A quadruple champion in boxing refers to a boxer who has won world titles in four different categories of weight.
There is some dispute on which sanctioning body is considered "major" enough to award championships. The "Big 4" sanctioning bodies are always included. They are arranged in order of foundation:
The Ring, boxing's most respected magazine, has awarded world championships in professional boxing within each weight class from its foundation in 1922 until the 1990s, and again since 2001. The Ring champions were at one point held the linear reign to the throne, the man who beat the man. The lineal champion is also known as the true champion of the division. The Ring stopped giving belts to world champions in the 1990s but began again in 2002.
In 2002, The Ring attempted to clear up the confusion regarding world champions by creating a championship policy. It echoed many critics' arguments that the sanctioning bodies in charge of boxing championships had undermined the sport by pitting undeserving contenders against undeserving "champions", and forcing the boxing public to see mismatches for so-called "world championships". The Ring attempted to clear up the confusion regarding world champions by creating a championship policy 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. Furthermore, a fighter cannot be stripped of the title unless he loses, decides to move to a different weight division, or retires.
There are currently only two ways that a boxer can win The Rings title: defeat the reigning champion; or win a box-off between the magazine's number-one and number-two rated contenders (or, sometimes, number-one and number-three rated). A vacant Ring championship is filled when the number-one contender in a weight-division battles the number-two contender or the number-three contender (in cases where The Ring determines that the number-two and number-three contenders are close in abilities and records).
In May 2012, citing the number of vacancies in various weight classes as primary motivation, The Ring unveiled a new championship policy. Under the new policy, The Ring title can be awarded when the No. 1 and No. 2 fighters face one another or when the Nos. 1 and 2 contenders choose not to fight one another and either of them fights No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5, the winner may be awarded The Ring belt. In addition, there are now six ways for a fighter to lose his title: lose a fight in his championship weight class; move to another weight class; not schedule a fight in any weight class for 18 months; not schedule a fight in his championship weight class for 18 months, even if fighting at another weight class; not scheduling a fight with a top 5 contender in any weight class for two years; or retiring.
Many media outlets and members are 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.
The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) hands out the official version of the lineal championship. TBRB awards vacant championships when the two top-ranked fighters in any division meet and currently recognizes legitimate world champions or "true champions" each weight classes. The Board was formed to continue where The Ring "left off" in the aftermath of its purchase by Golden Boy Promotions in 2007 and the following dismissal of Nigel Collins. After the new editors announced a controversial new championship policy in May 2012, three prominent members of the Ring Advisory Panel resigned. This three members (Springs Toledo, Cliff Rold and Tim Starks) became the founding members of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, which was formed over the summer of 2012 with the assistance of Stewart Howe of England.
Since 2012, lineal champions are predetermined by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, which promotes the concept of a singular world champion per weight class.[1] Lineal champions are listed on Cyber Boxing Zone website which list lineal champions of the Queensberry Era to date.[2]
They are: International Boxing Organization (IBO), World Professional Boxing Federation (WPBF), International Boxing Association (IBA), International Boxing Council (IBC), International Boxing Board (IBB), International Boxing League (IBL), International Boxing Union (IBU), Global Boxing Association (GBA), Global Boxing Council (GBC), Global Boxing Federation GBF, Global Boxing Organization (GBO), Global Boxing Union (GBU), National Boxing Association (NBA), Transcontinental World Boxing Association (TWBA), Universal Boxing Association (UBA), Universal Boxing Council (UBC), Universal Boxing Federation (UBF), Universal Boxing Organization (UBO), UNIBOX, United States Boxing Council (USBC), World Athletic Association (WAA), World Boxing Board (WBB), World Boxing Championship Committee (WBCC), World Boxing Foundation (WBFo), World Boxing Institute (WBI), World Boxing League (WBL), World Boxing Network (WBN), World Boxing Union (WBU).
Note:
This list is credited for boxers who have won championships in boxing from major sanctioning bodies (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO), The Ring.
WBA has four recognized world champions, Super, Undisputed, Unified, and Regular. The highest tier title is considered the primary champion of the division. Only boxers who are in the primary champion lineage are listed.
The ranking of WBA's primary champions are as follows:
bgcolor=#ece4ec width=5px | Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame | |
World Titles from The Ring | ||
‡ | WBA Regular Champion as primary title because WBA Super, Undisputed, and Unified is vacant/vacated during his title reign. |
No. | Name | Titles | Date | Opponent | Result | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Thomas Hearns[3] | Aug 2, 1980 | Pipino Cuevas | TKO 2/15 | ||
Dec 3, 1982 | Wilfred Benítez | MD 15/15 | ||||
Mar 7, 1987 | Dennis Andries | TKO 10/12 | ||||
Oct 29, 1987 | Juan Domingo Roldán | KO 4/12 | ||||
Mar 6, 1991 | Virgil Hill | UD 12/12 | ||||
2 | Sugar Ray Leonard[4] | TKO 15/15 | ||||
WBC Welterweight - (2) | Nov 25, 1980 | Roberto Durán | TKO 8/15 | |||
The Ring Welterweight - (2) | ||||||
Jun 25, 1981 | TKO 9/15 | |||||
Sep 16, 1981 | Thomas Hearns | TKO 14/15 | ||||
Apr 6, 1987 | SD 12/12 | |||||
Nov 7, 1988 | TKO 9/12 | |||||
3 | Roberto Durán[5] | Jun 26, 1972 | TKO 13/15 | |||
Jan 21, 1978 | Esteban de Jesús | TKO 12/15 | ||||
Jun 20, 1980 | UD 15/15 | |||||
Jun 16, 1983 | TKO 8/15 | |||||
Feb 24, 1989 | SD 12/12 | |||||
4 | Pernell Whitaker[6] | Feb 18, 1989 | UD 12/12 | |||
Aug 20, 1989 | UD 12/12 | |||||
The Ring Lightweight | ||||||
Aug 11, 1990 | Juan Nazario | KO 1/12 | ||||
Jul 18, 1992 | UD 12/12 | |||||
Mar 6, 1993 | James McGirt | UD 12/12 | ||||
Mar 4, 1995 | Julio César Vásquez | UD 12/12 | ||||
5 | Oscar De La Hoya[7] | Mar 5, 1994 | Jimmy Bredahl | TKO 10/12 | ||
Feb 18, 1995 | John-John Molina | UD 12/12 | ||||
May 6, 1995 | Rafael Ruelas | TKO 2/12 | ||||
Jun 7, 1996 | TKO 4/12 | |||||
Apr 12, 1997 | UD 12/12 | |||||
WBC Welterweight - (2) | Mar 21, 2000 | align=center colspan=2 | No. 1 contender promoted[8] | |||
6 | Leo Gámez[9] | Jan 10, 1988 | Kim Bong Jun | UD 12/12 | ||
Oct 21, 1993 | Shiro Yahiro | TKO 9/12 | ||||
Mar 13, 1999 | KO 3/12 | |||||
Oct 9, 2000 | KO 7/12 | |||||
7 | Roy Jones Jr.[10] | May 22, 1993 | UD 12/12 | |||
Oct 21, 1993 | UD 12/12 | |||||
Jan 13, 1997 | align=center colspan=2 | Interim promoted[11] | ||||
WBC Light heavyweight - (2) | Aug 7, 1997 | KO 1/12 | ||||
WBC Light heavyweight - (3) | Jun 1998 | align=center colspan=2 | Reinstated | |||
WBA Light heavyweight, | Jul 18, 1998 | Lou Del Valle | UD 12/12 | |||
Dec 2000 | ||||||
Aug 5, 2002 | ||||||
Jun 5, 1999 | Reggie Johnson | UD 12/12 | ||||
2001 | Awarded | |||||
Mar 1, 2003 | UD 12/12 | |||||
WBA (Unified) Light heavyweight - (2) | Nov 8, 2003 | UD 12/12 | ||||
WBC Light heavyweight - (4) | ||||||
8 | Floyd Mayweather Jr.[12] | Oct 3, 1998 | RTD 8/12 | |||
Apr 20, 2002 | UD 12/12 | |||||
WBC Light welterweight | Jun 25, 2005 | Arturo Gatti | TKO 6/12 | |||
Apr 8, 2006 | Zab Judah | UD 12/12 | ||||
WBC Welterweight | Nov 4, 2006 | UD 12/12 | ||||
WBC Welterweight - (2) | Dec 17, 2011 | Victor Ortiz | KO4/12 | |||
The Ring Welterweight - (2) | May 4, 2013 | Robert Guerrero | UD 12/12 | |||
May 3, 2014 | Marcos Maidana | MD 12/12 | ||||
May 2, 2015 | Manny Pacquiao | UD 12/12 | ||||
9 | Manny Pacquiao[13] | Dec 4, 1998 | KO 8/12 | |||
Jun 23, 2001 | KO 6/12 | |||||
Nov 15, 2003 | Marco Antonio Barrera | TKO 11/12 | ||||
Mar 15, 2008 | SD 12/12 | |||||
10 | Érik Morales[14] | Sep 6, 1997 | KO 11/12 | |||
Feb 19, 2000 | SD 12/12 | |||||
Feb 17, 2001 | UD 12/12 | |||||
WBC Featherweight - (2) | Nov 16, 2002 | UD 12/12 | ||||
Feb 28, 2004 | UD 12/12 | |||||
Jul 31, 2004 | Carlos Hernández | UD 12/12 | ||||
Sep 17, 2011 | TKO 10/12 | |||||
11 | Jorge Arce[15] | Dec 5, 1998 | Juan Domingo Cordoba | UD 12/12 | ||
Jul 6, 2002 | Choi Yo-sam | TKO 6/12 | ||||
Jan 30, 2010 | Angky Angkotta | TD 7/12 | ||||
May 7, 2011 | Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr. | TKO 12/12 | ||||
Nov 26, 2011 | Angky Angkotta | UD 12/12 | ||||
12 | Juan Manuel Márquez[16] | Feb 1, 2003 | TKO 7/12 | |||
Nov 1, 2003 | Derrick Gainer | TD 7/12 | ||||
WBO Featherweight (Interim) | Dec 6, 2006 | align=center colspan=2 | Interim promoted[17] | |||
Mar 17, 2007 | UD 12/12 | |||||
Sep 13, 2008 | TKO 11/12 | |||||
Feb 28, 2009 | TKO 9/12 | |||||
WBO Light welterweight (Interim) | Jun 28, 2012 | align=center colspan=2 | Interim promoted[18] | |||
13 | Nonito Donaire[19] | Jul 7, 2007 | TKO 5/12 | |||
WBC Bantamweight | Feb 19, 2011 | Fernando Montiel | KO 2/12 | |||
Feb 4, 2012 | SD 12/12 | |||||
Jul 7, 2012 | UD 12/12 | |||||
The Ring Super bantamweight | Oct 13, 2012 | TKO 9/12 | ||||
May 31, 2014 | TD 5/12 | |||||
WBO Super bantamweight - (2) | Dec 11, 2015 | Cesar Juarez | UD 12/12 | |||
Nov 3, 2018 | Ryan Burnett | RTD 4/12 | ||||
WBC Bantamweight - (2) | May 29, 2021 | Nordine Oubaali | KO 4/12 | |||
14 | Miguel Cotto[20] | Sep 11, 2004 | TKO 6/12 | |||
Dec 2, 2006 | RTD 5/12 | |||||
Feb 21, 2009 | TKO 5/12 | |||||
Jun 5, 2010 | TKO 9/12 | |||||
Oct 15, 2010 | align=center colspan=2 | Regular promoted[21] | ||||
Jun 7, 2014 | RTD 9/12 | |||||
Aug 26, 2017 | Yoshihiro Kamegai | UD 12/12 | ||||
15 | Adrien Broner[22] | Nov 26, 2011 | KO 3/12 | |||
Nov 17, 2012 | TKO 8/12 | |||||
Jun 22, 2013 | SD 12/12 | |||||
WBA (Regular) Light welterweight | Oct 3, 2015 | TKO 12/12 | ||||
Nov 5, 2015 | align=center colspan=2 | Regular promoted[23] | ||||
16 | Román González[24] | Sep 15, 2008 | TKO 4/12 | |||
Feb 5, 2011 | align=center colspan=2 | Interim promoted[25] | ||||
Nov 30, 2012 | align=center colspan=2 | Regular promoted[26] | ||||
Sep 5, 2014 | TKO 9/12 | |||||
Sep 11, 2016 | UD 12/12 | |||||
Feb 29, 2020 | TKO 9/12 | |||||
17 | Mikey Garcia[27] | Jan 19, 2013 | TD 9/12 | |||
Nov 9, 2013 | KO 8/12 | |||||
Jan 28, 2017 | KO 3/12 | |||||
Mar 20, 2018 | UD 12/12 | |||||
Jul 28, 2018 | Robert Easter Jr. | UD 12/12 | ||||
18 | Donnie Nietes[28] | Sep 7, 2007 | UD 12/12 | |||
Oct 8, 2011 | UD 12/12 | |||||
May 10, 2014 | TKO 9/12 | |||||
Apr 29, 2017 | UD 12/12 | |||||
Dec 31, 2018 | SD 12/12 | |||||
19 | Kazuto Ioka[29] | Feb 11, 2011 | TKO 5/12 | |||
Jun 20, 2012 | Akira Yaegashi | UD 12/12 | ||||
WBA (Regular) Light flyweight | Jan 14, 2014 | align=center colspan=2 | Primary champion vacant | |||
WBA (Regular) Flyweight | Sep 14, 2016 | align=center colspan=2 | Primary champion vacant | |||
Jun 19, 2019 | TKO 10/12 | |||||
Jun 24, 2023 | UD 12/12 | |||||
20 | Léo Santa Cruz[30] | Jun 2, 2012 | UD 12/12 | |||
Aug 24, 2014 | TKO 3/12 | |||||
Aug 29, 2015 | MD 12/12 | |||||
WBA (Super) Featherweight – (2) | Jul 30, 2016 | MD 12/12 | ||||
Nov 23, 2019 | UD 12/12 | |||||
21 | Canelo Álvarez[31] | Mar 5, 2011 | UD 12/12 | |||
Apr 20, 2013 | UD 12/12 | |||||
Nov 21, 2015 | UD 12/12 | |||||
Sep 17, 2016 | Liam Smith | KO 9/12 | ||||
Sep 15, 2018 | Gennady Golovkin | MD 12/12 | ||||
WBC Middleweight - (2) | ||||||
The Ring Middleweight - (2) | ||||||
May 4, 2019 | Daniel Jacobs | UD 12/12 | ||||
Nov 2, 2019 | KO 11/12 | |||||
Dec 19, 2020 | Callum Smith | UD 12/12 | ||||
May 8, 2021 | Billy Joe Saunders | RTD 8/12 | ||||
Nov 6, 2021 | Caleb Plant | TKO 11/12 | ||||
22 | Naoya Inoue[32] | Apr 6, 2014 | TKO 6/12 | |||
WBO Super flyweight | Dec 30, 2014 | KO 2/12 | ||||
WBA (Unified) Bantamweight | May 25, 2018 | Jamie McDonnell | KO 1/12 | |||
IBF Bantamweight | May 18, 2019 | KO 2/12 | ||||
The Ring Bantamweight | ||||||
Nov 7, 2019 | Nonito Donaire | UD 12/12 | ||||
Jun 7, 2022 | TKO 2/12 | |||||
Dec 13, 2022 | Paul Butler | KO 11/12 | ||||
Jul 25, 2023 | Stephen Fulton | TKO 8/12 | ||||
Dec 26, 2023 | Marlon Tapales | KO 10/12 | ||||
23 | Kosei Tanaka[33] | May 30, 2015 | Julian Yedras | UD 12/12 | ||
Dec 31, 2016 | TKO 5/12 | |||||
Sep 24, 2018 | MD 12/12 | |||||
Feb 24, 2024 | Christian Bacasegua | UD 12/12 | ||||
24 | Terence Crawford[34] | Mar 1, 2014 | UD 12/12 | |||
Nov 29, 2014 | UD 12/12 | |||||
Apr 18, 2015 | TKO 6/12 | |||||
Jul 23, 2016 | UD 12/12 | |||||
Aug 19, 2017 | Julius Indongo | KO 3/12 | ||||
Jun 9, 2018 | TKO 9/12 | |||||
Jul 29, 2023 | Errol Spence Jr. | TKO 9/12 | ||||
Aug 3, 2024 | UD 12/12 |
The following is a list of women’s quadruple champions who have held titles from one or more of the "Big Four" organizations (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO) and The Ring.
World Titles from The Ring |
No. | Name | Titles | Date | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Amanda Serrano[35] | Sep 10, 2011 | Kimberly Connor | TKO 2/10 | |
WBO Lightweight | Aug 15, 2014 | Maria Elena Maderna | KO 6/10 | ||
Feb 17, 2016 | Olivia Gerula | TKO 1/10 | |||
Oct 18, 2016 | Alexandra Lázár | TKO 5/10 | |||
WBO Featherweight – (2) | Sep 13, 2019 | Heather Hardy | UD 10/10 | ||
Feb 4, 2021 | Interim promoted[36] | ||||
IBF Featherweight | Sep 24, 2022 | Sarah Mahfoud | UD 10/10 | ||
WBA Featherweight | Feb 4, 2023 | Erika Cruz | UD 10/10 | ||
2 | Naoko Fujioka[37] | May 8, 2011 | Anabel Ortiz | RTD 8/10 | |
WBA Super flyweight | Nov 13, 2013 | Naoko Yamaguchi | UD 10/10 | ||
Oct 19, 2015 | Hee Jung Yuh | UD 10/10 | |||
WBA Flyweight | Mar 13, 2017 | Isabel Millan | Knockout | TKO 10/10 | |
3 | Hanna Gabriels[38] | Dec 19, 2009 | Gabriela Marcela Zapata | KO 4/10 | |
WBO Light middleweight | May 9, 2010 | Gardy Pena Alvarez | TKO 1/10 | ||
WBO Light middleweight – (2) | Dec 20, 2014 | Paty Ramirez | TKO 2/10 | ||
Jun 18, 2016 | Katia Alvariño | TKO 3/10 | |||
WBA Light heavyweight | Apr 17, 2021 | Martha Gaytán | TKO 2/10 | ||
WBC Heavyweight | |||||
4 | Claressa Shields[39] | Aug 4, 2017 | Nikki Adler | TKO 5/10 | |
Jun 22, 2018 | Hanna Gabriel | UD 10/10 | |||
Nov 17, 2018 | Hannah Rankin | UD 10/10 | |||
Apr 13, 2019 | Christina Hammer | UD 10/10 | |||
Jan 10, 2020 | Ivana Habazin | UD 10/10 | |||
Mar 5, 2021 | Marie-Eve Dicaire | UD 10/10 | |||
WBO Middleweight – (2) | Oct 15, 2022 | Savannah Marshall | UD 10/10 | ||
WBO Light heavyweight | Jul 27, 2024 | Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse | TKO 7/10 |
In the entire history of boxing, only Manny Pacquiao has successfully conquered four divisions in the original eight weight classes.
No. | Name | Titles | Date | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Manny Pacquiao[40] | Dec 4, 1998 | KO 8/12 | ||
Nov 15, 2003 | TKO 11/12 | ||||
Jun 28, 2008 | David Díaz | TKO 9/12 | |||
Nov 14, 2009 | Miguel Cotto | TKO 12/12 | |||
WBO Welterweight - (2) | Apr 12, 2014 | Timothy Bradley | UD 12/12 | ||
WBO Welterweight - (3) | Nov 5, 2016 | Jessie Vargas | UD 12/12 | ||
Jul 20, 2019 | Keith Thurman | SD 12/12 | |||
Some fighters of this group or club were not satisfied to win just the incredible milestone of championships in four different weight divisions but to reach immortality in five, six and/or seven other different divisions or categories. The multiple champions who won titles in: