A sextuple champion in boxing refers to a boxer who has won world titles in six different weight classes.
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]
The following are the lists of boxers who have won six different titles in six unprecedentedly different categories of weight. In boxing, sextuple champions are just few boxers who has won world titles or belts in the incredible record of six different weight classes or divisions.
| bgcolor=#ece4ec width=5px | Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame | ||
| bgcolor=#FFFF99 width=5px | World Titles from The Ring |
| No. | Name | Titles | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oscar De La Hoya[3] | 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) | Dec 21, 2000 | align=center colspan=2 | No. 1 contender promoted[4] | ||
| Jun 23, 2001 | Javier Castillejo | UD 12/12 | |||
| Sep 14, 2002 | TKO 11/12 | ||||
| Jun 5, 2004 | Felix Sturm | UD 12/12 | |||
| WBC Light middleweight - (2) | Ricardo Mayorga | TKO 6/12 | |||
| 2 | 110px Manny Pacquiao[5] | Dec 4, 1998 | KO 8/12 | ||
| Jun 23, 2001 | Lehlohonolo Ledwaba | TKO 6/12 | |||
| Nov 15, 2003 | Marco Antonio Barrera | TKO 11/12 | |||
| Mar 15, 2008 | SD 12/12 | ||||
| Jun 28, 2008 | David Díaz | TKO 9/12 | |||
| May 2, 2009 | Ricky Hatton | KO 2/12 | |||
The following is a list of women’s sextuple 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[6] | Sep 10, 2011 | Kimberly Connor | TKO 2/10 | |
| Aug 15, 2014 | Maria Elena Maderna | KO 6/10 | |||
| Feb 17, 2016 | Olivia Gerula | TKO 1/10 | |||
| Oct 18, 2016 | Alexandea Lazar | TKO 5/10 | |||
| Apr 22, 2017 | Dahiana Santana | TKO 8/10 | |||
| Sep 8, 2018 | Yamila Esther Reynoso | UD 10/10 | |||
| WBO Featherweight - (2) | Sep 13, 2019 | Heather Hardy | UD 10/10 | ||
| Feb 4, 2021 | Interim promoted[7] | ||||
| Sep 24, 2022 | Sarah Mahfoud | UD 10/10 | |||
| WBA Featherweight | Feb 4, 2023 | Erika Cruz | UD 10/10 |