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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, World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxing Federation (IBF), and World Boxing Organization (WBO) 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.

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. 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; 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. The WBC established many of today's safety measures in boxing, such as the standing eight count, 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. In April 1983, the organization established an international division that was known as the United States Boxing Association-International (USBA-I). In May 1984, the New Jersey-based USBA-I was renamed and became the IBF.

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." When a WBO champion has reached "preeminent status", the WBO's Executive Committee may designate him as a "Super Champion". 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. 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".

In 2007, The Ring was acquired by the owners of fight promoter Golden Boy Promotions, 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). 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. 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.

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 (knockout wins).

Heavyweight (200+ lb/90.7+ kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Andy Ruiz Jr. Super champion  Mexico 33–1 (22 KO) June 1, 2019	Deontay Wilder  United States 41–0–1 (40 KO) January 17, 2015	Andy Ruiz Jr.  Mexico 33–1 (22 KO) June 1, 2019	Andy Ruiz Jr.  Mexico 33–1 (22 KO) June 1, 2019	vacant
Manuel Charr Regular champion  Syria 31–4 (17 KO) November 25, 2017
Trevor Bryan Interim champion  United States 20–0 (14 KO) August 11, 2018

Cruiserweight (200 lb/90.7 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Denis Lebedev Super champion  Russia 32–2–0–1 (23 KO) April 30, 2019	Oleksandr Usyk Champion in recess  Ukraine 16–0 (12 KO) January 27, 2018	Oleksandr Usyk  Ukraine 16–0 (12 KO) July 21, 2018	Oleksandr Usyk  Ukraine 16–0 (12 KO) September 17, 2016	Oleksandr Usyk  Ukraine 16–0 (12 KO) July 21, 2018
Arsen Goulamirian Regular champion  France 24–0 (16 KO) May 31, 2019
Beibut Shumenov Champion in recess  Kazakhstan 18–2 (12 KO) May 31, 2019			Krzysztof Głowacki Interim champion  Poland 31–1 (19 KO) November 10, 2018

Light heavyweight (175 lb/79.4 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Dmitry Bivol  Russia 16–0 (11 KO) September 23, 2017	Oleksandr Gvozdyk  Ukraine 17–0 (14 KO) December 1, 2018	Artur Beterbiev  Russia 14–0 (14 KO) November 11, 2017	Sergey Kovalev  Russia 33–3–1 (28 KO) February 2, 2019	vacant
Marcus Browne Interim champion  United States 23–0 (16 KO) January 19, 2019

Super middleweight (168 lb/76.2 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Callum Smith Super champion  United Kingdom 26–0 (19 KO) September 28, 2018	Anthony Dirrell  United States 33–1–1 (24 KO) February 23, 2019	Caleb Plant  United States 18–0 (10 KO) January 13, 2019	Billy Joe Saunders  United Kingdom 28–0 (13 KO) May 18, 2019	Callum Smith  United Kingdom 26–0 (19 KO) September 28, 2018
Canelo Álvarez Regular champion  Mexico 52–1–2 (35 KO) December 15, 2018
John Ryder Interim champion  United Kingdom 28–4 (16 KO) May 4, 2019	David Benavidez Champion in recess  United States 21–0 (18 KO) September 8, 2017

Middleweight (160 lb/72.6 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Canelo Álvarez Super champion  Mexico 52–1–2 (35 KO) September 15, 2018	Canelo Álvarez  Mexico 52–1–2 (35 KO) September 15, 2018	Canelo Álvarez  Mexico 52–1–2 (35 KO) May 4, 2019	Demetrius Andrade  United States 27–0 (17 KO) October 20, 2018	Canelo Álvarez  Mexico 52–1–2 (35 KO) September 15, 2018
Robert Brant Regular champion  United States 25–1 (17 KO) October 20, 2018	Jermall Charlo Interim champion  United States 28–0 (21 KO) April 21, 2018

Light middleweight (154 lb/69.9 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Julian Williams Super champion  United States 27–1–1–1 (16 KO) May 11, 2019	Tony Harrison  United States 28–2 (21 KO) December 22, 2018	Julian Williams  United States 27–1–1–1 (16 KO) May 11, 2019	Jaime Munguia  Mexico 33–0 (26 KO) May 12, 2018	vacant
Brian Castaño Regular champion  Argentina 15–0–1 (11 KO) October 22, 2016

Welterweight (147 lb/66.7 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Keith Thurman Super champion  United States 29–0–0–1 (22 KO) February 7, 2017	Shawn Porter  United States 30–2–1 (17 KO) September 8, 2018	Errol Spence Jr.  United States 25–0 (21 KO) May 27, 2017	Terence Crawford  United States 35–0 (26 KO) June 9, 2018	vacant
Manny Pacquiao Jr. Regular champion  Philippines 61–7–2 (39 KO) July 15, 2018

Light welterweight (140 lb/63.5 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Regis Prograis  United States 24–0 (20 KO) April 27, 2019	José Ramírez  United States 24–0 (16 KO) March 17, 2018	Josh Taylor  United Kingdom 15–0 (12 KO) May 18, 2019	Maurice Hooker  United States 26–0–3 (17 KO) June 9, 2018	vacant

Lightweight (135 lb/61.2 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Vasyl Lomachenko Super champion  Ukraine 13–1 (10 KO) May 12, 2018	vacant	Richard Commey  Ghana 28–2 (25 KO) February 2, 2019	Vasyl Lomachenko  Ukraine 13–1 (10 KO) December 8, 2018	Vasyl Lomachenko  Ukraine 13–1 (10 KO) May 12, 2018

Super featherweight (130 lb/59 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Gervonta Davis Super champion  United States 21–0 (20 KO) April 21, 2018	Miguel Berchelt  Mexico 36–1 (32 KO) January 28, 2017	Tevin Farmer  United States 29–4–1–1 (6 KO) August 3, 2018	Jamel Herring  United States 20–2 (10 KO) May 25, 2019	vacant
Andrew Cancio Regular champion  United States 20–4–2 (15 KO) February 9, 2019

Featherweight (126 lb/57.2 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Léo Santa Cruz Super champion  Mexico 36–1–1 (19 KO) January 28, 2017	Gary Russell Jr.  United States 30–1 (18 KO) March 28, 2015	Josh Warrington  United Kingdom 28–0 (6 KO) May 19, 2018	Óscar Valdez  Mexico 25–0 (20 KO) July 23, 2016	vacant
Xu Can Regular champion  China 17–2 (3 KO) January 26, 2019

Super bantamweight (122 lb/55.3 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Daniel Roman Unified champion  United States 27–2–1 (10 KO) May 31, 2019	Rey Vargas  Mexico 33–0 (22 KO) February 25, 2017	Daniel Roman  United States 27–2–1 (10 KO) April 26, 2019	Emanuel Navarrete  Mexico 27–1 (23 KO) December 8, 2018	vacant
Brandon Figueroa Interim champion  United States 19–0 (14 KO) April 20, 2019	Tomoki Kameda Interim champion  Japan 36–2 (20 KO) November 12, 2018

Bantamweight (118 lb/53.5 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Nonito Donaire Super champion  Philippines 40–5 (26 KO) November 3, 2018	Nordine Oubaali  France 15–0 (11 KO) January 19, 2019	Naoya Inoue  Japan 18–0 (16 KO) May 18, 2019	Zolani Tete  South Africa 28–3 (21 KO) April 22, 2017	Naoya Inoue  Japan 18–0 (16 KO) May 18, 2019
Naoya Inoue Unified champion  Japan 18–0 (16 KO) May 21, 2019	Takuma Inoue Interim champion  Japan 13–0 (3 KO) December 30, 2018		John Riel Casimero Interim champion  Philippines 27–4 (18 KO) April 20, 2019

Super flyweight (115 lb/52.2 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Khalid Yafai  United Kingdom 25–0 (15 KO) December 10, 2016	Juan Francisco Estrada  Mexico 39–3 (26 KO) April 26, 2019	Jerwin Ancajas  Philippines 31–1–2 (21 KO) September 3, 2016	vacant	Juan Francisco Estrada  Mexico 39–3 (26 KO) April 26, 2019

Flyweight (112 lb/50.8 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Artem Dalakian  Ukraine 18–0 (13 KO) February 24, 2018	Charlie Edwards  United Kingdom 15–1 (6 KO) December 22, 2018	Moruti Mthalane  South Africa 38–2 (25 KO) July 15, 2018	Kosei Tanaka  Japan 13–0 (7 KO) September 24, 2018	vacant

Light flyweight (108 lb/49 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Hiroto Kyoguchi Super champion  Japan 12–0 (9 KO) December 31, 2018	Ken Shiro  Japan 15–0 (8 KO) May 20, 2017	Felix Alvarado  Nicaragua 35–2 (30 KO) October 29, 2018	Ángel Acosta  Puerto Rico 20–1 (20 KO) December 2, 2017	Hiroto Kyoguchi  Japan 12–0 (9 KO) December 31, 2018
Carlos Cañizales Regular champion  Venezuela 22–0–1 (17 KO) March 18, 2018

Mini flyweight (105 lb/47.6 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Thammanoon Niyomtrong  Thailand 19–0 (7 KO) June 29, 2016	Wanheng Menayothin  Thailand 53–0 (18 KO) November 6, 2014	Deejay Kriel  South Africa 15–1–1 (7 KO) February 16, 2019	Vic Saludar  Philippines 19–3 (10 KO) July 13, 2018	vacant

See also

• List of WBA world champions
• List of WBC world champions
• List of IBF world champions
• List of WBO world champions
• List of The Ring world champions
• List of lineal boxing world champions
• List of current female world boxing champions
• List of undefeated boxing world champions (retired only)
• List of undisputed boxing champions
• List of current boxing rankings
• World boxing championship records and statistics

References

1. ^ "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. ^ "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". October 15, 2004. Archived from the original on October 15, 2004. Retrieved May 25, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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. Archived May 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
21. "Ring Magazine's pretend rankings upgrade 'championship' policy". Theboxingtribune.com.

External links

• Official list of current WBA champions
• Official list of current WBC champions
• Official list of current IBF champions
• Official list of current WBO champions
• Official list of current Ring magazine champions
• List of current boxing champions at BoxRec

• Lists of boxing champions
• World boxing champions