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Light heavyweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
In professional boxing, the division is above 168 pounds (76 kg) and up to 175 pounds (79 kg), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight.
The light-heavyweight class has produced some of boxing's greatest champions: Bernard Hopkins (who, upon becoming champion, broke the record for oldest man to win a world title), Tommy Loughran, Billy Conn, Joey Maxim, Archie Moore, Michael Moorer, Bob Foster, Ann Wolfe, Michael Spinks, Dariusz Michalczewski, Roy Jones Jr., Sergey Kovalev and Zsolt Erdei.
Many light heavyweight champions unsuccessfully challenged for the heavyweight crown until Michael Spinks became the first reigning light heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight championship. Bob Fitzsimmons captured the light-heavyweight championship after losing his heavyweight championship. Two all-time great heavyweight champions, Ezzard Charles and Floyd Patterson, started out as light heavyweights. Charles defeated Archie Moore and Joey Maxim several times in non-title bouts before becoming heavyweight champion and Patterson lost an eight-round decision to Joey Maxim before becoming heavyweight champion himself. Evander Holyfield successfully moved up from the light-heavyweight division to the cruiserweight division and eventually the heavyweight division and became undisputed champion of the latter two.
Sanctioning body | Reign began | Champion | Record | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
WBA | September 18, 2017 | Dmitry Bivol | 22–0 (11 KO) | 11 |
WBC | October 18, 2019 | Artur Beterbiev | 20–0 (20 KO) | 5 |
IBF | November 11, 2017 | Artur Beterbiev | 20–0 (20 KO) | 8 |
WBO | June 18, 2022 | Artur Beterbiev | 20–0 (20 KO) | 2 |
1. Jack Root (1903) USA
2. George Gardner (1903) USA
3. Bob Fitzsimmons (1903 - 1905) UK
4. Philadelphia Jack O’Brien (1905) Vacated USA
5. Jack Dillon (1914 - 1916) USA
6. Battling Levinsky (1916 - 1920) USA
7. Georges Carpentier (1920 - 1922) France
8. Battling Siki (1922 - 1923) Senegal
9. Mike McTigue (1923 - 1925) Ireland
10. Paul Berlenback (1925 - 1926) USA
11. Jack Delaney (1926 - 1927) Vacated Canada
12. Tommy Loughran (1927 - 1929) Vacated USA
13. Maxie Rosenbloom (1932 - 1934) USA
14. Bob Olin (1934 - 1935) USA
15. John Henry Lewis (1935 - 1938) Vacated USA
16. Melio Bettina (1939) USA
17. Billy Conn (1939 - 1941) Vacated USA
18. Gus Lesnevich (1941 - 1948) USA
19. Freddie Mills (1948 - 1950) UK
20. Joey Maxim (1950 - 1952) USA
21. Archie Moore (1952 - 1962) USA
22. Harold Johnson (1962 - 1963) USA
23. Willie Pastrano (1963 - 1965) USA
24. Jose Torres (1965 - 1966) Puerto Rico
25. Dick Tiger (1966 - 1968) Nigeria
26. Bob Foster (1968 - 1974) Retired USA
27. Michael Spinks (1983 – 1985) Vacated USA
28. Virgil Hill (1996 - 1997) USA
29. Dariusz Michalczewski (1997 - 2003) Poland
30. Julio Cesar Gonzalez (2003 - 2004) Mexico
31. Zsolt Erdei (2004 - 2009) Vacated Hungary
32. Jean Pascal (2010 - 2011) Canada
33. Bernard Hopkins (2011 - 2012) USA
34. Chad Dawson (2012 - 2013) USA
35. Adonis Stevenson (2013 - 2018) Canada
36. Oleksandr Gvozdyk (2018 - 2019) Ukraine
37. Artur Beterbiev (2019 - Present) Russia
As of June 20, 2023. [1]
Keys:
Rank | Name | Record (W–L–D) | Title(s) |
---|---|---|---|
C | vacant | ||
1 | Dmitry Bivol | 22–0 (11 KO) | WBA |
2 | Artur Beterbiev | 20–0 (20 KO) | IBF, WBC, WBO |
3 | Callum Smith | 29–2 (21 KO) | |
4 | Gilberto Ramírez | 44–1 (30 KO) | |
5 | Joe Smith Jr. | 28–4 (22 KO) | |
6 | Anthony Yarde | 22–3 (21 KO) | |
7 | Joshua Buatsi | 17–0 (13 KO) | |
8 | Dan Azeez | 19–0 (13 KO) | |
9 | Oleksandr Gvozdyk | 19–1 (15 KO) | |
10 | Michael Eifert | 12–1 (4 KO) |
As of 24 May 2022 [update] . [2]
Rank | Name | Record (W–L–D) | Points | Title(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dmitry Bivol | 20–0 (11 KO) | 591.9 | WBA |
2 | Artur Beterbiev | 18–0 (18 KO) | 194.0 | WBC, IBF, WBO |
3 | Callum Smith | 28–1 (20 KO) | 188.5 | |
4 | Gilberto Ramirez | 43–0 (29 KO) | 144.2 | |
5 | Joe Smith Jr. | 28–3 (22 KO) | 127.2 | |
6 | Maxim Vlasov | 46–4 (26 KO) | 70.65 | |
7 | Jean Pascal | 36–6–1 (20 KO) | 63.58 | |
8 | Marcus Browne | 24–2 (16 KO) | 58.90 | |
9 | Joshua Buatsi | 15–0 (13 KO) | 38.34 | |
10 | Sullivan Barrera | 22–4 (14 KO) | 29.16 | |
Below is a list of longest reigning light heavyweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.
Name | Title reign | Title recognition | Successful defenses | Beaten opponents | Fights | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Archie Moore | 9 years, 4 months, 24 days | NYSAC, NBA | 9 | 7 | [3] [4] |
2. | Dariusz Michalczewski | 9 years, 1 months, 8 days | IBF, WBA, WBO | 23 | 20 | [5] |
3. | Gus Lesnevich | 7 years, 2 months, 2 days | NYSAC, NBA | 5 | 3 | [6] |
4. | Dmitry Bivol | 6 years, 7 months and 2 weeks | WBA | 11 | 11 | [7] |
5. | Artur Beterbiev | 6 years, 5 months and 3 weeks | IBF, WBC, WBO | 8 | 8 | [8] |
6. | Bob Foster | 6 years, 0 months, 23 days | WBC, WBA | 14 | 13 | [9] |
7. | Zsolt Erdei | 5 years, 9 months, 27 days | WBO | 11 | 10 | [10] |
8. | Adonis Stevenson | 5 years, 5 months, 24 days | WBC | 9 | 9 | [11] |
9. | Charles Williams | 5 years, 4 months, 21 days | IBF | 8 | 8 | [12] |
10. | Roy Jones Jr. | 5 years, 2 months, 25 days | WBC, IBF, WBA (Super) | 11 | 11 | [13] |
11. | Virgil Hill | 4 years, 9 months, 15 days | WBA | 10 | 10 | [14] |
12. | Maxie Rosenbloom | 4 years, 4 months, 22 days | NYSAC, NBA | 7 | 6 | [15] |
13. | Michael Spinks | 4 years, 2 months, 3 days | IBF, WBA, WBC | 10 | 10 | [16] |
14. | Battling Levinsky | 3 years, 11 months, 19 days | World | 1 | 1 | [17] [18] |
15. | Victor Galindez | 3 years, 9 months, 8 days | WBA | 10 | 7 | [19] [20] |
In amateur boxing, light heavyweight is a weight division above 165 pounds (75 kg) and up to 178 pounds (81 kg), falling between middleweight and heavyweight.
The limit of light heavyweight generally differs among promotions in bare-knuckle boxing:
In MMA, the light heavyweight division is from 186 lb (84 kg) to 205 lb (93 kg).
Georges Carpentier was a French boxer, actor and World War I pilot. A precocious pugilist, Carpentier fought in numerous categories. He fought mainly as a light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasting from 1908 to 1926. A French professional champion on several occasions, he became the European heavyweight champion before the First World War. A sergeant aviator during the Great War, he was wounded before returning to civilian life. He then discovered rugby union, playing as a winger.
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