List of world heavyweight boxing champions explained

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 would recognize champions. The World Boxing Council created a new division called bridgerweight for boxers weighing between 200 and 225 pounds. As of June 2022, no other major organization has recognized the division.

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, have produced an environment where typically there is no single world heavyweight champion, 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 On April 29, 1967, his recognition as champion by both the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council was withdrawn.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 and most boxing purists until his defeat in 1971. 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

Public acclamation: 1884 to 1921

World champions were initially recognized by wide public acclamation, with heavyweight champions winning and losing championship recognition solely in the ring. Retirements periodically resulted in no one, true champion being recognized, while in other cases new champions were proclaimed only to see a previously recognized champion come out of retirement. Public interest in boxing resulted in a true champion being determined by means of title claimants facing one another in the ring, with the winner being recognized as world champion.

The Ring magazine: 1922 to present

The Ring has recognized heavyweight champions during two periods, commencing with its inaugural issue in 1922 and continuing until the 1990s, then again from 2002 to the present day. Under its original policy, a champion earned championship recognition in the ring, defeating the preceding champion or winning a bout between its top rated contenders. Once awarded, championship recognition could be lost only by death, retirement, or loss in the ring. In 2012, this policy was revised so championship recognition could be more easily awarded or withdrawn.^[1]

Sanctioning bodies: 1921 to present

The National Boxing Association (NBA) was organized in 1921 to serve as a regulating authority for boxing in the United States. The prominence of New York City as the epicenter of boxing would lead to its state boxing regulatory body, the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) joining the NBA in recognizing world champions in each weight class. A third entity, the European Boxing Union (IBU) would follow suit, but with limited exception in the heavyweight division the three organizations recognized the same champion.

At its 1962 convention, the NBA's non-United States members exploited a membership rule and took effective control of the organization, rebranding it as the World Boxing Association. The now WBA would be joined the following year by a combination of state and national boxing commissions (including the NYSAC and IBU) to form a new organization, the World Boxing Council (WBC). In time, each organization would have its own spin-off sanctioning organization break from its ranks: the United States Boxing Association, which disassociated with the WBA in the late 1970s and became the International Boxing Federation in 1983, and the World Boxing Organization, whose members would split from the WBC in 1988. Today there are over a dozen sanctioning organizations which recognize champions and sanction world championship bouts, but the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO are recognized by the International Boxing Hall Of Fame as major sanctioning bodies.

Current status of championships

Recognition	Champion	Date won	Status of next defense
Super champion			No present mandatory defense obligation
World champion			No present mandatory defense obligation
World champion	Daniel Dubois	June 26, 2024	No present mandatory defense obligation
World champion	Oleksandr Usyk	September 25, 2021	No present mandatory defense obligation

List of champions

No.	Champion	Recognition	Begin reign	End reign	Day(s)	Title defense(s)	Additional recognition	Note(s)	Source(s)
1	John L. Sullivan def. Dominick McCaffrey	World	August 29, 1885	September 7, 1892	2,566	–		²⁵,⁴	^[2]
2		World	September 7, 1892	March 17, 1897	1,652			⁵	^[3]
3		World	March 17, 1897	June 9, 1899	814	–			^[4]
4		World	June 9, 1899	May 15, 1905	2,166			²,⁶	^[5]
5	Marvin Hart def. Jack Root	World	July 3, 1905	February 23, 1906	235	–		¹	^[6]
6		World	February 23, 1906	December 26, 1908	1,037				^[7]
7		World	December 26, 1908	April 5, 1915	2,291			⁷	^[8]
8		World	April 5, 1915	July 4, 1919	1,551				^[9]
9		World	July 4, 1919	July 2, 1921	729		The Ring awarded the title in 1922		^[10]
		NBA	July 2, 1921	July 24, 1922	387	–
		NBA, and NYSAC	July 24, 1922	September 23, 1926	1,522
10		NBA, and NYSAC	September 23, 1926	July 31, 1928	677		The Ring	²	^[11]
11	Max Schmeling def. Jack Sharkey	NBA, and NYSAC	June 12, 1930	January 7, 1931	209	–	The Ring	¹,⁸	^[12]
11	Max Schmeling def. Jack Sharkey	NBA, and IBU	January 7, 1931	June 21, 1932	531		The Ring	¹,¹⁰
12		NBA, NYSAC, and IBU	June 21, 1932	June 29, 1933	373	–	The Ring		^[13]
13		NBA, NYSAC, and IBU	June 29, 1933	June 14, 1934	350		The Ring	¹,¹⁰	^[14]
14		NBA, NYSAC, and IBU	June 14, 1934	June 13, 1935	364	–	The Ring	⁹	^[15]
15		NBA, NYSAC, and IBU	June 13, 1935	June 22, 1937	740	–	The Ring		^[16]
16		NBA, NYSAC, and IBU	June 22, 1937	March 1, 1949	4,270		The Ring	²	^[17] ^[18]
17	Ezzard Charles def. Jersey Joe Walcott	NBA	June 22, 1949	September 27, 1950	462		The Ring	¹,¹⁰	^[19]
		NBA, and NYSAC	September 27, 1950	June 16, 1951	261			¹,¹⁰
		NBA, NYSAC, and IBU	June 16, 1951	July 18, 1951	33	–
18		NBA, and NYSAC	July 18, 1951	September 23, 1952	433		The Ring		^[20]
19		NBA, and NYSAC	September 23, 1952	April 27, 1956	1,312		The Ring	²	^[21]
20	Floyd Patterson def. Archie Moore	NBA, and NYSAC	November 30, 1956	June 26, 1959	938		The Ring	¹,¹¹	^[22]
21		NBA, and NYSAC	June 26, 1959	June 20, 1960	360	–	The Ring		^[23]
22	Floyd Patterson (Second reign)	NBA, and NYSAC	June 20, 1960	September 25, 1962	827		The Ring
23		NYSAC, and WBA	September 25, 1962	July 22, 1963	270		The Ring		^[24]
23		NYSAC, WBA, and WBC	July 22, 1963	February 25, 1964	248	–	The Ring
24	Muhammad Ali	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
		NYSAC, WBA, and WBC	February 6, 1967	April 29, 1967	82			¹³
25	Ernie Terrell def. Eddie Machen	WBA	March 5, 1965	February 6, 1967	703		–	¹	^[26]
26	Joe Frazier def. Buster Mathis	NYSAC	March 4, 1968	February 16, 1970	714		The Ring def. Muhammad Ali on March 8, 1971	¹	^[27]
26	Joe Frazier def. Buster Mathis	WBA, and WBC	February 16, 1970	January 22, 1973	1,071		The Ring def. Muhammad Ali on March 8, 1971	¹⁵
27	Jimmy Ellis def. Jerry Quarry	WBA	April 27, 1968	February 16, 1970	660		–	¹,¹⁴	^[28]
28		WBA, and WBC	January 22, 1973	October 30, 1974	646		The Ring	¹,¹⁰	^[29]
29	Muhammad Ali (Second reign)	WBA, and WBC	October 30, 1974	February 15, 1978	1,204		The Ring
30		WBA, and WBC	February 15, 1978	March 18, 1978	31	–	The Ring	³	^[30]
30		WBA	March 18, 1978	September 15, 1978	181	–	The Ring
31	Ken Norton awarded the title	WBC	March 18, 1978	June 9, 1978	83	–	–	¹⁶	^[31]
32		WBC	June 9, 1978	December 11, 1983	2,011		The Ring def. Muhammad Ali on October 2, 1980	²	^[32]
32		IBF	December 11, 1983	September 21, 1985	650		The Ring def. Muhammad Ali on October 2, 1980	¹⁷
33	Muhammad Ali (Third reign)	WBA	September 15, 1978	October 18, 1979	398	–	The Ring	²
34	John Tate def. Gerrie Coetzee	WBA	October 20, 1979	March 31, 1980	163	–	–	¹	^[33]
35		WBA	March 31, 1980	December 10, 1982	984		–		^[34]
36		WBA	December 10, 1982	September 23, 1983	287		–		^[35]
37		WBA	September 23, 1983	December 1, 1984	435	–	–		^[36]
38	Tim Witherspoon def. Greg Page	WBC	March 9, 1984	August 31, 1984	175	–	–	¹	^[37]
39		WBC	August 31, 1984	March 22, 1986	568		–		^[38]
40		WBA	December 1, 1984	April 29, 1985	149	–	–		^[39]
41		WBA	April 29, 1985	January 17, 1986	263	–	–		^[40]
42		IBF	September 21, 1985	February 26, 1987	523		The Ring	³	^[41]
43	Tim Witherspoon (Second reign)	WBA	January 17, 1986	December 12, 1986	329		–
44		WBC	March 22, 1986	November 22, 1986	245	–	–		^[42]
45		WBC	November 22, 1986	March 7, 1987	105		The Ring def. Michael Spinks on June 27, 1988		^[43]
		WBA, and WBC	March 7, 1987	August 1, 1987	147
		WBA, WBC, and IBF	August 1, 1987	February 11, 1990	925
46		WBA	December 12, 1986	March 7, 1987	85	–	–		^[44]
47	Tony Tucker def. Buster Douglas	IBF	May 30, 1987	August 1, 1987	64	–	–	¹	^[45]
48	Francesco Damiani def. Johnny du Plooy	WBO	May 6, 1989	January 11, 1991	616		–	¹	^[46]
49		WBA, WBC, and IBF	February 11, 1990	October 25, 1990	257	–	–		^[47]
50		WBA, WBC, and IBF	October 25, 1990	November 13, 1992	751		–		^[48]
51		WBO	January 11, 1991	December 24, 1991	348		–	³	^[49]
52	Michael Moorer def. Bert Cooper	WBO	May 15, 1992	February 3, 1993	265	–	–	¹,²	^[50]
53		WBA, WBC, and IBF	November 13, 1992	December 14, 1992	32	–	–	²	^[51]
53		WBA, and IBF	December 14, 1992	November 6, 1993	328		–
54	Lennox Lewis awarded the title	WBC	December 14, 1992	September 24, 1994	650		–	¹⁸	^[52]
55	Tommy Morrison def. George Foreman	WBO	June 7, 1993	October 29, 1993	145		–	¹	^[53]
56		WBO	October 29, 1993	March 19, 1994	142	–	–		^[54]
57	Evander Holyfield (Second reign)	WBA, and IBF	November 6, 1993	April 22, 1994	168	–	–
58		WBO	March 19, 1994	March 11, 1995	358	–	–		^[55]
59	Michael Moorer (Second reign)	WBA, and IBF	April 22, 1994	November 5, 1994	198	–	–
60		WBC	September 24, 1994	September 2, 1995	344		–		^[56]
61	George Foreman (Second reign)	WBA, and IBF	November 5, 1994	March 4, 1995	119	–	–	³
61	George Foreman (Second reign)	IBF	March 4, 1995	June 29, 1995	117		−	²
62	Riddick Bowe (Second reign)	WBO	March 11, 1995	May 1, 1996	418		–	³
63	Bruce Seldon def. Tony Tucker	WBA	April 8, 1995	September 7, 1996	519		–	¹	^[57]
64		WBC	September 2, 1995	March 16, 1996	197	–	–		^[58]
65	Mike Tyson (Second reign)	WBC	March 16, 1996	September 7, 1996	175	–	–
		WBA, and WBC	September 7, 1996	September 24, 1996	17	–	–	²
		WBA	September 24, 1996	November 9, 1996	46	–	–
66	Michael Moorer (Third reign) def. Axel Schulz	IBF	June 22, 1996	November 8, 1997	505		–	¹,¹⁹
67	Henry Akinwande def. Jeremy Williams	WBO	June 29, 1996	February 17, 1997	234		–	¹,²	^[59]
68	Evander Holyfield (Third reign)	WBA	November 9, 1996	November 8, 1997	365		–
68	Evander Holyfield (Third reign)	WBA, and IBF	November 8, 1997	November 13, 1999	736		–
69	Lennox Lewis (Second reign) def. Oliver McCall	WBC	February 7, 1997	November 13, 1999	1010		–	¹
		WBA, WBC, and IBF	November 13, 1999	April 29, 2000	168	–	–	³
		WBC, and IBF	April 29, 2000	April 22, 2001	358		–
70	Herbie Hide (Second reign) def. Tony Tucker	WBO	June 28, 1997	June 26, 1999	729		–	¹
71		WBO	June 26, 1999	April 1, 2000	281		–		^[60]
72		WBO	April 1, 2000	October 14, 2000	197	–	–		^[61]
73	Evander Holyfield (Fourth reign) def. John Ruiz	WBA	August 12, 2000	March 3, 2001	204	–	–	¹
74		WBO	October 14, 2000	March 8, 2003	876		–		^[62]
75		WBA	March 3, 2001	March 1, 2003	729		–		^[63]
76		WBC, and IBF	April 22, 2001	November 17, 2001	210	–	–		^[64]
77	Lennox Lewis (Third reign)	WBC, and IBF	November 17, 2001	September 5, 2002	293		The Ring awarded the title in 2002	²
77	Lennox Lewis (Third reign)	WBC	September 5, 2002	February 6, 2004	519		The Ring awarded the title in 2002	²
78	Chris Byrd (Second reign) def. Evander Holyfield	IBF	December 14, 2002	April 22, 2006	1,591		–	¹
79		WBA	March 1, 2003	February 20, 2004	357	–	–	²	^[65]
80		WBO	March 8, 2003	October 9, 2003	216	–	–	²	^[66]
81	John Ruiz (Second reign) def. Hasim Rahman for interim title	WBA	February 20, 2004	December 17, 2005	667		–	²⁰
82	Lamon Brewster def. Wladimir Klitschko	WBO	April 10, 2004	April 1, 2006	722		–	¹	^[67]
83	Vitali Klitschko (Second reign) def. Corrie Sanders	WBC	April 24, 2004	November 9, 2005	565		The Ring	¹,²
84	Hasim Rahman (Second reign) def. Monte Barrett for interim title	WBC	November 9, 2005	August 12, 2006	277		–	²¹
85		WBA	December 17, 2005	April 14, 2007	484		–	¹,¹⁰	^[68]
86		WBO	April 1, 2006	November 4, 2006	218	–	–		^[69]
87	Wladimir Klitschko (Second reign)	IBF	April 22, 2006	February 23, 2008	673		The Ring def. Ruslan Chagaev on June 20, 2009
		IBF, and WBO	February 23, 2008	July 2, 2011	1,226
		WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO	July 2, 2011	November 28, 2015	1,611
88		WBC	August 12, 2006	December 9, 2006	120	–	–		^[70] ^[71]
88		WBC	December 9, 2006	March 8, 2008	456		–		^[70] ^[71]
89		WBO	November 4, 2006	June 2, 2007	211	–	–		^[72]
90		WBA	April 14, 2007	June 20, 2009	799		–	²²
91		WBO	June 2, 2007	February 23, 2008	267		–		^[73]
92		WBC	March 8, 2008	October 11, 2008	218	–	–		^[74]
93	Nikolai Valuev (Second reign) def. John Ruiz	WBA	August 30, 2008	November 7, 2009	435		–	¹,²²
94	Vitali Klitschko (Third reign)	WBC	October 11, 2008	December 15, 2013	1,892		–	²
95		WBA	November 7, 2009	July 2, 2011	603		–		^[75]
–	Alexander Povetkin def. Ruslan Chagaev	WBA (Regular)	August 27, 2011	October 5, 2013	771		–	¹,²³	^[76]
96	Bermane Stiverne def. Chris Arreola	WBC	May 10, 2014	January 17, 2015	253	–	–	¹	^[77]
–	Ruslan Chagaev def. Fres Oquendo	WBA (Regular)	July 6, 2014	March 5, 2016	609		–	¹
97		WBC	January 17, 2015	February 22, 2020	1,863		–		^[78]
98		WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO	November 28, 2015	December 8, 2015	11	–	The Ring	³
98		WBA (Super), and WBO	December 8, 2015	October 12, 2016	310	–	The Ring	²
99	Charles Martin def. Vyacheslav Glazkov	IBF	January 16, 2016	April 9, 2016	85	–	–	¹	^[79]
–		WBA (Regular)	March 5, 2016	May 12, 2016	69	–	–	²⁴	^[80]
100		IBF	April 9, 2016	April 29, 2017	386		–
		WBA (Super), and IBF	April 29, 2017	March 31, 2018	337		–	¹
		WBA (Super), IBF, WBO	March 31, 2018	June 1, 2019	428		–
–	Ruslan Chagaev awarded the title	WBA (Regular)	May 12, 2016	July 25, 2016	75	–	–	³	^[81]
101	Joseph Parker def. Andy Ruiz Jr.	WBO	December 10, 2016	March 31, 2018	477		–	¹	^[82]
–	Manuel Charr def. Alexander Ustinov	WBA (Regular)	November 25, 2017	January 29, 2021	1,162	–	–	¹	^[83]
102		WBA (Super), IBF, WBO	June 1, 2019	December 7, 2019	190	–	–		^[84]
103	Anthony Joshua (Second reign)	WBA (Super), IBF, WBO	December 7, 2019	September 25, 2021	659		–		^[85]
104	Tyson Fury (Second reign)	WBC	February 22, 2020	May 18, 2024	1,548		The Ring		^[86]
–	Trevor Bryan def. Bermane Stiverne	WBA (Regular)	January 29, 2021	June 11, 2022			–	¹,²⁶	^[87]
105		WBA (Super), IBF, WBO	September 25, 2021	May 18, 2024	967		The Ring		^[88] ^[89]
		WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO	May 18, 2024	June 25, 2024	38
		WBA (Super), WBC, WBO	June 25, 2024	present
–	Daniel Dubois	WBA (Regular)	June 11, 2022	August 26, 2023	441		–
–	Manuel Charr	WBA (Regular)	August 31, 2023	present			−		^[90]
106	Daniel Dubois interim champion promoted	IBF	June 26, 2024	present			–

Footnotes

Won vacant championship title.
Voluntarily relinquished championship title.
Championship recognition withdrawn by sanctioning organization upon his refusal to fight an opponent of the organization's designation
In 1882, Sullivan defeated Paddy Ryan to win the bare-knuckle championship of America. A lack of legitimate challengers elsewhere gradually resulted in Sullivan earning worldwide recognition. On August 29, 1885, he defeated Dominick McCaffrey in a bout described as "the Marquess of Queensberry glove contest for the championship of the world."
Corbett announced his retirement from boxing in 1895, nominating Steve O'Donnell as his successor. As tradition demanded the title be won in the ring, O'Donnell was matched against Peter Maher on November 11, 1895, at Maspeth, New York. Maher won via first-round knockout, but the public generally didn't accept Maher and Maher himself expressed a desire to fight Corbett for the "real" title. In Maher's next bout, Bob Fitzsimmons defeated him via first-round knockout on February 21, 1896. Fitzsimmons in turn was defeated by Tom Sharkey of Dundalk on December 2, 1896, in a contest billed as for the heavyweight title. Corbett announced his return to the ring shortly thereafter, at which time the championship claims of Maher, Fitzsimmons, and Sharkey were for the most part dismissed. Sharkey's title claims lapsed when he was defeated by Jeffries in May 1898.
Jeffries announced his retirement, relinquishing the title and promoting a match between Marvin Hart and Jack Root for the championship. Jeffries returned to the ring to challenge Jack Johnson.
The British National Sporting Club withdrew its recognition of Johnson as champion when he refused to defend his title against the British champion William "Iron" Hague. The NSC matched Hague with Canadian Sam Langford for its title on May 24, 1909. Langford won via fourth-round knockout but never pursued a championship claim.
Schmeling earned championship recognition by defeating Jack Sharkey by controversial disqualification. The New York State Athletic Commission withdrew its recognition of Schmeling when he refused to grant Sharkey an immediate rematch. The NYSAC did not recognize a champion until Sharkey defeated Schmeling in 1932.
In late 1934, the International Boxing Union (IBU) ordered Baer to defend his title against European champion Pierre Charles of Belgium. When Baer refused, the IBU sanctioned a bout between Charles and American George Godfrey for their title on October 2, 1935. Godfrey won via fifteen-round decision but never pursued a championship claim. The IBU ultimately recognized Baer's successor James J. Braddock as champion.
Two months after Louis' retirement announcement, the International Boxing Union sanctioned a bout between British champion Bruce Woodcock and American Lee Savold for its version of the title. The bout was not staged until June 1950, however, due to delays caused by injuries suffered by Woodcock in an automobile accident. Meanwhile, Ezzard Charles defeated Jersey Joe Walcott to win the vacant National Boxing Association championship title. Savold defeated Woodcock in four rounds to win the IBU title, while Charles gained New York State Athletic Commission recognition and wide public acclaim as champion upon defeating former champion Joe Louis in September 1950. On June 15, 1951, Joe Louis defeated Savold via sixth-round knockout, after which the IBU withdrew its recognition of Savold and proclaimed Ezzard Charles as champion.
Following Marciano's retirement, Patterson was matched against Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson in a championship eliminator on June 8, 1956. Winning via controversial split decision, Patterson then faced light heavyweight titleholder Archie Moore for the vacant title. Upon defeating Moore, Patterson fought (and defeated) Jackson a second time on July 29, 1957.
The World Boxing Association withdrew their championship recognition of Clay (by then known as Muhammad Ali) upon agreeing to an immediate rematch against former champion Sonny Liston, in violation of WBA rules. The newly founded World Boxing Council and other sanctioning groups continued to recognize Ali as champion.
The World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council, New York State Athletic Commission and others withdrew their championship recognition of Ali following his refusal to be inducted into the United States Army subsequent to his conscription.
To fill its vacant championship title, the World Boxing Association organized a single-elimination tournament involving eight of their ranked contenders (Joe Frazier, who was ranked No. 2, declined to participate): Oscar Bonavena, Jimmy Ellis, Leotis Martin, Karl Mildenberger, two-time former champion Floyd Patterson, Jerry Quarry, Thad Spencer, and former WBA champion Ernie Terrell. In first round matches, Ellis defeated Martin, Quarry defeated Patterson, Spencer defeated Terrell, and Bonavena defeated Mildenberger. In the semi-finals, Ellis defeated Bonavena while Quarry defeated Spencer; and Ellis defeated Quarry for the championship title. Frazier, meanwhile, was matched against Buster Mathis for a championship recognized by the New York State Athletic Commission together with the commissions of Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Similar "world" championship recognition was bestowed upon him by the Texas Athletic Commission following a victory over Dave Zyglewicz on April 22, 1969.
Frazier defeated Ellis to unify the heavyweight championship, but did not gain World public acclaim as champion until defeating Muhammad Ali on March 8, 1971.
In an unprecedented move, upon withdrawing its recognition of Leon Spinks as champion, the World Boxing Council immediately recognized Ken Norton as champion, based on an earlier victory over Jimmy Young. As a condition of being named champion, Norton was ordered to face the WBC's new mandatory challenger, Larry Holmes within 120 days.
Holmes relinquished his World Boxing Council championship and accepted championship recognition bestowed by the newly organized International Boxing Federation.
Following its 1978 precedent, upon withdrawing championship recognition from Riddick Bowe, the World Boxing Council immediately awarded championship recognition to Lennox Lewis, on the basis of his victory in an October 31, 1992 "championship eliminator" over Donovan Ruddock.
Following its withdrawal of recognition from George Foreman, the International Boxing Federation sanctioned a December 9, 1995, match between Francois Botha and Axel Schulz for its championship. Botha won the bout by split decision, but the bout result and Botha's championship title were vacated after Botha's post-fight drug test revealed he had taken illegal anabolic steroids. A subsequent bout between Schulz and Michael Moorer was sanctioned for the IBF championship.
Upon defeating John Ruiz, Roy Jones Jr. simultaneously held the World Boxing Association's heavyweight and light heavyweight titles. At his request, the WBA suspended its rule prohibiting simultaneous title holding. It later declared Jones its "Champion in Recess," and sanctioned a December 13, 2003, bout between Ruiz and Hasim Rahman for its "interim" championship. Ruiz won the bout. On February 20, 2004, Jones relinquished his heavyweight title to resume boxing as a light heavyweight, at which point Ruiz was elevated to full championship recognition. On April 30, 2005, Ruiz was defeated by James Toney in a championship defense, but post-fight drug testing determined Toney had taken Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid. The bout's result was subsequently changed to a "no contest," whereupon the WBA reinstated Ruiz as champion.
Following repeated injuries to champion Vitali Klitschko, the World Boxing Council sanctioned an August 13, 2005, bout between Hasim Rahman and Monte Barrett for its "interim" championship. Rahman won the bout, and when Klitschko relinquished his title three months later, the WBC elevated Rahman to full championship recognition.
Following repeated injuries which prevented him from defending his title, the World Boxing Association designated Chagaev a "Champion in Recess," sanctioning an August 30, 2008, bout between former champions John Ruiz and Nikolai Valuev for its "interim" title; a bout won by Valuev. Upon his recovery however, Chagaev opted to face Wladimir Klitschko rather than Valuev, whereupon the WBA withdrew championship recognition.
The World Boxing Association modified its championship structure, creating a new "Super Champion" status to be awarded to champions who hold multiple titles simultaneously. Now subordinated to this was the status of "World Champion," commonly referred to as the "Regular" champion. The organization then sanctioned a bout between Povetkin and former champion Ruslan Chagaev for this "regular" title. Povetkin's reign as the WBA's "regular champion" ended upon a loss to "Super Champion" Wladimir Klitschko, at which point the "regular" title was vacant.
Browne defeated Ruslan Chagaev for the World Boxing Association's "regular" championship title, but Browne subsequently tested positive for Clenbuterol, a banned substance. Following confirmation of the positive result, the WBA withdrew its recognition of Browne's "regular" championship.
On October 29, 1877, a fight between British fighters Tom Allen and Tompkin Gilbert at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, London was billed as for the World heavyweight title under Marquess of Queensberry Rules. Allen won in seven rounds.
Bryan was due to fight Manuel Charr on January 29, 2021, for the WBA Regular championship, but Charr was unable to attain the right visa to come to the US, where the fight was to be held. Due to the long period of inactivity, Charr was stripped of the title and Bryan fought Bermane Stiverne for the now vacant title instead.

List of combined reigns

See main article: World heavyweight boxing championship records and statistics. As of May 26, 2024.

Keys:

Active title reign

Reign has ended

WBO heavyweight title bouts before August 23, 1997 are not included^[91]

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	WBA, IBF, WBO	25	23
2.		11 years, 8 months, 8 days	4 270	1	NYSAC, NBA	27	22
3.		9 years, 5 months, 5 days	3 443	3	NYSAC, WBA, WBC	22	21
4.		8 years, 5 months, 13 days	3 086	3	WBA, WBC, IBF	15	15
5.		7 years, 5 months, 28 days	2 735	3	WBC, WBO	15	15
6.		7 years, 3 months, 12 days	2 661	1	WBC, IBF	20	20
7.		7 years, 2 months, 19 days	2 638	1	NYSAC, NBA	6	6
8.		7 years, 0 months, 10 days	2 566	1	Universal	5	5
9.		6 years, 3 months, 11 days	2 292	1	Universal	6	6
10.		6 years, 1 month, 1 day	2 223	4	WBA, WBC, IBF	11	10
11.		5 years, 11 months, 4 days	2 156	1	Universal	8	6
12.		5 years, 1 month, 12 days	1 866	2	WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO	5	4
13.		5 years, 1 month, 5 days	1 859	1	WBC	10	8
14.		4 years, 11 months, 17 days	1 806	2	WBA, IBF, WBO	9	9
15.		4 years, 10 months, 18 days	1 785	1	NYSAC, WBA, WBC	10	10
16.		4 years, 10 months, 0 days	1 765	2	NYSAC, NBA	8	7
17.		4 years, 6 months, 10 days	1 652	1	Universal	2	2
18.		4 years, 2 months, 29 days	1 551	1	Universal	2	2
19.		3 years, 10 months, 22 days	1 421	2	IBF, WBO	5	5
20.		3 years, 10 months, 16 days	1 415	2	WBA, WBC, IBF	12	11

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