List of world heavyweight boxing champions

At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, though others weighed considerably more. John L. Sullivan was the first widely recognized champion under Marquess of Queensberry rules. Known as the "Boston Strong Boy," Sullivan weighed around 200 pounds when in shape, and helped transition the sport from its bare-knuckle era. Sullivan would be defeated for the title by "Gentleman" Jim Corbett over 21 rounds on September 7, 1892, the first heavyweight titleholder solely under Queensberry rules.

In 1920 a de facto minimum weight for a heavyweight was set at 175 pounds (12 st 7 lb, 79 kg) with the standardization of a weight limit for the light heavyweight division. The addition of the cruiserweight division, which began in 1979, reset the de facto minimum, first to 190 pounds and then to 200 pounds in 2004 when boxing's major sanctioning bodies universally raised the weight limit at which they'd recognize champions. An effort is currently underway to establish an additional division at approximately 225 pounds, with the International Boxing Organization and World Boxing Council each announcing they would recognize champions in this new "super cruiserweight" class.

The championship of the heavyweight division has been fractured or disputed at various times in its history. Until the 1960s, such disputes were settled in the ring, typically with alternate title claimants largely being forgotten. The rise of sanctioning organizations, however, has produced an environment where typically there is no single "Heavyweight Champion of the World," with titleholders recognized by one of these organizations (a "World Champion") or more (a "Super Champion," a "Unified Champion," or, in the rare cases where the four most prominent organizations recognize the same boxer, an "Undisputed Champion").

Some title reigns are considered dubious owing to long periods of inactivity, the legitimacy of the organization granting championship recognition, and other factors. In 1967, for example, Muhammad Ali was denied a boxing license in every U.S. jurisdiction and stripped of his passport because of his refusal to be inducted into the armed forces. On April 29, 1967, his recognition as champion by both the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council was withdrawn. Yet Ali remained the lineal champion and was recognized by The Ring magazine and most boxing purists until defeated in 1970. In pursuit of greater revenues, some organizations have now adopted a practice of simultaneously recognizing multiple champions in a weight division, creating a situation in which a champion may be unable not only to secure recognition from multiple sanctioning bodies but to secure sole recognition from a single one.

Championship recognition[]

All Heavyweight champions

Public Acclamation: 1884 to 1921[]

Champions were recognized by wide public acclamation. A heavyweight champion was a boxer who had a notable win over another notable boxer and then went without defeat. Retirements from the ring periodically led to a "true" champion going unrecognized, or for several to be recognized by the public for periods of time. Typically, public interest in having a single, "true" champion resulted in claimants to the heavyweight title being matched with one another; the winner of that bout was subsequently deemed the champion, with the claim (and title lineage) of the defeated boxer largely forgotten.

Sanctioning Bodies: 1921 to present[]

The National Boxing Association (NBA), was formed in 1921 as the first organization aimed at regulating boxing on a national (and later global) level. The prominence of New York City as the epicenter of boxing would lead to a governmental entity, the powerful New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), to join the NBA in sanctioning bouts as "world championships." A third entity, with lesser public recognition, the European Boxing Union (EBU), would follow suit, with this triumvirate typically (but not always) recognizing the same boxers as world champions.

At its 1962 convention the NBA's non-U.S. members exploited a membership rule and took control of the organization, rebranding it the World Boxing Association. The (WBA), was joined a year later by a combination of state and national boxing commissions (including the NYSAC and IBU) to form a separate sanctioning body, the World Boxing Council (WBC). Each organization would later have a spin-off competing sanctioning body emerge: the International Boxing Federation (IBF), which was formed by members of the United States Boxing Association in 1983; and the World Boxing Organization (WBO), which was formed in 1989. A fifth significant (but not as publicly accepted) body came in the form of the International Boxing Organization (IBO), in 1991, and today there are over a dozen sanctioning organizations, of varying degrees of public acceptance, sanctioning bouts as for a world championship and proclaiming their heavyweight winners "Heavyweight Champion of the World."

The Ring: 1922 to present[]

From its outset until the 1990s, and again since 2002, The Ring has recognized heavyweight champions. Under its original policy a champion won the title either by defeating a recognized champion or winning a bout between the magazine's top-rated contenders. Once recognized as champion, championship recognition could be lost only by death, retirement, or loss. In 2012 these policies were revised so that a champion could be more readily recognized, and expanding the means by which championship recognition could be withdrawn (specifically, by not scheduling a fight with a top five rated contender for two years, or any bout at all for 18 months).^[1]

Current status of prominent championship titles[]

• 

  WBA world championship

• 

  WBC world championship

• 

  IBF world championship

• 

  WBO world championship

• 

  The Ring world championship

World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association presently recognizes up to four distinct 'types' of champion in its weight divisions: a 'Super' Champion (one who holds the WBA title along with that of at least one other widely recognized sanctioning body), a 'Regular' Champion (one who holds the WBA title alone), a 'Champion in Recess' (a champion who retains some form of championship recognition, but for reasons beyond their own control are presently inactive), and a 'Gold' Champion (a designation which the organization's governing documents don't explain). The organization also recognized a fifth type of champion, an 'Interim' championship who, ostensibly, held the title during a period of illness or injury to a 'Super' or 'Regular' titleholder. The organization vacated interim titles at every weight division on August 25, 2021. The current status of these titles is as follows:

World Boxing Council

The World Boxing Council presently recognizes up to five distinct 'types' of champion in its weight divisions: a 'Franchise' Champion (one who holds the WBC title along with that of at least one other widely recognized sanctioning body; a distinction it has thus far only awarded once), a 'World' Champion (ostensibly one who holds the WBC title alone, but to date no unified champions in the heavyweight division have been attributed the 'Franchise' Champion status), an 'Interim' Champion (one who, ostensibly, holds the title during a period of illness or injury to the 'World' Champion), a 'Champion in Recess (a champion who retains some form of championship recognition, but who are presently inactive), and a 'Silver' Champion (a designation which has no clear distinction, but which nevertheless is recognized as a world championship-level title). The current status of these titles is as follows:

International Boxing Federation The International Boxing Federation recognizes but a single champion in the heavyweight division.

• Oleksander Usyk is recognized as the organization's world champion. He earned this distinction by defeating Anthony Joshua on September 25, 2021. No defense of this title is yet scheduled.

World Boxing Organization

The World Boxing Organization recognizes up to three distinct 'types' of champion in its weight divisions: a 'Super' Champion (one who holds the WBO title along with that of at least one other widely recognized sanctioning body), a 'World' Champion (though unlike the WBA, if a WBO 'Super' Champion exists a separate 'World' Champion is not simultaneously recognized), and an 'Interim' Champion (one who holds the title during a period of illness or injury to the 'Super' or 'World' Champion). At present, however, there is a single titleholder:

• Oleksander Usyk is recognized as the organization's world champion. He earned this distinction by defeating Anthony Joshua on September 25, 2021. No defense of this title is yet scheduled.

The Ring

• Tyson Fury is recognized by the magazine as its world champion. He earned this distinction by defeating Deontay Wilder on February 22, 2020, and retained it after his victory against Deontay Wilder in a rematch on October 9, 2021, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

List of champions[]

No.	Champion	Nationality	Recognition	Begin reign	End reign	Day(s)	Title defense(s)	Additional recognition	Note(s)	Source(s)
1	John L. Sullivan def. Dominick McCaffrey	United States	World	August 29, 1885	September 7, 1892	2,566	–		25,4	[2]
2	James J. Corbett	United States	World	September 7, 1892	March 17, 1897	1,652	def. Charley Mitchell on January 25, 1894		5	[3]
3	Bob Fitzsimmons	United Kingdom	World	March 17, 1897	June 9, 1899	814	–			[4]
4	James J. Jeffries	United States	World	June 9, 1899	May 13, 1905	2,164	def. Tom Sharkey on March 11, 1899 def. John Finnegan on April 6, 1900 def. James J. Corbett on May 11, 1900 def. Gus Ruhlin on November 15, 1901 def. Bob Fitzsimmons on July 25, 1902 def. James J. Corbett on August 14, 1903 def. Jack Munroe on August 26, 1904		2,6	[5]
5	Marvin Hart def. Jack Root	United States	World	July 3, 1905	February 23, 1906	235	–		1	[6]
6	Tommy Burns	Canada	World	February 23, 1906	December 26, 1908	1,037	def. James J. Walker on March 28, 1906 def. Jim O'Brien on March 28, 1906 def. Fireman Jim Flynn on October 2, 1906 draw vs. Philadelphia Jack O'Brien on November 28, 1906 def. Philadelphia Jack O'Brien on May 8, 1907 def. Bill Squires on July 4, 1907 def. Gunner Moir on December 2, 1907 def. Jack Palmer on February 10, 1908 def. Jem Roche on March 17, 1908 def. Jewey Smith on April 18, 1908 def. Bill Squires on June 13, 1908 def. Bill Squires on August 24, 1908 def. Bill Lang on September 3, 1908			[7]
7	Jack Johnson	United States	World	December 26, 1908	April 5, 1915	2,291	def. Al Kaufman on September 9, 1909 def. Stanley Ketchel on October 16, 1909 def. James J. Jeffries on July 4, 1910 def. Fireman Jim Flynn on July 4, 1912 draw vs. Battling Jim Johnson on December 19, 1913 def. Frank Moran on June 27, 1914		7	[8]
8	Jess Willard	United States	World	April 5, 1915	July 4, 1919	1,551	def. Frank Moran on March 25, 1916			[9]
9	Jack Dempsey	United States	World	July 4, 1919	July 2, 1921	729	def. Billy Miske on September 6, 1920 def. Bill Brennan on December 14, 1920 def. Georges Carpentier on July 2, 1921	The Ring awarded the title in 1922		[10]
			NBA	July 2, 1921	July 24, 1922	387	–			[10]
			NBA, and NYSAC	July 24, 1922	September 23, 1926	1,522	def. Tommy Gibbons on July 4, 1923 def. Luis Angel Firpo on September 14, 1923			[10]
10	Gene Tunney	United States	NBA, and NYSAC	September 23, 1926	July 31, 1928	667	def. Jack Dempsey on September 22, 1927 def. Tom Heeney on July 26, 1928	The Ring	2	[11]
11	Max Schmeling def. Jack Sharkey	Germany	NBA, and NYSAC	June 12, 1930	January 7, 1931	209	–	The Ring	1,8	[12]
			NBA, and IBU	January 7, 1931	June 21, 1932	531	def. Young Stribling on July 3, 1931		1,10	[12]
12	Jack Sharkey	United States	NBA, NYSAC, and IBU	June 21, 1932	June 29, 1933	379	–	The Ring		[13]
13	Primo Carnera	Italy	NBA, NYSAC, and IBU	June 29, 1933	June 14, 1934	350	def. Paulino Uzcudun on October 22, 1933 def. Tommy Loughran on March 1, 1934	The Ring	1,10	[14]
14	Max Baer	United States	NBA, NYSAC, and IBU	June 14, 1934	June 13, 1935	364	–	The Ring	9	[15]
15	James J. Braddock	United States	NBA, NYSAC, and IBU	June 13, 1935	June 22, 1937	740	–	The Ring		[16]
16	Joe Louis	United States	NBA, NYSAC, and IBU	June 22, 1937	March 1, 1949	4,270	def. Tommy Farr on August 30, 1937 def. Nathan Mann on February 23, 1938 def. Harry Thomas on April 4, 1938 def. Max Schmeling on June 22, 1938 def. John Henry Lewis on January 25, 1939 def. Jack Roper on April 17, 1939 def. Tony Galento on June 28, 1939 def. Bob Pastor on September 20, 1939 def. Arturo Godoy on February 9, 1940 def. Johnny Paychek on March 29, 1940 def. Arturo Godoy on June 20, 1940 def. Al McCoy on December 16, 1940 def. Red Burman on January 31, 1941 def. Gus Dorazio on February 17, 1941 def. Abe Simon on March 21, 1941 def. Tony Musto on April 8, 1941 def. Buddy Baer on May 23, 1941 def. Billy Conn on June 18, 1941 def. Lou Nova on September 29, 1941 def. Buddy Baer on January 9, 1942 def. Abe Simon on March 27, 1942 def. Johnny Davis on November 14, 1944 def. Billy Conn on June 19, 1946 def. Tami Mauriello on September 18, 1946 def. Jersey Joe Walcott on December 5, 1947 def. Jersey Joe Walcott on June 25, 1948	The Ring	2	[17][18]
17	Ezzard Charles def. Jersey Joe Walcott	United States	NBA	June 22, 1949	September 27, 1950	462	def. Gus Lesnevich on August 10, 1949 def. Pat Valentino on October 14, 1949 def. Freddie Beshore on August 15, 1950 def. Joe Louis on September 27, 1950	The Ring	1,10	[19]
			NBA, and NYSAC	September 27, 1950	June 16, 1951	261	def. Nick Barone on December 5, 1950 def. Lee Oma on January 12, 1951 def. Jersey Joe Walcott on March 7, 1951 def. Joey Maxim on May 30, 1951		1,10	[19]
			NBA, NYSAC, and IBU	June 16, 1951	July 18, 1951	33	–			[19]
18	Jersey Joe Walcott	United States	NBA, and NYSAC	July 18, 1951	September 23, 1952	433	def. Ezzard Charles on June 5, 1952	The Ring		[20]
19	Rocky Marciano	United States	NBA, and NYSAC	September 23, 1952	April 27, 1956	1,312	def. Jersey Joe Walcott on March 15, 1953 def. Roland LaStarza on September 24, 1953 def. Ezzard Charles on June 17, 1954 def. Ezzard Charles on September 17, 1954 def. Don Cockell on May 16, 1955 def. Archie Moore on September 21, 1955	The Ring	2	[21]
20	Floyd Patterson def. Archie Moore	United States	NBA, and NYSAC	November 30, 1956	June 26, 1959	938	def. Tommy Jackson on July 29, 1957 def. Pete Rademacher on August 22, 1957 def. Roy Harris on August 18, 1958 def. Brian London on May 1, 1959	The Ring	1,11	[22]
21	Ingemar Johansson	Sweden	NBA, and NYSAC	June 26, 1959	June 20, 1960	360	–	The Ring		[23]
22	Floyd Patterson (Second reign)	United States	NBA, and NYSAC	June 20, 1960	September 25, 1962	827	def. Ingemar Johansson on March 13, 1961 def. Tom McNeeley on December 4, 1961	The Ring		[22]
23	Sonny Liston	United States	NYSAC, and WBA	September 25, 1962	July 22, 1963	270	def. Floyd Patterson on July 22, 1963	The Ring		[24]
			NYSAC, WBA, and WBC	July 22, 1963	February 25, 1964	248	–			[24]
24	Muhammad Ali	United States	NYSAC, WBA, and WBC	February 25, 1964	June 19, 1964	115	–	The Ring	12	[25]
			NYSAC, and WBC	June 19, 1964	February 6, 1967	962	def. Sonny Liston on May 25, 1965 def. Floyd Patterson on November 22, 1965 def. George Chuvalo on March 29, 1966 def. Henry Cooper on May 21, 1966 def. Brian London on August 6, 1966 def. Karl Mildenberger on September 10, 1966 def. Cleveland Williams on November 14, 1966 def. Ernie Terrell on February 6, 1967			[25]
			NYSAC, WBA, and WBC	February 6, 1967	April 29, 1967	82	def. Zora Folley on March 22, 1967		13	[25]
25	Ernie Terrell def. Eddie Machen	United States	WBA	March 5, 1965	February 6, 1967	703	def. George Chuvalo on November 1, 1965 def. Doug Jones on June 28, 1966	–	1	[26]
26	Joe Frazier def. Buster Mathis	United States	NYSAC	March 4, 1968	February 16, 1970	714	def. Manuel Ramos on June 24, 1968 def. Oscar Bonavena on December 10, 1968 def. Dave Zyglewicz on April 22, 1969 def. Jerry Quarry on June 23, 1969 def. Jimmy Ellis on February 16, 1970	The Ring def. Muhammad Ali on March 8, 1971	1	[27]
			WBA, and WBC	February 16, 1970	January 22, 1973	1,071	def. Bob Foster on November 18, 1970 def. Muhammad Ali on March 8, 1971 def. Terry Daniels on January 15, 1972 def. Ron Stander on May 25, 1972		15	[27]
27	Jimmy Ellis def. Jerry Quarry	United States	WBA	April 27, 1968	February 16, 1970	660	def. Floyd Patterson on September 14, 1968	–	1,14	[28]
28	George Foreman	United States	WBA, and WBC	January 22, 1973	October 30, 1974	646	def. José Roman on September 1, 1973 def. Ken Norton on March 26, 1974	The Ring	1,10	[29]
29	Muhammad Ali (Second reign)	United States	WBA, and WBC	October 30, 1974	February 15, 1978	1,204	def. Chuck Wepner on March 24, 1975 def. Ron Lyle on May 16, 1975 def. Joe Bugner on June 30, 1975 def. Joe Frazier on October 1, 1975 def. Jean-Pierre Coopman on February 20, 1976 def. Jimmy Young on April 30, 1976 def. Richard Dunn on May 24, 1976 def. Ken Norton on September 28, 1976 def. Alfredo Evangelista on May 16, 1977 def. Earnie Shavers on September 29, 1977	The Ring		[25]
30	Leon Spinks	United States	WBA, and WBC	February 15, 1978	March 18, 1978	31	–	The Ring	3	[30]
			WBA	March 18, 1978	September 15, 1978	181	–			[30]
31	Ken Norton awarded the title	United States	WBC	March 18, 1978	June 9, 1978	83	–	–	16	[31]
32	Larry Holmes	United States	WBC	June 9, 1978	December 11, 1983	2,011	def. Alfredo Evangelista on November 10, 1978 def. Ossie Ocasio on March 23, 1979 def. Mike Weaver on June 22, 1979 def. Earnie Shavers on September 28, 1979 def. Lorenzo Zanon on February 3, 1980 def. Leroy Jones on March 31, 1980 def. Scott LeDoux on July 7, 1980 def. Muhammad Ali on October 2, 1980 def. Trevor Berbick on April 11, 1981 def. Leon Spinks on June 12, 1981 def. Renaldo Snipes on November 6, 1981 def. Gerry Cooney on June 11, 1982 def. Randall "Tex" Cobb on November 26, 1982 def. Lucien Rodriguez on March 27, 1983 def. Tim Witherspoon on May 20, 1983 def. Scott Frank on September 10, 1983	The Ring def. Muhammad Ali on October 2, 1980	2	[32]
			IBF	December 11, 1983	September 21, 1985	650	def. James Smith on November 9, 1984 def. David Bey on March 15, 1985 def. Carl Williams on May 20, 1985		17	[32]
33	Muhammad Ali (Third reign)	United States	WBA	September 15, 1978	October 18, 1979	398	–	The Ring	2	[25]
34	John Tate def. Gerrie Coetzee	United States	WBA	October 20, 1979	March 31, 1980	153	–	–	1	[33]
35	Mike Weaver	United States	WBA	March 31, 1980	December 10, 1982	994	def. Gerrie Coetzee on October 25, 1980 def. James Tillis on October 3, 1981	–		[34]
36	Michael Dokes	United States	WBA	December 10, 1982	September 23, 1983	287	draw vs. Mike Weaver on May 20, 1983	–		[35]
37	Gerrie Coetzee	South Africa	WBA	September 23, 1983	December 1, 1984	435	–	–		[36]
38	Tim Witherspoon def. Greg Page	United States	WBC	March 9, 1984	August 31, 1984	175	–	–	1	[37]
39	Pinklon Thomas	United States	WBC	August 31, 1984	March 22, 1986	568	def. Mike Weaver on June 15, 1985	–		[38]
40	Greg Page	United States	WBA	December 1, 1984	April 29, 1985	149	–	–		[39]
41	Tony Tubbs	United States	WBA	April 29, 1985	January 17, 1986	263	–	–		[40]
42	Michael Spinks	United States	IBF	September 21, 1985	February 19, 1987	516	def. Larry Holmes on April 19, 1986 def. Steffen Tangstad on September 6, 1986	The Ring	3	[41]
43	Tim Witherspoon (Second reign)	United States	WBA	January 17, 1986	December 12, 1986	329	def. Frank Bruno on July 19, 1986	–		[37]
44	Trevor Berbick	Jamaica Canada	WBC	March 22, 1986	November 22, 1986	245	–	–		[42]
45	Mike Tyson	United States	WBC	November 22, 1986	March 7, 1987	105	def. James Smith on March 7, 1987	The Ring def. Michael Spinks on June 27, 1988		[43]
			WBA, and WBC	March 7, 1987	August 1, 1987	147	def. Pinklon Thomas on May 30, 1987 def. Tony Tucker on August 1, 1987			[43]
			WBA, WBC, and IBF	August 1, 1987	February 11, 1990	925	def. Tyrell Biggs on October 16, 1987 def. Larry Holmes on January 22, 1988 def. Tony Tubbs on March 21, 1988 def. Michael Spinks on June 27, 1988 def. Frank Bruno on February 25, 1989 def. Carl Williams on July 21, 1989			[43]
46	James "Bonecrusher" Smith	United States	WBA	December 12, 1986	March 7, 1987	85	–	–		[44]
47	Tony Tucker def. Buster Douglas	United States	IBF	May 30, 1987	August 1, 1987	64	–	–	1	[45]
48	Francesco Damiani def. Johnny du Plooy	Italy	WBO	May 6, 1989	January 11, 1991	616	def. Daniel Eduardo Neto on December 16, 1989	–	1	[46]
49	James "Buster" Douglas	United States	WBA, WBC, and IBF	February 11, 1990	October 25, 1990	257	–			[47]
50	Evander Holyfield	United States	WBA, WBC, and IBF	October 25, 1990	November 13, 1992	751	def. George Foreman on April 19, 1991 def. Bert Cooper on November 23, 1991 def. Larry Holmes on June 19, 1992	–		[48]
51	Ray Mercer	United States	WBO	January 11, 1991	December 24, 1991	348	def. Tommy Morrison on October 18, 1991	–	3	[49]
52	Michael Moorer def. Bert Cooper	United States	WBO	May 15, 1992	February 3, 1993	265	–	–	1,2	[50]
53	Riddick Bowe	United States	WBA, WBC, and IBF	November 13, 1992	December 14, 1992	32	–	–	2	[51]
			WBA, and IBF	December 14, 1992	November 6, 1993	328	def. Michael Dokes on February 6, 1993 def. Jesse Ferguson on May 22, 1993	–		[51]
54	Lennox Lewis awarded the title	United Kingdom Canada	WBC	December 14, 1992	September 24, 1994	650	def. Tony Tucker on May 8, 1993 def. Frank Bruno on October 1, 1993 def. Phil Jackson on May 6, 1994	–	18	[52]
55	Tommy Morrison def. George Foreman	United States	WBO	June 7, 1993	October 29, 1993	145	def. Tim Tomashek on August 30, 1993	–	1	[53]
56	Michael Bentt	United Kingdom United States	WBO	October 29, 1993	March 19, 1994	142	–	–		[54]
57	Evander Holyfield (Second reign)	United States	WBA, and IBF	November 6, 1993	April 22, 1994	168	–	–		[48]
58	Herbie Hide	United Kingdom	WBO	March 19, 1994	March 11, 1995	358	–	–		[55]
59	Michael Moorer (Second reign)	United States	WBA, and IBF	April 22, 1994	November 5, 1994	198	–			[50]
60	Oliver McCall	United States	WBC	September 24, 1994	September 2, 1995	344	def. Larry Holmes on April 8, 1995	–		[56]
61	George Foreman (Second reign)	United States	WBA, and IBF	November 5, 1994	March 4, 1995	120	–	–	3	[29]
			IBF	March 4, 1995	June 28, 1995	117	def. Axel Schulz on April 22, 1995		2	[29]
62	Riddick Bowe (Second reign)	United States	WBO	March 11, 1995	May 1, 1996	418	def. Jorge Luis Gonzalez on June 17, 1995	–	3	[51]
63	Bruce Seldon def. Tony Tucker	United States	WBA	April 8, 1995	September 7, 1996	519	def. Joe Hipp on August 19, 1995	–	1	[57]
64	Frank Bruno	United Kingdom	WBC	September 2, 1995	March 16, 1996	197	–	–		[58]
65	Mike Tyson (Second reign)	United States	WBC	March 16, 1996	September 7, 1996	176	–	–		[43]
			WBA, and WBC	September 7, 1996	September 24, 1996	18	–	–	2	[43]
			WBA	September 24, 1996	November 9, 1996	47	–	–		[43]
66	Michael Moorer (Third reign) def. Axel Schulz	United States	IBF	June 22, 1996	November 8, 1997	505	def. Francois Botha on November 9, 1996 def. Vaughn Bean on March 29, 1997	–	1,19	[50]
67	Henry Akinwande def. Jeremy Williams	United Kingdom	WBO	June 29, 1996	February 17, 1997	234	def. Alexander Zolkin on November 9, 1996 def. Scott Welch on January 11, 1997	–	1,2	[59]
68	Evander Holyfield (Third reign)	United States	WBA	November 9, 1996	November 8, 1997	365	def. Mike Tyson on June 28, 1997 def. Michael Moorer on November 8, 1997	–		[48]
			WBA, and IBF	November 8, 1997	November 13, 1999	736	def. Vaughn Bean on September 19, 1998 draw vs. Lennox Lewis on March 13, 1999	–		[48]
69	Lennox Lewis (Second reign) def. Oliver McCall	United Kingdom Canada	WBC	February 7, 1997	November 13, 1999	1010	def. Henry Akinwande on July 12, 1997 def. Andrzej Golota on October 4, 1997 def. Shannon Briggs on March 28, 1998 def. Željko Mavrović on September 26, 1998 draw vs. Evander Holyfield on March 13, 1999 def. Evander Holyfield on November 13, 1999	–	1	[52]
			WBA, WBC, and IBF	November 13, 1999	April 29, 2000	899	–	–	3	[52]
			WBC, and IBF	April 29, 2000	April 22, 2001	373	def. Michael Grant on April 29, 2000 def. Francois Botha on July 15, 2000 def. David Tua on November 11, 2000	–		[52]
70	Herbie Hide (Second reign) def. Tony Tucker	United Kingdom	WBO	June 28, 1997	June 26, 1999	729	def. Damon Reed on April 18, 1998 def. Wilhelm Fischer on September 26, 1998	–	1	[55]
71	Vitali Klitschko	Ukraine	WBO	June 26, 1999	April 1, 2000	281	def. Ed Mahone on October 9, 1999 def. Obed Sullivan on December 11, 1999	–		[60]
72	Chris Byrd	United States	WBO	April 1, 2000	October 14, 2000	197	–	–		[61]
73	Evander Holyfield (Fourth reign) def. John Ruiz	United States	WBA	August 12, 2000	March 3, 2001	204	–	–	1	[48]
74	Wladimir Klitschko	Ukraine	WBO	October 14, 2000	March 8, 2003	876	def. Derrick Jefferson on March 24, 2001 def. Charles Shufford on August 4, 2001 def. Francois Botha on March 16, 2002 def. Ray Mercer on June 29, 2002 def. Jameel McCline on December 7, 2002	–		[62]
75	John Ruiz	United States	WBA	March 3, 2001	March 1, 2003	729	draw vs. Evander Holyfield on December 15, 2001 def. Kirk Johnson on July 27, 2002	–		[63]
76	Hasim Rahman	United States	WBC, and IBF	April 22, 2001	November 17, 2001	210	–	–		[64]
77	Lennox Lewis (Third reign)	United Kingdom Canada	WBC, and IBF	November 17, 2001	September 5, 2002	293	def. Mike Tyson on June 8, 2002	The Ring awarded the title in 2002	2	[52]
			WBC	September 5, 2002	February 6, 2004	885	def. Vitali Klitschko on June 21, 2003		2	[52]
78	Chris Byrd (Second reign) def. Evander Holyfield	United States	IBF	December 14, 2002	April 22, 2006	1,591	def. Fres Oquendo on September 20, 2003 draw vs. Andrzej Golota on April 17, 2004 def. Jameel McCline on November 13, 2004 def. DaVarryl Williamson on October 1, 2005	–	1	[61]
79	Roy Jones Jr.	United States	WBA	March 1, 2003	February 20, 2004	357	–	–	2	[65]
80	Corrie Sanders	South Africa	WBO	March 8, 2003	October 9, 2003	216	–	–	2	[66]
81	John Ruiz (Second reign) def. Hasim Rahman for interim title	United States	WBA	February 20, 2004	December 17, 2005	667	def. Fres Oquendo on April 17, 2004 def. Andrzej Golota on November 13, 2004	–	20	[63]
82	Lamon Brewster def. Wladimir Klitschko	United States	WBO	April 10, 2004	April 1, 2006	722	def. Kali Meehan on September 4, 2004 def. Andrzej Golota on May 21, 2005 def. Luan Krasniqi on September 28, 2005	–	1	[67]
83	Vitali Klitschko (Second reign) def. Corrie Sanders	Ukraine	WBC	April 24, 2004	November 9, 2005	565	def. Danny Williams on December 11, 2004	The Ring	1,2	[60]
84	Hasim Rahman (Second reign) def. Monte Barrett for interim title	United States	WBC	November 9, 2005	August 12, 2006	277	draw vs. James Toney on March 18, 2006	–	21	[64]
85	Nikolai Valuev	Russia	WBA	December 17, 2005	April 14, 2007	484	def. Owen Beck on June 3, 2006 def. Monte Barrett on October 7, 2006 def. Jameel McCline on January 20, 2007	–	1,10	[68]
86	Siarhei Liakhovich	Belarus	WBO	April 1, 2006	November 4, 2006	218	–	–		[69]
87	Wladimir Klitschko (Second reign)	Ukraine	IBF	April 22, 2006	February 23, 2008	673	def. Calvin Brock on November 11, 2006 def. Ray Austin on March 10, 2007 def. Lamon Brewster on July 7, 2007 def. Sultan Ibragimov on February 23, 2008	The Ring def. Ruslan Chagaev on June 20, 2009		[62]
			IBF, and WBO	February 23, 2008	July 2, 2011	1,226	def. Tony Thompson on July 12, 2008 def. Hasim Rahman on December 13, 2008 def. Ruslan Chagaev on June 20, 2009 def. Eddie Chambers on March 20, 2010 def. Samuel Peter on September 11, 2010 def. David Haye on July 2, 2011			[62]
			WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO	July 2, 2011	November 28, 2015	1,611	def. Jean-Marc Mormeck on March 13, 2012 def. Tony Thompson on July 7, 2012 def. Mariusz Wach on November 10, 2012 def. Francesco Pianeta on May 4, 2013 def. Alexander Povetkin on October 5, 2013 def. Alex Leapai on April 26, 2014 def. Kubrat Pulev on November 15, 2014 def. Bryant Jennings on April 25, 2015			[62]
88	Oleg Maskaev	United States	WBC	August 12, 2006	December 9, 2006	120	–	–		[70][71]
		Russia		December 9, 2006	March 8, 2008	456	def. Okello Peter on December 10, 2006	–
89	Shannon Briggs	United States	WBO	November 4, 2006	June 2, 2007	211	–	–		[72]
90	Ruslan Chagaev	Uzbekistan	WBA	April 14, 2007	June 20, 2009	799	def. Matt Skelton on January 19, 2008 def. Carl Davis Drumond on February 7, 2009	–	22	[73]
91	Sultan Ibragimov	Russia	WBO	June 2, 2007	February 23, 2008	267	def. Evander Holyfield on October 13, 2007	–		[74]
92	Samuel Peter	Nigeria	WBC	March 8, 2008	October 11, 2008	218	–	–		[75]
93	Nikolai Valuev (Second reign) def. John Ruiz	Russia	WBA	August 30, 2008	November 7, 2009	435	def. Evander Holyfield on December 20, 2008	–	1,22	[68]
94	Vitali Klitschko (Third reign)	Ukraine	WBC	October 11, 2008	December 15, 2013	1,892	def. Juan Carlos Gomez on March 21, 2009 def. Chris Arreola on September 26, 2009 def. Kevin Johnson on December 12, 2009 def. Albert Sosnowski on May 29, 2010 def. Shannon Briggs on October 16, 2010 def. Odlanier Solís on March 19, 2011 def. Tomasz Adamek on September 10, 2011 def. Derek Chisora on February 18, 2012 def. Manuel Charr on September 8, 2012	–	2	[60]
95	David Haye	United Kingdom	WBA	November 7, 2009	July 2, 2011	603	def. John Ruiz on April 3, 2010 def. Audley Harrison on November 13, 2010	–		[76]
–	Alexander Povetkin def. Ruslan Chagaev	Russia	WBA (Regular)	August 27, 2011	October 5, 2013	771	def. Cedric Boswell on December 3, 2011 def. Marco Huck on February 25, 2012 def. Hasim Rahman on September 29, 2012 def. Andrzej Wawrzyk on May 17, 2013	–	1,23	[77]
96	Bermane Stiverne def. Chris Arreola	Canada	WBC	May 10, 2014	January 17, 2015	253	–	–	1	[78]
–	Ruslan Chagaev def. Fres Oquendo	Uzbekistan	WBA (Regular)	July 6, 2014	March 5, 2016	609	def. Francesco Pianeta on July 11, 2015	-	1	[73]
97	Deontay Wilder	United States	WBC	January 17, 2015	February 22, 2020	1,863	def. Eric Molina on June 13, 2015 def. Johann Duhaupas on September 26, 2015 def. Artur Szpilka on January 16, 2016 def. Chris Arreola on July 16, 2016 def. Gerald Washington on February 25, 2017 def. Bermane Stiverne on November 4, 2017 def. Luis Ortiz on March 3, 2018 draw vs. Tyson Fury on December 1, 2018 def. Dominic Breazeale on May 18, 2019 def. Luis Ortiz on November 23, 2019	–		[79]
98	Tyson Fury	United Kingdom	WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO	November 28, 2015	December 8, 2015	11	–	The Ring	3	[80]
			WBA (Super), and WBO	December 8, 2015	October 12, 2016	310	–		2	[80]
99	Charles Martin def. Vyacheslav Glazkov	United States	IBF	January 16, 2016	April 9, 2016	85	–	–	1	[81]
–	Lucas Browne	Australia	WBA (Regular)	March 5, 2016	May 12, 2016	69	–	–	24	[82]
100	Anthony Joshua	United Kingdom	IBF	April 9, 2016	April 29, 2017	386	def. Dominic Breazeale on June 25, 2016 def. Eric Molina on December 10, 2016 def. Wladimir Klitschko on April 29, 2017	–		[83]
			WBA (Super), and IBF	April 29, 2017	March 31, 2018	337	def. Carlos Takam on October 28, 2017 def. Joseph Parker on March 31, 2018	–	1	[83]
			WBA (Super), IBF, WBO	March 31, 2018	June 1, 2019	428	def. Alexander Povetkin on September 22, 2018	–		[83]
–	Ruslan Chagaev awarded the title	Uzbekistan	WBA (Regular)	May 12, 2016	July 25, 2016	75	–	–	3	[73]
101	Joseph Parker def. Andy Ruiz Jr.	New Zealand Samoa	WBO	December 10, 2016	March 31, 2018	477	def. Răzvan Cojanu on May 6, 2017 def. Hughie Fury on September 23, 2017	–	1	[84]
–	Manuel Charr def. Alexander Ustinov	Syria	WBA (Regular)	November 25, 2017	January 29, 2021	1,162	–	–	1	[85]
102	Andy Ruiz Jr.	United States Mexico	WBA (Super), IBF, WBO	June 1, 2019	December 7, 2019	190	–	–		[86]
103	Anthony Joshua (Second reign)	United Kingdom	WBA (Super), IBF, WBO	December 7, 2019	September 25, 2021	659	def. Kubrat Pulev on December 12, 2020	–		[83]
104	Tyson Fury (Second reign)	United Kingdom	WBC	February 22, 2020	present		def. Deontay Wilder on October 9, 2021	The Ring		[80]
–	Trevor Bryan def. Bermane Stiverne	United States	WBA (Regular)	January 29, 2021	present		–	–	1	[87]
105	Oleksandr Usyk	Ukraine	WBA (Super), IBF, WBO	September 25, 2021	present		–	–		[88]

Footnotes[]

List of combined reigns[]

As of September 25, 2021.

Keys:

  Active title reign

  Reign has ended

WBO heavyweight title bouts before August 1997 are not included^[89]

Pos.	Name	Combined reign	Days as champion	Number of reigns	Title recognition	Cumulative title wins	Opponents beaten
1.	Wladimir Klitschko	12 years, 0 months, 0 days	4 382	2	IBF, WBA, WBO	25	23
2.	Joe Louis	11 years, 8 months, 8 days	4 270	1	NYSAC, NBA	27	22
3.	Muhammad Ali	9 years, 5 months, 5 days	3 443	3	NYSAC, WBC, WBA	22	21
4.	Lennox Lewis	8 years, 5 months, 13 days	3 086	3	WBC, IBF, WBA	15	15
5.	Vitali Klitschko	7 years, 5 months, 28 days	2 735	3	WBO, WBC	15	15
6.	Larry Holmes	7 years, 3 months, 12 days	2 661	1	WBC, IBF	20	20
7.	Jack Dempsey	7 years, 2 months, 19 days	2 638	1	NYSAC, NBA	6	6
8.	John L. Sullivan	7 years, 0 months, 10 days	2 566	1	Universal	5	5
9.	Jack Johnson	6 years, 3 months, 11 days	2 292	1	Universal	6	6
10.	Evander Holyfield	6 years, 1 month, 1 day	2 223	4	WBA, WBC, IBF	11	10
11.	James J. Jeffries	5 years, 11 months, 4 days	2 156	1	Universal	8	6
12.	Deontay Wilder	5 years, 1 month, 5 days	1 790	1	WBC	10	8
13.	Anthony Joshua	4 years, 11 months, 17 days	1 812	2	WBA, IBF, WBO	9	9
14.	Joe Frazier	4 years, 10 months, 18 days	1 785	1	NYSAC, WBA, WBC	10	10
15.	Floyd Patterson	4 years, 10 months, 0 days	1 765	2	NYSAC, NBA	8	7
16.	James J. Corbett	4 years, 6 months, 10 days	1 652	1	Universal	2	2
17.	Jess Willard	4 years, 2 months, 29 days	1 551	1	Universal	2	2
18.	Chris Byrd	3 years, 10 months, 22 days	1 421	2	IBF, WBO	5	5
19.	Mike Tyson	3 years, 10 months, 16 days	1 415	2	WBA, WBC, IBF	12	11
20.	John Ruiz	3 years, 9 months, 21 days	1 390	2	WBA	4	4

List of individual reigns[]

The list includes The Ring belt. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.

Keys:

  Active Title Reign

  Reign has ended

The WBO heavyweight title bouts before August 1997 are not included

Pos.	Name	Title Reign	Title recognition	Successful Defenses	Opponents beaten
1.	Joe Louis	11 years, 8 months, 8 days	Universal	26	21
2.	Wladimir Klitschko	9 years, 7 months and 6 days	IBF (+WBA, WBO, The Ring)	18	17
3.	Larry Holmes	7 years, 3 months, 12 days	WBC-to-IBF (+The Ring)	19	19
4.	Jack Dempsey	7 years, 2 months, 19 days	Universal	5	5
5.	John L. Sullivan	7 years, 0 months, 9 days	Universal	5	5
6.	Jack Johnson	6 years, 3 months, 10 days	Universal	6	6
7.	Muhammad Ali	5 years, 11 months, 9 days	The Ring, (+WBA, WBC stripped)	9	9
8.	James J. Jeffries	5 years, 11 months, 4 days	Universal	7	6
9.	Vitali Klitschko	5 years, 2 months, 4 days	WBC	9	9
10.	Deontay Wilder	5 years, 1 month, 5 days	WBC	10	8
11.	Joe Frazier	4 years, 10 months, 18 days	NYSAC (+WBA, WBC)	9	9
12.	James J. Corbett	4 years, 6 months, 10 days	Universal	1	1
13.	Jess Willard	4 years, 2 months, 29 days	Universal	1	1
14.	Lennox Lewis	4 years, 2 months, 15 days	WBC (+IBF, WBA stripped, The Ring)	9	8
15.	Rocky Marciano	3 years, 11 months, 29 days	Universal	6	5
16.	Chris Byrd	3 years, 4 months, 8 days	IBF	4	4
17.	Mike Tyson	3 years, 2 months, 20 days	WBC (+WBA, IBF, The Ring)	9	9
18.	Anthony Joshua	3 years, 1 month and 23 days	IBF (+WBA, WBO)	6	6
19.	George Foreman	3 years, 0 months, 17 days	(+WBA, IBF stripped)	2	2
20.	Evander Holyfield	3 years, 0 months, 4 days	WBA (+IBF)	4	4

By nationality[]

Map of countries, number of current and former world heavyweight boxing champions per country (as of October 2021). Note: interim titles and secondary belts are not included

Country	Total	Boxers by Name
United States	55	John L. Sullivan, James J. Corbett, James J. Jeffries, Marvin Hart, Jack Johnson, Jess Willard, Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Jack Sharkey, Max Baer, James J. Braddock, Joe Louis, Ezzard Charles, Lee Savold, Jersey Joe Walcott, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Ernie Terrell, Joe Frazier, Jimmy Ellis, George Foreman, Leon Spinks, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, John Tate, Mike Weaver, Michael Dokes, Tim Witherspoon, Pinklon Thomas, Greg Page, Tony Tubbs, Michael Spinks, Mike Tyson, James Smith, Tony Tucker, Buster Douglas, Evander Holyfield, Ray Mercer, Michael Moorer, Riddick Bowe, Tommy Morrison, Michael Bentt, Oliver McCall, Bruce Seldon, Chris Byrd, John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman, Roy Jones Jr., Lamon Brewster, Shannon Briggs, Deontay Wilder, Charles Martin, Andy Ruiz Jr.*
United Kingdom	8	Bob Fitzsimmons, Lennox Lewis*, Herbie Hide, Frank Bruno, Henry Akinwande, David Haye, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua
Canada	4	Lennox Lewis*, Tommy Burns, Trevor Berbick*, Bermane Stiverne
Russia	3	Nikolai Valuev, Oleg Maskaev, Sultan Ibragimov
Ukraine	3	Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Oleksandr Usyk
Italy	2	Primo Carnera, Francesco Damiani
South Africa	2	Gerrie Coetzee, Corrie Sanders
Germany	1	Max Schmeling
Sweden	1	Ingemar Johansson
Belarus	1	Siarhei Liakhovich
Uzbekistan	1	Ruslan Chagaev
Nigeria	1	Samuel Peter
New Zealand	1	Joseph Parker*
Mexico	1	Andy Ruiz Jr.*
Jamaica	1	Trevor Berbick*
Samoa	1	Joseph Parker*

See also[]

• World heavyweight boxing championship records and statistics
• List of Olympic medalists in heavyweight boxing
• List of WBA heavyweight world champions
• List of WBA female heavyweight world champions
• List of WBC heavyweight world champions
• List of WBC female heavyweight world champions
• List of IBF heavyweight world champions
• List of IBF female heavyweight world champions
• List of WBO heavyweight world champions
• List of WBO female heavyweight world champions

Further reading[]

• Florio, John; Shapiro, Ouisie (2013). One Punch from the Promised Land: Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, and the Myth of the Heavyweight Title. Lyons Press. p. 279. ISBN 978-0-7627-8300-7.

References[]

Sources[]

• Arnold, Peter (1989). Encyclopedia of Boxing. London: WH Smith Books. ISBN 1-85435-200-8.
• Boxing Title Fights
• NBA World Heavyweight Champion - BoxRec
• NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion – BoxRec
• The BoxRec – Boxing's Official Record Keeper
• The BoxRec Wiki Encyclopedia
• The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book (archive)