List of world cruiserweight boxing champions

Last updated

This is a chronological list of world cruiserweight boxing champions, as recognized by four of the better-known sanctioning organizations:

Contents

Championship recognition

No.Reign beganReign endedChampionRecognition
131 March 198025 November 1980 Flag of the United States.svg Marvin Camel Universal
Camel and Mate Parlov fought to a draw in the first Cruiserweight championship bout on 12 August 1979, sanctioned by the World Boxing Council. Camel won the rematch to become champion. Since the WBC was the only sanctioning body to recognize a Cruiserweight division at the time, he is considered by some an undisputed champion.
225 November 198013 February 1982 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Carlos De León Universal
313 February 198227 June 1982 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Carlos De LeonWBC
413 February 19821 December 1984 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Ossie Ocasio WBA
Ocasio defeated Robbie Williams in the first Cruiserweight championship bout sanctioned by the World Boxing Association.
527 June 198217 July 1983 Flag of the United States.svg S. T. Gordon WBC
617 July 19836 June 1985 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Carlos De LeónWBC
713 February 19836 October 1984 Flag of the United States.svg Marvin CamelIBF
Just as he had done with the WBC title, Camel became the first champion in the division crowned by the International Boxing Federation, defeating Roddy McDonald to win the vacant title.
86 October 198425 October 1986 Flag of the United States.svg Lee Roy Murphy IBF
91 December 198427 July 1985 Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Piet Crous WBA
106 June 198521 September 1985 Flag of the United States.svg Alfonso Ratliff WBC
1127 July 198512 July 1986 Flag of the United States.svg Dwight Muhammad Qawi (Dwight Braxton)WBA
1221 September 198522 March 1986 Flag of the United States.svg Bernard Benton WBC
1322 March 19869 April 1988 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Carlos De LeónWBC
1412 July 198615 May 1987 Flag of the United States.svg Evander Holyfield WBA
1525 October 198615 May 1987 Flag of the United States.svg Rickey Parkey IBF
1615 May 19879 April 1988 Flag of the United States.svg Evander HolyfieldWBA & IBF
179 April 19884 December 1988 2 Flag of the United States.svg Evander HolyfieldUniversal
Holyfield unified his titles with Carlos De Leon's WBC title, making him the division's first truly undisputed champion.
1825 March 198925 September 1989 2 Flag of Tunisia.svg Taoufik Belbouli WBA
Belbouli defeated Michael Greer to win the vacant title.
1917 May 198927 July 1990 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Carlos De LeónWBC
De Leon defeated Sammy Reeson to win the vacant title.
203 June 198922 March 1990 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Glenn McCrory IBF
McCrory defeated Patrick Lumumba to win the vacant title.
2127 November 19898 March 1991 Flag of the United States.svg Robert Daniels WBA
Daniels defeated Dwight Muhammad Qawi to win the vacant title.
223 December 198917 May 1990 Flag of the United States.svg Boone Pultz WBO
Pultz defeated Magne Havnå to win the inaugural WBO cruiserweight title.
2322 March 199027 July 1991 1 Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Lampkin IBF
2417 May 19901 May 1992 Flag of Norway.svg Magne Havnå 2 WBO
2527 July 199020 July 1991 Flag of Italy.svg Massimiliano Duran WBC
268 March 19915 August 1993 2 Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Czyz WBA
2720 July 19917 July 1995 2 Flag of France.svg Anaclet Wamba WBC
287 September 199130 July 1992 Flag of the United States.svg James Warring IBF
Warring defeated James Pritchard to win the vacant title.
2925 July 199213 February 1993 Flag of the United States.svg Tyrone Booze WBO
Booze defeated Derek Angol to win the vacant title.
3030 July 199230 April 1996 2 Flag of the United States.svg Alfred Cole IBF
3113 February 199326 June 1993 Flag of Germany.svg Markus Bott WBO
3226 June 199317 December 1994 Flag of Argentina.svg Nestor Hipolito Giovannini WBO
336 November 199322 July 1995 Flag of the United States.svg Orlin Norris WBA
Norris defeated Marcelo Victor Figueroa to win the vacant title.
3417 December 19941 January 1995 2 Flag of Germany.svg Dariusz Michalczewski WBO
3510 June 19954 October 1997 Flag of Germany.svg Ralf Rocchigiani WBO
Rocchigiani defeated Carl Thompson to win the vacant title.
3622 July 19958 November 1997 Flag of the United States.svg Nate Miller WBA
3725 July 199521 February 1998 Flag of Argentina.svg Marcelo Dominguez WBC
Dominguez defeated Akim Tafer to win the vacant title.
3831 August 199621 June 1997 Flag of the United States.svg Adolpho Washington IBF
Washington defeated Torsten May to win the vacant title.
3921 June 19978 November 1997 Flag of Jamaica.svg Uriah Grant IBF
404 October 199727 March 1999 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Carl Thompson WBO
418 November 199730 October 1998 Flag of the United States.svg Imamu Mayfield IBF
428 November 19979 December 2000 Flag of France.svg Fabrice Tiozzo WBA
4321 February 199819 February 2002 2 Flag of Cuba.svg Juan Carlos Gómez WBC
4430 October 19985 June 1999 Flag of the United States.svg Arthur Williams IBF
4527 March 199922 September 2006 2 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Johnny Nelson WBO
465 June 199926 April 2003 Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Vassiliy Jirov IBF
479 December 200023 February 2002 Flag of the United States.svg Virgil Hill WBA
4823 February 20022 April 2005 Flag of France.svg Jean-Marc Mormeck WBA
4911 October 20022 April 2005 Flag of Guyana.svg Wayne Braithwaite WBC
Braithwaite defeated Vincenzo Cantatore to win the vacant title.
502 April 20057 January 2006 Flag of France.svg Jean-Marc MormeckWBA & WBC
Upon unifying the WBA and WBC titles against Wayne Braithwaite, the WBA upgraded Mormeck to the title of "super champion" and the "regular" title was declared vacant.
5126 April 20039 December 2003 2 Flag of the United States.svg James Toney IBF
521 May 200420 May 2005 2 Flag of the United States.svg Kelvin Davis IBF
Davis defeated Ezra Sellers to win the vacant title.
5320 May 20057 January 2006 Flag of Jamaica.svg O'Neil Bell IBF
Bell defeated Dale Brown to win the vacant title.
547 January 200631 March 2006 1 Flag of Jamaica.svg O'Neil BellWBA (super Champion), WBC, & IBF
O'Neil Bell defeated Jean-Marc Mormeck on 7 January 2006, by knockout in round 10, unifying his IBF belt with Mormeck's WBA and WBC belts. That distinction lasted just under three months, as the IBF withdrew its recognition of Bell when Bell failed to reach an agreement to fight the organization's mandatory challenger.
5527 January 200624 November 2007 Flag of the United States.svg Virgil HillWBA (regular champion)
Hill defeated Valery Brudov to win the vacant WBA "regular" title.
5631 March 200617 March 2007 Flag of Jamaica.svg O'Neil BellWBA (super champion) & WBC
5722 September 20068 March 2008 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Enzo Maccarinelli WBO
Maccarinelli won the interim title by defeating Marcelo Dominguez on 8 July 2006. Upon champion Johnny Nelson's retirement, Maccarinelli was upgraded to full champion status.
5826 November 200626 May 2007 Flag of Poland.svg Krzysztof Włodarczyk IBF
Wlodarczyk defeated Steve Cunningham to win the vacant title.
5917 March 200710 November 2007 Flag of France.svg Jean-Marc MormeckWBA (super champion), WBC
6026 May 200711 December 2008 Flag of the United States.svg Steve Cunningham IBF
6110 November 20078 March 2008 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David Haye WBA (super champion), WBC
6224 November 200728 September 2008 Flag of Germany.svg Firat Arslan WBA (regular champion)
638 March 200812 May 2008 2 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David HayeWBA (super champion), WBC, WBO
David Haye defeated Enzo Maccarinelli on 8 March 2008 and unified his WBA and WBC titles with Maccarinelli's WBO title. On 12 May, he relinquished his WBC belt and would eventually relinquish the WBA and WBO belts in order to move up in weight.
6428 September 200830 October 2012 1 Flag of Panama.svg Guillermo Jones WBA
On 30 October 2012, Guillermo Jones was stripped of the WBA title and named "Champion in Recess" due to his failure to meet mandatory challenger and interim champion Denis Lebedev in a timely manner thus elevating Lebedev to full champion status. The two would eventually meet on 17 May 2013 with Jones knocking Lebedev out in the 11th round of a brutal fight. However, in the post-fight drug screen Jones tested positive for a banned substance and although the fight still stands as a win for Jones, Lebedev was subsequently reinstated as champion. The WBA ordered a rematch that was scheduled to take place on 25 April 2014 however, Jones once again tested positive for a banned substance in the pre-fight drug screen and the rematch was canceled.
6528 October 200822 November 2009 Flag of Italy.svg Giacobbe Fragomeni WBC
Fragomeni defeated Rudolf Kraj to win the vacant title.
6611 December 200818 October 2009 2 Flag of Poland.svg Tomasz Adamek IBF
6717 January 200929 August 2009 Flag of Argentina.svg Victor Emilio Ramírez WBO
Ramirez defeated Aleksandr Alekseyev to win the interim title. Once champion David Haye made it clear he would no longer compete in the cruiserweight division, Ramirez was upgraded to full champion status.
6829 August 200914 August 2015 Flag of Germany.svg Marco Huck WBO
6922 November 200922 January 2010 2 Flag of Hungary.svg Zsolt Erdei WBC
7015 May 201027 September 2014 Flag of Poland.svg Krzysztof WłodarczykWBC
Wlodarczyk defeated Giacobbe Fragomeni to win the vacant title.
715 June 20101 October 2011 Flag of the United States.svg Steve CunninghamIBF
Cunninghum defeated Troy Ross to win the vacant title.
721 October 201121 September 2015 1 Flag of Cuba.svg Yoan Pablo Hernández IBF
7330 October 20121 February 2018 Flag of Russia.svg Denis Lebedev WBA
7429 May 2016Vacated Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tony Bellew WBC
7527 September 201417 September 2016 Flag of Poland.svg Krzysztof Głowacki WBO
7621 September 201521 May 2016 Flag of Argentina.svg Victor Emilio Ramirez IBF
7721 May 20163 December 2016 Flag of Russia.svg Denis Lebedev WBA, IBF
7817 September 20165 June 2019 Flag of Ukraine.svg Oleksandr Usyk WBO
793 December 201621 July 2018 Flag of Russia.svg Murat Gassiev IBF
801 April 201727 January 2018 Flag of Latvia.svg Mairis Briedis WBC
8127 January 201827 March 2019 Flag of Ukraine.svg Oleksandr Usyk WBO, WBC
823 February 201821 July 2018 Flag of Russia.svg Murat Gassiev WBA, IBF
8321 July 201827 March 2019 Flag of Ukraine.svg Oleksandr Usyk WBO, WBC, WBA, IBF, The Ring
8431 May 201930 March 2024 Flag of France.svg Arsen Goulamirian WBA
8531 January 202026 February 2023 Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Ilunga Makabu WBC
8626 September 20202 July 2022 Flag of Latvia.svg Mairis Briedis IBF, The Ring
8720 March 202127 May 2023 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lawrence Okolie WBO
882 July 2022Present Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jai Opetaia IBF, The Ring
IBF title vacated by Opetaia on 17 December 2023, after dispute with IBF. On 18 May 2024, Opetaia won IBF title again, defeating Mairis Briedis.
8926 February 202317 September 2023 Flag of Sweden.svg Badou Jack WBC
9027 May 202316 November 2024 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Chris Billam-Smith WBO
914 November 202311 December 2024 Flag of Armenia.svg Flag of Germany.svg Noel Mikaelian WBC
Mikaelian defeated Ilunga Makabu to win the vacant title.
9230 March 2024Present Flag of Mexico.svg Gilberto Ramirez WBA
9316 November 2024Present Flag of Mexico.svg Gilberto Ramirez WBO
9411 December 2024Present Flag of Sweden.svg Badou Jack WBC
Jack reinstated by WBC.

Footnotes

1 Championship recognition withdrawn due to champion's failure/refusal to defend title against mandatory or designated challenger.
2 Relinquished title.

Cruiserweight champions who won belts in other divisions

See also

References

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