List of undisputed boxing champions
This is a list of undisputed champions in professional boxing.
Boxing sanctioning bodies
Criteria
- 1920–1963, a boxer who held both the NYSAC and NBA (WBA) titles simultaneously.
- 1963–1983, a boxer who held both the WBA and WBC titles simultaneously.
- 1983–2007, a boxer who held the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles simultaneously.
- 2007–present, a boxer who holds the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles simultaneously. By February 2007, all four major organisations were recognised by each other.[1]
Heavyweight
Reign began |
Reign ended |
Champion |
Recognition |
Title defenses |
July 24, 1922 |
September 23, 1926 |
Jack Dempsey |
NYSAC, NBA |
2 |
September 23, 1926 |
July 31, 1928 |
Gene Tunney |
NYSAC, NBA |
2 |
June 12, 1930 |
January 7, 1931 |
Max Schmeling |
NYSAC, NBA |
1 |
June 21, 1932 |
June 29, 1933 |
Jack Sharkey |
NYSAC, NBA |
0 |
June 29, 1933 |
June 14, 1934 |
Primo Carnera |
NYSAC, NBA |
1 |
June 14, 1934 |
June 13, 1935 |
Max Baer |
NYSAC, NBA |
0 |
June 13, 1935 |
June 22, 1937 |
James J. Braddock |
NYSAC, NBA |
0 |
June 22, 1937 |
March 1, 1949 |
Joe Louis |
NYSAC, NBA |
25 |
September 27, 1950 |
July 18, 1951 |
Ezzard Charles |
NYSAC, NBA |
4 |
July 18, 1951 |
September 23, 1952 |
Jersey Joe Walcott |
NYSAC, NBA |
1 |
September 23, 1952 |
April 27, 1956 |
Rocky Marciano |
NYSAC, NBA |
6 |
November 30, 1956 |
June 26, 1959 |
Floyd Patterson |
NYSAC, NBA |
4 |
June 26, 1959 |
June 20, 1960 |
Ingemar Johansson |
NYSAC, NBA |
0 |
June 20, 1960 |
September 25, 1962 |
Floyd Patterson |
NYSAC, NBA |
2 |
September 25, 1962 |
February 25, 1964 |
Sonny Liston |
NYSAC, WBA |
1 |
February 25, 1964 |
September 19, 1964 |
Muhammad Ali as Cassius Clay |
NYSAC, WBC, WBA |
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 |
NYSAC, WBC, WBA |
1 |
- 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.
|
February 16, 1970 |
January 22, 1973 |
Joe Frazier |
WBC, WBA |
4 |
January 22, 1973 |
October 30, 1974 |
George Foreman |
WBC, WBA |
2 |
October 30, 1974 |
February 15, 1978 |
Muhammad Ali |
WBC, WBA |
10 |
February 15, 1978 |
March 18, 1978 |
Leon Spinks |
WBC, WBA |
0 |
- 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 |
6 |
- 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 "Buster" Douglas |
WBC, WBA, IBF |
0 |
October 25, 1990 |
November 13, 1992 |
Evander Holyfield |
WBC, WBA, IBF |
3 |
November 13, 1992 |
December 14, 1992 |
Riddick Bowe |
WBC, WBA, IBF |
0 |
- Bowe was stripped of his WBC championship for refusing to fight Lennox Lewis.
|
November 13, 1999 |
April 29, 2000 |
Lennox Lewis |
WBC, WBA, IBF |
0 |
- 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 John 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 |
Title defenses |
April 9, 1988 |
1988 |
Evander Holyfield |
IBF, WBA, WBC |
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 |
March 31, 2006 |
O'Neil Bell |
IBF, WBA, WBC |
0 |
- 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 |
Title defenses |
June 1, 1963 |
March 30, 1965 |
Willie Pastrano |
WBC, WBA |
2 |
March 30, 1965 |
December 16, 1966 |
José Torres |
WBC, WBA |
3 |
December 16, 1966 |
May 24, 1968 |
Dick Tiger |
WBC WBA |
2 |
May 24, 1968 |
9 December 1970 |
Bob Foster |
WBC, WBA |
4 |
- 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 |
5 |
- 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 |
4 |
- 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 |
7 |
- Whilst Dariusz Michalczewski was the Lineal/WBO 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
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; however, the IBF champion at the time was Lucian Bute.
Middleweight
Reign began |
Reign ended |
Champion |
Recognition |
Title defenses |
August 10, 1963 |
December 12, 1963 |
Dick Tiger |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
December 12, 1963 |
October 21, 1965 |
Joey Giardello |
WBA, WBC |
4 |
October 21, 1965 |
April 25, 1966 |
Dick Tiger |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
April 17, 1967 |
September 29, 1967 |
Nino Benvenuti |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
September 29, 1967 |
March 4, 1968 |
Emile Griffith |
WBA, WBC |
2 |
March 4, 1968 |
November 7, 1970 |
Nino Benvenuti |
WBA, WBC |
4 |
November 7, 1970 |
February 9, 1974 |
Carlos Monzón |
WBA, WBC |
9 |
- 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 |
1 |
November 5, 1977 |
May 22, 1978 |
Rodrigo Valdez |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
May 22, 1978 |
June 30, 1979 |
Hugo Corro |
WBA, WBC |
2 |
June 30, 1979 |
March 16, 1980 |
Vito Antuofermo |
WBA, WBC |
1 |
March 16, 1980 |
September 27, 1980 |
Alan Minter |
WBA, WBC |
1 |
September 27, 1980 |
June 6, 1987 |
Marvin Hagler |
WBA, WBC, IBF |
12 |
- 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 |
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 |
- 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
|
Light middleweight
Reign began |
Reign ended |
Champion |
Recognition |
Title defenses |
1962-10-20 |
1963-04-29 |
Denny Moyer |
WBA, WBC |
2 |
1963-04-29 |
1963-09-07 |
Ralph Dupas |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
1963-09-07 |
1965-06-18 |
Sandro Mazzinghi |
WBA, WBC |
1 |
1965-06-18 |
1966-06-25 |
Nino Benvenuti |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
1966-06-25 |
1968-05-26 |
Ki Soo Kim |
WBA, WBC |
2 |
1968-05-26 |
1968-10-25-Stripped |
Sandro Mazzinghi |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
1969-03-17 |
1970-07-09 |
Freddie Little |
WBA, WBC |
2 |
1970-07-09 |
1971-10-31 |
Carmelo Bossi |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
1971-10-31 |
1974-06-04 |
Koichi Wajima |
WBA, WBC |
6 |
1974-06-04 |
1975-01-21 |
Oscar Albarado |
WBA, WBC |
1 |
1975-01-21 |
1975-03-22 |
Koichi Wajima |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
March 13, 2004 |
November 20, 2004 |
Winky Wright |
WBA, WBC, IBF |
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
Reign began |
Reign ended |
Champion |
Recognition |
Title defenses |
March 21, 1963 |
June 8, 1963 |
Luis Manuel Rodríguez |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
June 8, 1963 |
December 10, 1965 |
Emile Griffith |
WBA, WBC |
6 |
- Emile Griffith relinquished the title after moving to the middleweight division.
|
November 28, 1966 |
April 18, 1969 |
Curtis Cokes |
WBA, WBC |
5 |
- Cokes reunited the titles after defeating Jean Josselin.
|
April 18, 1969 |
December 3, 1970 |
José Nápoles |
WBA, WBC |
3 |
December 3, 1970 |
June 4, 1971 |
Billy Backus |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
June 4, 1971 |
May 1975 |
José Nápoles |
WBA, WBC |
9 |
- Nápoles gave up the WBA belt after rematching Armando Muniz.
|
September 16, 1981 |
February 15, 1982 |
Sugar Ray Leonard |
WBA, WBC |
1 |
- 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 |
1 |
- 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 |
2 |
- 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 |
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 |
- 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.
|
Light welterweight
Reign began |
Reign ended |
Champion |
Recognition |
Title defenses |
June 15, 1963 |
January 18, 1965 |
Eddie Perkins |
WBA, WBC |
2 |
January 18, 1965 |
April 29, 1966 |
Carlos Hernández |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
April 29, 1966 |
April 30, 1967 |
Sandro Lopopolo |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
April 30, 1967 |
November 16, 1967 (Vacated) |
![United States](../I/m/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png) Takeshi Fuji |
WBA, WBC |
1 |
November 3, 2001 |
January 19, 2003 |
![Australia](../I/m/Flag_of_Australia.svg.png) Kostya Tszyu |
WBA, WBC, IBF |
2 |
- 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 |
Title defenses |
April 7, 1963 |
April 10, 1965 |
Carlos Ortiz |
WBA, WBC |
2 |
April 10, 1965 |
November 13, 1965 |
Ismael Laguna |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
November 13, 1965 |
June 29, 1968 |
Carlos Ortiz |
WBA, WBC |
5 |
June 29, 1968 |
February 18, 1969 |
Carlos Cruz |
WBA, WBC |
1 |
February 18, 1969 |
March 3, 1970 |
Mando Ramos |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
March 3, 1970 |
September 15, 1970 |
Ismael Laguna |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
- Laguna gave up the WBC title.
|
February 12, 1971 |
June 25, 1971 |
Ken Buchanan |
WBA, WBC |
1 |
- 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 |
0 |
- 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 |
3 |
- 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 |
Title defenses |
February 16, 1963 |
June 15, 1967 |
Flash Elorde |
WBA, WBC |
5 |
June 15, 1967 |
December 14, 1967 |
Yoshiaki Numata |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
December 14, 1967 |
January 19, 1969 |
Hiroshi Kobayashi |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
- Kobayashi is stripped of his WBC title for failing to fight Rene Barrientos, despite a written agreement.
|
Featherweight
Reign began |
Reign ended |
Champion |
Recognition |
Title defenses |
March 21, 1963 |
September 26, 1964 |
Sugar Ramos |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
September 26, 1964 |
October 14, 1967 |
Vicente Saldivar |
WBA, WBC |
7 |
- Saldivar retired after his title defense against Howard Winstone.
|
Bantamweight
Reign began |
Reign ended |
Champion |
Recognition |
Title defenses |
September 11, 1962 |
May 18, 1965 |
Eder Jofre |
WBA, WBC |
2 |
May 18, 1965 |
February 27, 1968 |
Fighting Harada |
WBA, WBC |
4 |
February 27, 1968 |
August 22, 1969 |
Lionel Rose |
WBA, WBC |
3 |
August 22, 1969 |
October 16, 1970 |
Ruben Olivares |
WBA, WBC |
2 |
October 16, 1970 |
April 2, 1971 |
Chucho Castillo |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
April 2, 1971 |
March 19, 1972 |
Ruben Olivares |
WBA, WBC |
2 |
March 19, 1972 |
July 29, 1972 |
Rafael Herrera |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
July 29, 1972 |
April 14, 1973 |
Enrique Pinder |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
- 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 |
Title defenses |
July 5, 1984 |
March 30, 1986 |
Jiro Watanabe |
WBA, WBC |
3 |
- 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.
|
Flyweight
Reign began |
Reign ended |
Champion |
Recognition |
Title defenses |
September 18, 1963 |
January 23, 1964 |
Hiroyuki Ebihara |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
January 23, 1964 |
April 23, 1965 |
Pone Kingpetch |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
April 23, 1965 |
November, 1965 |
Salvatore Burruni |
WBA, WBC |
0 |
See also
References
External links