith WBA & WBC
April 17, 1967 September 29, 1967 Nino Benvenuti WBA & WBC
September 29, 1967 March 4, 1968 Emile Griffith WBA & WBC
March 4, 1968 November 7, 1970 Nino Benvenuti WBA & WBC
November 7, 1970 February 9, 1974 Carlos Monzón WBA & WBC
Monzon was stripped of the WBC championship for not facing his mandatory challenger, Rodrigo Valdez.
June 26, 1976 July 30, 1977 Carlos Monzón WBA & WBC
Novermber 5,1977 May 22, 1978 Rodrigo Valdez WBA & WBC
May 22, 1978 June 30, 1979 Hugo Corro WBA & WBC
June 30, 1979 March 16, 1980 Vito Antuofermo WBA & WBC
March 16, 1980 September 27, 1980 Alan Minter WBA & WBC
September 27, 1980 June 6, 1987 Marvin Hagler WBA, WBC & IBF
Hagler was recognized as the inaugural IBF champion, adding the belt to his undisputed status. He lost the IBF and WBA belt recognitions after deciding to fight Sugar Ray Leonard. He lost the WBC belt after losing to Leonard.
September 29, 2001 July 16, 2005 Bernard Hopkins WBA, WBC, IBF & WBO
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
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

Junior Middleweight

Reign Began Reign Ended Champion Recognition
1962-10-20 1963-04-29 Denny Moyer WBA & WBC
1963-04-29 1963-09-07 Ralph Dupas WBA & WBC
1963-09-07 1965-06-18 Sandro Mazzinghi WBA & WBC
1965-06-18 1966-06-25 Nino Benvenuti WBA & WBC
1966-06-25 1968-05-26 Ki Soo Kim WBA & WBC
1968-05-26 1968-10-25-Stripped Sandro Mazzinghi WBA & WBC
1969-03-17 1970-07-09 Freddie Little WBA & WBC
1970-07-09 1971-10-31 Carmelo Bossi WBA & WBC
1971-10-31 1974-06-04 Koichi Wajima WBA,& WBC
1974-06-04 1975-01-21 Oscar Albarado WBA,& WBC
1975-01-21 1975-03-22 Koichi Wajima WBA & WBC
March 13, 2004 November 20, 2004 Winky Wright WBA, WBC & IBF
Winky Wright became the first undisputed champion of the light middleweight division after unifying his IBF belt with Sugar Shane Mosley's WBA and WBC belts. Wright lost the IBF belt for taking a rematch against Mosley.

Welterweight

Reign Began Reign Ended Champion Recognition
March 21, 1963 June 8, 1963 Luis Manuel Rodríguez WBA & WBC
June 8, 1963 December 10, 1965 Emile Griffith WBA & WBC
Emile Griffith relinquished the title after moving to the middleweight division.
November 28, 1966 April 18, 1969 Curtis Cokes WBA & WBC
Cokes reunited the titles after defeating Jean Josselin.
April 18, 1969 December 3, 1970 José Nápoles WBA & WBC
December 3, 1970 June 4, 1971 Billy Backus WBA & WBC
June 4, 1971 May 1975 José Nápoles WBA & WBC
Nápoles gave up the WBA belt after rematching Armando Muniz.
September 16, 1981 February 15, 1982 Sugar Ray Leonard WBA & WBC
Sugar Ray Leonard unified his WBC with Thomas Hearns's WBA 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
Donald Curry unified his WBA and IBF titles with Milton McCrory's WBC title to become the next undisputed champ.
September 27, 1986 1987 Lloyd Honeyghan WBA, WBC & IBF
Honeyghan later relinquished the WBA title in protest at the body's approval of world title fights being staged in Apartheid South Africa.
December 13, 2003 February 5, 2005 Cory Spinks WBA, WBC & IBF
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
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.

Junior Welterweight

Reign Began Reign Ended Champion Recognition
March 21, 1963 June 15, 1963 Roberto Cruz WBA & WBC
June 15, 1963 January 18, 1965 Eddie Perkins WBA & WBC
January 18, 1965 April 29, 1966 Carlos Hernández WBA & WBC
April 29, 1966 April 30, 1967 Sandro Lopopolo WBA & WBC
April 30, 1967 November 16, 1967 (Vacated) Takeshi Fuji WBA & WBC
November 3, 2001 January 19, 2003 Kostya Tszyu WBA, WBC & IBF
Kostya Tszyu became the undisputed Junior 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 titles because of extended inactivity due to training injuries and lost his IBF belt to Ricky Hatton.

Lightweight

Reign Began Reign Ended Champion Recognition
April 7, 1963 April 10, 1965 Carlos Ortiz WBA & WBC
April 10, 1965 November 13, 1965 Ismael Laguna WBA & WBC
November 13, 1965 June 29, 1968 Carlos Ortiz WBA & WBC
June 29, 1968 February 18, 1969 Carlos Cruz WBA & WBC
February 18, 1969 March 3, 1970 Mando Ramos WBA & WBC
March 3, 1970 September 15, 1970 Ismael Laguna WBA & WBC
Laguna gave up the WBC title.
February 12, 1971 June 25, 1971 Ken Buchanan WBA & WBC
Buchanan gave up the WBC title after a contractual dispute, although he is still recognized as the true champion.
January 21, 1978 January 1979 Roberto Durán WBA & WBC
Duran, the WBA champion, won the undisputed title after defeating WBC 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
Whitaker, the unified IBF and WBC champion, won Juan Nazario's WBA belt becoming the undisputed champ . Whitaker relinquished all of the belts after moving to the junior welterweight division.

Super Featherweight

Reign Began Reign Ended Champion Recognition
February 16, 1963 June 15, 1967 Flash Elorde WBA & WBC
June 15, 1967 December 14, 1967 Yoshiaki Numata WBA & WBC
December 14, 1967 January 19, 1969 Hiroshi Kobayashi WBA & WBC
Kobayashi is stripped of his WBC title for failing to fight Rene Barrientos, despite a written agreement.

Featherweight

Reign Began Reign Ended Champion Recognition
March 21, 1963 September 26, 1964 Sugar Ramos WBA & WBC
September 26, 1964 October 14, 1967 Vicente Saldivar WBA & WBC
Saldivar retired after his title defense against Howard Winstone.

Bantamweight

Reign Began Reign Ended Champion Recognition
March 19, 1972 July 29, 1972 Rafael Herrera WBA & WBC
July 29, 1972 April 14, 1973 Enrique Pinder WBA & WBC
Pinder was stripped of the WBC belt shortly after winning the title for not defending against Rodolfo Martinez.

Super Flyweight

Reign Began Reign Ended Champion Recognition
July 5, 1984 March 30, 1986 Jiro Watanabe WBA & WBC
Watanabe had his WBA title stripped for unifying the Super Flyweight championship with the WBC champion Payao Poontarat. He was regarded as the undisputed champion until his loss to Gilberto Roman.
November 1, 2008 December 12, 2009 Vic Darchinyan WBA, WBC & IBF
Darchinyan had vacated his IBF belt in order to move up to bantamweight to fight IBF champion Joseph Agbeko Darchinyan was still recognized as super flyweight champion by both the WBC and WBA.

Flyweight

[2]

Villa died shortly after this bout. The Flyweight World Title became vacant with the death of its reigning champion--Pancho Villa. The next day William Muldoon of the NYSAC proclaimed Frankie Genaro Pancho's "legitimate successor." But it was Fidel LaBarba who would become the next Undisputed Flyweight Champion of the World.
Year Reign Year Ended Champion Recognition
June 6, 1923 July 4, 1925 Pancho Villa World Flyweight Championship

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.thefreedictionary.com/undisputed+world+champion [World Undisputed Champion Definition], 26 July 2011
  2. ^ http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=9433&cat=boxer

External links

Champions by sanctioning body
Major titles
WBA (List) · WBC (List) · IBF (List) · WBO (List) · The Ring (List)
Minor titles
IBO (List) · WPBF · IBA · IBC · WBU (List) · IBU · WBF · UBO
Champions by weight class
Champions by different weight class
Terms