List of undisputed boxing champions

This is a list of undisputed champions in professional boxing.

Boxing sanctioning bodies

Criteria

Heavyweight

Reign began Reign ended Champion Recognition Title defenses
July 24, 1922 September 23, 1926 United States Jack Dempsey NYSAC, NBA 2
September 23, 1926 July 31, 1928 United States Gene Tunney NYSAC, NBA 2
June 12, 1930 January 7, 1931 Germany Max Schmeling NYSAC, NBA 1
June 21, 1932 June 29, 1933 United States Jack Sharkey NYSAC, NBA 0
June 29, 1933 June 14, 1934 Italy Primo Carnera NYSAC, NBA 1
June 14, 1934 June 13, 1935 United States Max Baer NYSAC, NBA 0
June 13, 1935 June 22, 1937 United States James J. Braddock NYSAC, NBA 0
June 22, 1937 March 1, 1949 United States Joe Louis NYSAC, NBA 25
September 27, 1950 July 18, 1951 United States Ezzard Charles NYSAC, NBA 4
July 18, 1951 September 23, 1952 United States Jersey Joe Walcott NYSAC, NBA 1
September 23, 1952 April 27, 1956 United States Rocky Marciano NYSAC, NBA 6
November 30, 1956 June 26, 1959 United States Floyd Patterson NYSAC, NBA 4
June 26, 1959 June 20, 1960 Sweden Ingemar Johansson NYSAC, NBA 0
June 20, 1960 September 25, 1962 United States Floyd Patterson NYSAC, NBA 2
September 25, 1962 February 25, 1964 United States Sonny Liston NYSAC, WBA 1
February 25, 1964 September 19, 1964 United States 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 United States 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 United States Joe Frazier WBC, WBA 4
January 22, 1973 October 30, 1974 United States George Foreman WBC, WBA 2
October 30, 1974 February 15, 1978 United States Muhammad Ali WBC, WBA 10
February 15, 1978 March 18, 1978 United States 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 United States 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 United States James "Buster" Douglas WBC, WBA, IBF 0
October 25, 1990 November 13, 1992 United States Evander Holyfield WBC, WBA, IBF 3
November 13, 1992 December 14, 1992 United States 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 United Kingdom 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 United States 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 Jamaica 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 United States Willie Pastrano WBC, WBA 2
March 30, 1965 December 16, 1966 Puerto Rico José Torres WBC, WBA 3
December 16, 1966 May 24, 1968 Nigeria Dick Tiger WBC WBA 2
May 24, 1968 9 December 1970 United States 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 United States 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 United States 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 United States 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 Nigeria Dick Tiger WBA, WBC 0
December 12, 1963 October 21, 1965 United States Joey Giardello WBA, WBC 4
October 21, 1965 April 25, 1966 Nigeria Dick Tiger WBA, WBC 0
April 17, 1967 September 29, 1967 Italy Nino Benvenuti WBA, WBC 0
September 29, 1967 March 4, 1968 United States Virgin Islands Emile Griffith WBA, WBC 2
March 4, 1968 November 7, 1970 Italy Nino Benvenuti WBA, WBC 4
November 7, 1970 February 9, 1974 Argentina 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 Argentina Carlos Monzón WBA, WBC 1
November 5, 1977 May 22, 1978 Colombia Rodrigo Valdez WBA, WBC 0
May 22, 1978 June 30, 1979 Argentina Hugo Corro WBA, WBC 2
June 30, 1979 March 16, 1980 Italy Vito Antuofermo WBA, WBC 1
March 16, 1980 September 27, 1980 United Kingdom Alan Minter WBA, WBC 1
September 27, 1980 June 6, 1987 United States 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 United States 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 United States 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 United States Denny Moyer WBA, WBC 2
1963-04-29 1963-09-07 United States Ralph Dupas WBA, WBC 0
1963-09-07 1965-06-18 Italy Sandro Mazzinghi WBA, WBC 1
1965-06-18 1966-06-25 Italy Nino Benvenuti WBA, WBC 0
1966-06-25 1968-05-26 South Korea Ki Soo Kim WBA, WBC 2
1968-05-26 1968-10-25-Stripped Italy Sandro Mazzinghi WBA, WBC 0
1969-03-17 1970-07-09 United States Freddie Little WBA, WBC 2
1970-07-09 1971-10-31 Italy Carmelo Bossi WBA, WBC 0
1971-10-31 1974-06-04 Japan Koichi Wajima WBA, WBC 6
1974-06-04 1975-01-21 United States Oscar Albarado WBA, WBC 1
1975-01-21 1975-03-22 Japan Koichi Wajima WBA, WBC 0
March 13, 2004 November 20, 2004 United States 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 Cuba Luis Manuel Rodríguez WBA, WBC 0
June 8, 1963 December 10, 1965 United States Virgin Islands Emile Griffith WBA, WBC 6
Emile Griffith relinquished the title after moving to the middleweight division.
November 28, 1966 April 18, 1969 United States Curtis Cokes WBA, WBC 5
Cokes reunited the titles after defeating Jean Josselin.
April 18, 1969 December 3, 1970 Cuba José Nápoles WBA, WBC 3
December 3, 1970 June 4, 1971 United States Billy Backus WBA, WBC 0
June 4, 1971 May 1975 Cuba José Nápoles WBA, WBC 9
Nápoles gave up the WBA belt after rematching Armando Muniz.
September 16, 1981 February 15, 1982 United States 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 United States 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 United Kingdom 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 United States 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 United States 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 United States Eddie Perkins WBA, WBC 2
January 18, 1965 April 29, 1966 Venezuela Carlos Hernández WBA, WBC 0
April 29, 1966 April 30, 1967 Italy Sandro Lopopolo WBA, WBC 0
April 30, 1967 November 16, 1967 (Vacated) United StatesJapan Takeshi Fuji WBA, WBC 1
November 3, 2001 January 19, 2003 AustraliaRussia 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 Puerto Rico Carlos Ortiz WBA, WBC 2
April 10, 1965 November 13, 1965 Panama Ismael Laguna WBA, WBC 0
November 13, 1965 June 29, 1968 Puerto Rico Carlos Ortiz WBA, WBC 5
June 29, 1968 February 18, 1969 Dominican Republic Carlos Cruz WBA, WBC 1
February 18, 1969 March 3, 1970 United States Mando Ramos WBA, WBC 0
March 3, 1970 September 15, 1970 Panama Ismael Laguna WBA, WBC 0
Laguna gave up the WBC title.
February 12, 1971 June 25, 1971 United Kingdom 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 Panama 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 United States 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 Philippines Flash Elorde WBA, WBC 5
June 15, 1967 December 14, 1967 Japan Yoshiaki Numata WBA, WBC 0
December 14, 1967 January 19, 1969 Japan 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 Cuba Sugar Ramos WBA, WBC 0
September 26, 1964 October 14, 1967 Mexico 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 Brazil Eder Jofre WBA, WBC 2
May 18, 1965 February 27, 1968 Japan Fighting Harada WBA, WBC 4
February 27, 1968 August 22, 1969 Australia Lionel Rose WBA, WBC 3
August 22, 1969 October 16, 1970 Mexico Ruben Olivares WBA, WBC 2
October 16, 1970 April 2, 1971 Mexico Chucho Castillo WBA, WBC 0
April 2, 1971 March 19, 1972 Mexico Ruben Olivares WBA, WBC 2
March 19, 1972 July 29, 1972 Mexico Rafael Herrera WBA, WBC 0
July 29, 1972 April 14, 1973 Panama 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 Japan 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 Japan Hiroyuki Ebihara WBA, WBC 0
January 23, 1964 April 23, 1965 Thailand Pone Kingpetch WBA, WBC 0
April 23, 1965 November, 1965 Italy Salvatore Burruni WBA, WBC 0

See also

References

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