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At least since John L. Sullivan, in the late 19th century, there have been world boxing champions. The first of today's organizations to award a world title was the World Boxing Association, known as the National Boxing Association when it sanctioned its first title fight in 1921 between Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier for the 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, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organization all recognize the other three major sanctioning bodies in their rankings and title unification rules. Each of these organizations sanction and regulate championship bouts and award championships. American boxing magazine The Ring began awarding world championship belts in 1922.

There are seventeen weight divisions. To compete in a weight class, a boxer's weight must not exceed the upper limit. Manny Pacquiao has won world championships in eight different weight classes, more than any other boxer. The Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, hold four of the five major titles in the heavyweight division. They are 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 holds a title of one of the other three major sanctioning bodies in an equivalent weight class, the boxer is granted special recognition: he is called the unified champion and is given more time between mandatory title defences. The WBA Championships Committee and President may designate a champion as a Super Champion in exceptional circumstances. The "regular" WBA world title is vacated if it is one of the titles the respective boxer holds. When a WBA champion defends his title for the fifth or sixth time, he may be granted the "WBA Super Belt" 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 classes. In its discretion, the WBC may designate and recognize, upon a two-thirds majority vote of their Board of Governors, one or more emeritus world champions in each weight class. Such a recognition is for life and is only bestowed upon present or past WBC world champions. The following boxers have earned the Emeritus Championship appellation throughout their careers: Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko, Bernard Hopkins (Honorary Champion), Mikkel Kessler, Sergio Gabriel Martínez, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Kostya Tszyu, Manny Pacquiao, Érik Morales, Vic Darchinyan, and Édgar Sosa.

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. 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". Besides the beltholders that are called "Super Champion", there are other fighters that have been named "WBO Super Champion" like Bernard Hopkins, Joe Calzaghe, Kelly Pavlik, Óscar De La Hoya, Juan Díaz, Marco Antonio Barrera, Fernando Montiel, Iván Calderón. The WBO championships are not universally recognized. Some media sites do not include the WBO in their list of champions, but others do.

The Ring

The Ring is a respected boxing magazine that was founded in 1922. The Ring has its own version of lineal championship in a given weight class where The Ring Champion holds the linear reign to the throne, the man who beat the man. The Ring began awarding world championship belts in 1922. The Ring stopped giving belts to the world champions in the 1990s but began again in 2002.

In 2002, The Ring created a championship system that is "intended to reward fighters who, by satisfying rigid criteria, can justify a claim as the true and only world champion in a given weight class." The Ring claims to be more authoritative and open than the sanctioning bodies' rankings, with a page devoted to full explanations for ranking changes. A fighter pays no sanctioning fees to defend or fight for the title at stake, contrary to practices of the sanctioning bodies. There are currently only two ways that a boxer can win The Ring's title: defeat the reigning champion; or win a box-off between The Ring's number-one and number-two rated contenders (or, sometimes, number-one and number-three rated). There are also only three ways that a boxer can lose The Ring's title: lose a championship fight, move to a different weight class, or retire.

Current champions

The current champions in each weight class are listed below. Each champion's professional boxing record is shown in the following format: wins–losses–draws–no contests (knockout wins).

Heavyweight (200+ lb, 90.7+ kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
David Haye  United Kingdom 25–1–0–0 (23) November 7, 2009	Vitali Klitschko  Ukraine 42–2–0–0 (39) October 11, 2008	Wladimir Klitschko Unified champion  Ukraine 55–3–0–0 (49) April 22, 2006	Wladimir Klitschko Super champion  Ukraine 55–3–0–0 (49) February 23, 2008	Wladimir Klitschko  Ukraine 55–3–0–0 (49) June 20, 2009

Cruiserweight, Junior heavyweight (200 lb, 90.7 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Guillermo Jones  Panama 37–3–2–0 (29) September 27, 2008	Krzysztof Włodarczyk  Poland 45–2–1–0 (32) May 15, 2010	Steve Cunningham  United States 24–2–0–0 (12) June 5, 2010	Marco Huck  Germany 32–1–0–0 (23) August 29, 2009	vacant
Yoan Pablo Hernández Interim champion  Cuba 24–1–0–0 (13) February 12, 2011

Light heavyweight (175 lb, 79.4 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Beibut Shumenov  Kazakhstan 11–1–0–0 (7) January 29, 2010	Jean Pascal  Canada 26–1–1–0 (16) June 19, 2009	Tavoris Cloud  United States 22–0–0–0 (18) August 28, 2009	Juergen Braehmer  Germany 36–2–0–0 (29) November 13, 2009	Jean Pascal  Canada 26–1–1–0 (16) August 14, 2010
			Nathan Cleverly Interim champion  United Kingdom 21–0–0–0 (10) December 11, 2010

Super middleweight (168 lb, 76.2 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Andre Ward Super champion  United States 23–0–0–0 (13) November 21, 2009	Carl Froch  United Kingdom 27–1–0–0 (20) November 27, 2010	Lucian Bute  Romania 28–0–0–0 (23) October 19, 2007	Robert Stieglitz  Germany 40–2–0–0 (23) August 22, 2009	vacant
Dimitri Sartison  Germany 27–1–0–0 (17) November 21, 2009

Middleweight (160 lb, 72.6 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Felix Sturm Super champion  Germany 35–2–1–0 (15) March 22, 2010	Sebastian Zbik  Germany 30–0–0–0 (10) January 17, 2011	Sebastian Sylvester  Germany 34–3–1–0 (16) September 19, 2009	Dmitry Pirog  Russia 18–0–0–0 (14) July 31, 2010	Sergio Gabriel Martínez  Argentina 47–2–2–0 (26) April 17, 2010
Gennady Golovkin  Kazakhstan 20–0–0–0 (17) October 14, 2010
Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam Interim champion  France 26–0–0–0 (17) October 30, 2010

Super welterweight, Junior middleweight (154 lb, 69.9 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Miguel Ángel Cotto Super champion  Puerto Rico 36–2–0–0 (29) September 10, 2010	Saúl Álvarez  Mexico 36–0–1–0 (26) March 5, 2011	Cornelius Bundrage  United States 30–4–0–1 (18) August 7, 2010	Serhiy Dzinziruk  Ukraine 37–1–0–0 (23) December 3, 2005	vacant
Austin Trout  United States 22–0–0–0 (13) February 5, 2011

Welterweight (147 lb, 66.7 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Viacheslav Senchenko  Ukraine 31–0–0–0 (20) April 10, 2009	Victor Ortiz  United States 29–2–2–0 (22) April 16, 2011	Jan Zaveck  Slovenia 31–1–0–1 (18) December 11, 2009	Manny Pacquiao Super champion  Philippines 52–3–2–0 (38) November 14, 2009	vacant
Souleymane M'baye Interim champion  France 39–3–1–0 (21) May 28, 2010

Super lightweight, Junior welterweight (140 lb, 63.5 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Amir Khan  United Kingdom 25–1–0–0 (17) July 18, 2009	Timothy Bradley Unified champion  United States 27–0–0–1 (11) January 29, 2011	Zab Judah  United States 41–6–0–2 (28) March 5, 2011	Timothy Bradley  United States 27–0–0–1 (11) April 4, 2009	vacant
Marcos René Maidana Interim champion  Argentina 30–2–0–0 (27) April 9, 2011

Lightweight (135 lb, 61.2 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Juan Manuel Márquez Unified champion  Mexico 52–5–1–0 (38) February 28, 2009	Humberto Soto  Mexico 55–7–2–1 (32) March 13, 2010	Miguel Vázquez  Mexico 28–3–0–0 (12) August 14, 2010	Juan Manuel Márquez Super champion  Mexico 52–5–1–0 (38) February 28, 2009	Juan Manuel Márquez  Mexico 52–5–1–0 (38) September 13, 2008
Brandon Ríos  United States 27–0–1–0 (20) February 26, 2011			Robert Guerrero Interim champion  United States 29–1–1–2 (18) April 9, 2011
Robert Guerrero Interim champion  United States 29–1–1–2 (18) April 9, 2011

Super featherweight, Junior lightweight (130 lb, 59 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Takashi Uchiyama  Japan 17–0–0–0 (14) January 11, 2010	Takahiro Ao  Japan 21–2–1–0 (10) November 26, 2010	Mzonke Fana  South Africa 30–4–0–0 (12) September 1, 2010	Ricky Burns  United Kingdom 31–2–0–0 (8) September 4, 2010	vacant
Jorge Solís Interim champion  Mexico 40–3–2–1 (29) February 6, 2010

Featherweight (126 lb, 57.2 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Chris John Super champion  Indonesia 45–0–2–0 (22) July 23, 2009	Jhonny González  Mexico 48–7–0–0 (42) April 8, 2011	vacant	Orlando Salido  Mexico 35–11–2–1 (23) April 16, 2011	vacant
Yuriorkis Gamboa  Cuba 20–0–0–0 (16) July 23, 2009	Elio Rojas In recess  Dominican Republic 22–1–0–0 (13) August 25, 2010
Jonathan Victor Barros  Argentina 32–1–1–0 (18) December 4, 2010

Super bantamweight, Junior featherweight (122 lb, 55.3 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Akifumi Shimoda  Japan 23–2–1–0 (10) January 31, 2011	Toshiaki Nishioka  Japan 38–4–3–0 (24) December 18, 2008	Takalani Ndlovu  South Africa 32–6–0–0 (18) March 26, 2011	Wilfredo Vázquez Jr  Puerto Rico 20–0–1–0 (17) February 27, 2010	vacant
Guillermo Rigondeaux Interim champion  Cuba 8–0–0–0 (6) November 13, 2010

Bantamweight (118 lb, 53.5 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Anselmo Moreno Super champion  Panama 30–1–1–0 (10) November 16, 2010	Nonito Donaire Unified champion  United States 26–1–0–0 (18) February 19, 2011	Joseph Agbeko  Ghana 28–2–0–0 (22) December 11, 2010	Nonito Donaire  United States 26–1–0–0 (18) February 19, 2011	vacant
Koki Kameda  Japan 24–1–0–0 (15) December 26, 2010
Hugo Ruiz Interim champion  Mexico 27–1–0–0 (25) January 22, 2011

Super flyweight, Junior bantamweight (115 lb, 52.2 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Hugo Fidel Cázares  Mexico 34–6–2–0 (24) May 8, 2010	Tomás Rojas  Mexico 35–12–1–1 (23) September 20, 2010	Cristian Mijares  Mexico 41–6–2–0 (18) December 11, 2010	Omar Andrés Narváez Super champion  Argentina 34–0–2–0 (19) May 15, 2010	vacant
Drian Francisco Interim champion  Philippines 20–0–1–0 (16) November 30, 2010

Flyweight (112 lb, 50.8 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Hernán Márquez  Mexico 30–2–0–0 (23) April 2, 2011	Pongsaklek Wonjongkam  Thailand 80–3–1–0 (44) March 27, 2010	Moruti Mthalane  South Africa 27–2–0–0 (18) November 20, 2009	Julio César Miranda  Mexico 35–5–1–0 (28) June 12, 2010	Pongsaklek Wonjongkam  Thailand 80–3–1–0 (44) March 27, 2010
Jean Piero Pérez Interim champion  Venezuela 18–3–1–0 (13) January 29, 2011

Light flyweight, Junior flyweight (108 lb, 49 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Román González  Nicaragua 28–0–0–0 (23) February 4, 2011	Gilberto Keb Baas  Mexico 35–20–4–0 (22) November 7, 2010	Luis Alberto Lazarte  Argentina 48–9–2–1 (18) May 29, 2010	Jesús Géles  Colombia 12–1–1–0 (5) April 15, 2011	Giovani Segura  Mexico 27–1–1–0 (23) August 28, 2010

Minimumweight, Strawweight, Mini flyweight (105 lb, 47.6 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Kwanthai Sithmorseng  Thailand 31–0–1–0 (17) November 5, 2010	Kazuto Ioka  Japan 7–0–0–0 (5) February 11, 2011	Nkosinathi Joyi  South Africa 21–0–0–1 (15) March 26, 2010	Raúl García  Mexico 29–1–1–0 (17) February 25, 2011	vacant
Sammy Gutiérrez Interim champion  Mexico 27–5–2–0 (18) October 23, 2010

See also

• Weight class (boxing)
• Ring Magazine pound for pound

References

Specific

1. ^ "Rules of World Boxing Association" (PDF). World Boxing Association. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
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. 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 March 2, 2009.
7. "World Boxing Association Super Belt winners". World Boxing Association. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
8. "World Boxing Council". World Boxing Council. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
9. "Rules that have changed the History of Boxing". World Boxing Council. Archived from the original on September 25, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2006.
10. ^ "History of the IBF". International Boxing Federation. December 4, 2000. Archived from the original on December 4, 2000. Retrieved June 6, 2006.
11. "WBO logo". World Boxing Organization. Retrieved June 6, 2006.
12. "WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests" (PDF). World Boxing Organization. Section 14.
13. "Current Boxing Champions' Career Records". Sports Illustrated. March 22, 1998. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
14. "Current Boxing Champions". Yahoo!. December 11, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
15. "Reigning Champions". ESPN Internet Ventures. January 20, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
16. "List of Champions". BBC Sport. May 5, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
17. ^ "About The Ring". The Ring. February 14, 2009. Retrieved February 8, 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
18. ^ Kellerman, Max (January 22, 2004). "Gatti vs. the unknown". ESPN. Retrieved March 3, 2009.

General

• "BoxRec title search". BoxRec.com. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
• "IBF-USBA official ratings". International Boxing Federation. April 25, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
• "WBA official ratings". World Boxing Association. March 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
• "The Ring Ratings". The Ring. February 9, 2009. Retrieved February 8, 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• "WBC official ratings". World Boxing Council. September 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
• "Rankings - World Boxing Organization". World Boxing Organization. December 2010. Retrieved January 7, 2011.

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• Lists of boxers
• Lists of men
• World boxing champions