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Revision as of 16:07, 5 November 2007 by 82.35.163.137 (talk) (→Super welterweight (154 lb, 69.9 kg))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)This is a list of current boxing world champions who are certified by the four major boxing sanctioning bodies and The Ring magazine. Each champion's professional boxing record is shown in the following format: wins-losses-draws-no contests (knockout wins).
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—a Venezuelan-based worldwide regulating body. According to WBA championship rules, when a boxer holds both a WBA world title and a world title from at least one of the other three major sanctioning bodies, the boxer is granted special recognition: unified champion (if he holds two titles), undisputed champion (three titles), or super champion (all four titles). The "regular" WBA world title is then vacated.
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.
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.
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) was founded in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1988. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States of America. Its motto is "dignity, democracy, honesty." Some media sites do not include the WBO in their list of champions, whereas others do.
The Ring is not a sanctioning body but is a boxing magazine that was founded in 1922. 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." There are currently only two ways that a boxer can win The Ring's title: defeat the reigning champion; or winning a box-off between The Ring's number-one and number-two rated contenders (or, sometimes, number-one and number-three rated). The Ring had a long-standing policy of awarding their championship to a boxer who had unified the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, but rescinded this policy in September 2007. 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. (The Ring does not strip its champions' titles like the sanctioning bodies do.)
Current champions
Heavyweight (200+ lbs, 90.7+ kg)
WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
Ruslan Chagaev 23-0-1 (17 KO) April 14, 2007 |
Oleg Maskaev 34-5 (26 KO) August 12, 2006 |
Wladimir Klitschko 49-3 (44 KO) April 22, 2006 |
Sultan Ibragimov 22-0-1 (17 KO) June 2, 2007 |
vacant |
Samuel Peter 29-1 (22 KO) September 24, 2007 |
Cruiserweight (200 lb, 90.7 kg)
WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
Jean-Marc Mormeck 33-3 (22 KO) March 17, 2007 |
Jean-Marc Mormeck 33-3 (22 KO) March 17, 2007 |
Steve Cunningham 20-1 (10 KO) May 26, 2007 |
Enzo Maccarinelli 28-1 (21 KO) July 8, 2006 |
Jean-Marc Mormeck 33-3 (22 KO) March 17, 2007 |
Virgil Hill 50-6 (23 KO) January 27, 2006 | ||||
Firat Arslan 27-3-1 (18 KO) June 16, 2007 |
Light heavyweight (175 lb, 79.4 kg)
WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
Stipe Drews 32-1 (13 KO) April 28, 2007 |
Chad Dawson 25-0-0-1 (17 KO) February 3, 2007 |
Clinton Woods 41-3-1 (24 KO) March 4, 2005 |
Zsolt Erdei 27-0 (17 KO) January 17, 2004 |
Bernard Hopkins 48-4-1-1 (32 KO) June 10, 2006 |
Super middleweight (168 lb, 76.2 kg)
WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
Joe Calzaghe 44-0 (32 KO) November 3, 2007 |
Joe Calzaghe 44-0 (32 KO) November 3, 2007 |
Lucian Bute 21-0 (17 KO) October 19, 2007 |
Joe Calzaghe 44-0 (32 KO) October 11, 1997 |
Joe Calzaghe 44-0 (32 KO) March 4, 2006 |
Anthony Mundine 29-3 (22 KO) March 7, 2007 |
Middleweight (160 lb, 72.6 kg)
WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
Felix Sturm 28-2-1 (12 KO) April 28, 2007 |
Kelly Pavlik 32-0 (29 KO) September 29, 2007 |
Arthur Abraham 24-0 (19 KO) December 10, 2005 |
Kelly Pavlik 32-0 (29 KO) September 29, 2007 |
Kelly Pavlik 32-0 (29 KO) September 29, 2007 |