Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.

Boxing

Professional

Boxers who weigh over 200 pounds (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation,^[1] the World Boxing Association,^[2] and the World Boxing Organization.^[3] In 2020, the World Boxing Council ^[4] increased their heavyweight classification to 224 pounds to allow for their creation of the bridgerweight division.

Historical development

Because this division had no weight limit, it has been historically vaguely defined. In the 19th century, for example, many heavyweight champions weighed 170 pounds (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) or less (although others weighed 200 pounds).

In 1920, the light heavyweight division was formed, with a maximum weight of 175 pounds (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb). Any fighter weighing more than 175 pounds was a heavyweight. The cruiserweight division (first for boxers in the 175-190 pound range) was established in 1979 and recognized by the various boxing organizations in the 1980s with a maximum weight of either 190 pounds (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) or 195 pounds (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb). Later these organizations increased the cruiserweight limit to 200 pounds.

Since 1975, the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States and the Soviet Sports Committee established a new concept in international boxing, called "Heavy Duals," an all-heavyweight team contest between the United States and the Soviet Union.^[5]

As of 2020, Wladimir Klitschko holds record of most boxers beaten for the world heavyweight title, with 23.^[6][7][8] Klitschko holds the record for the longest cumulative heavyweight title reign of all time, with 4,382 days as world heavyweight champion.^[6][7]Joe Louis has won the most world heavyweight title bouts, with 27.^[7] Louis holds the record for most consecutive title defenses at this division, with 26 defenses of the world title.^{[nb 1]} This is also the record for most consecutive title defenses in boxing history.^[9]Michael Moorer, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko and Ruslan Chagaev have held various versions of the title belts on three occasions. Four boxers have regained the heavyweight title in an immediate rematch: Floyd Patterson in 1960, Muhammad Ali in 1978, Lennox Lewis in 2001, and Anthony Joshua in 2019. Mike Tyson holds the record for being the youngest heavyweight to ever have achieve championship status, becoming champion at the age of 20. Tyson also became the first heavyweight to own all three major belts - WBA, WBC, and IBF as well as The Ring and lineal heavyweight titles at the same time.

Current world champions

Sanctioning Body	Reign Began	Champion	Record	Defenses	Beaten opponents
WBA (Super)	December 7, 2019	Anthony Joshua	24-1	1	1
WBC	February 22, 2020	Tyson Fury	30-0-1	0	0
IBF	December 7, 2019	Anthony Joshua	24-1	1	1
WBO	December 7, 2019	Anthony Joshua	24-1	1	1

Current world rankings

The Ring

As of January 28, 2021.^[10]

Keys:

 C  Current The Ring world champion

Rank	Name	Record (W-L-D)	Title(s)
C	Tyson Fury	30-0-1 (21 KO)	WBC
1	Anthony Joshua	24-1 (22 KO)	IBF, WBA, WBO
2	Deontay Wilder	42-1-1 (41 KO)
3	Alexander Povetkin	36-2-1 (25 KO)
4	Dillian Whyte	27-2 (18 KO)
5	Luis Ortiz	32-2 (27 KO)
6	Andy Ruiz Jr.	33-2 (22 KO)
7	Joseph Parker	27-2 (21 KO)
8	Michael Hunter	19-1-1 (13 KO)
9	Oscar Rivas	26-1 (18 KO)
10	Oleksandr Usyk	18-0 (13 KO)

BoxRec

As of January 28, 2021.^[11]

Rank	Name	Record (W-L-D)	Points	Title(s)
1	Tyson Fury	30-0-1 (21 KO)	1,032	WBC
2	Deontay Wilder	42-1-1 (41 KO)	612.8
3	Anthony Joshua	24-1 (22 KO)	564.9	IBF, WBA, WBO
4	Alexander Povetkin	36-2-1 (25 KO)	350.7
5	Oleksandr Usyk	18-0 (13 KO)	249.5
6	Andy Ruiz Jr.	33-2 (22 KO)	217.3
7	Dillian Whyte	27-2 (18 KO)	117.2
8	Dereck Chisora	32-10 (23 KO)	78.8
9	Joe Joyce	12-0 (11 KO)	75.04
10	Michael Hunter	19-1-1 (13 KO)	69.64

Longest-reigning world heavyweight champions

Keys:

  Active title reign

  Reign has ended

Note 1: WBA (Regular) champions are not included

Note 2: WBO heavyweight title bouts before August 1997 are not included^[12]

Note 3: The names in italics are champions that did not win The Ring championship (1922-1989, 2002-)/lineal championship (1885-1921)/undisputed championship (1922-)

Combined reign

The list does not include The Ring and lineal championship fights after 1921.

As of 22 February 2020.

Pos.	Name	Combined reign	Days as champion	Number of reigns	Title recognition	Title fight wins	Beaten opponents	Fights
1.	Wladimir Klitschko	12 years, 0 months, 0 days	4 382	2	WBA, IBF, WBO	25	23	[13]
2.	Joe Louis	11 years, 8 months, 8 days	4 270	1	NYSAC, NBA	27	22	[14][15]
3.	Muhammad Ali	9 years, 5 months, 5 days	3 443	3	NYSAC, WBA, WBC	22	21	[16]
4.	Lennox Lewis	8 years, 5 months, 13 days	3 086	3	WBA, WBC, IBF	15	15	[17]
5.	Vitali Klitschko	7 years, 5 months, 28 days	2 735	3	WBC, WBO	15	15	[18]
6.	Larry Holmes	7 years, 3 months, 12 days	2 661	1	WBC, IBF	20	20	[19]
7.	Jack Dempsey	7 years, 2 months, 19 days	2 638	1	NYSAC, NBA	6	6	[20]
8.	John L. Sullivan	7 years, 0 months, 10 days	2 566	1	lineal	1	1	[21]
9.	Jack Johnson	6 years, 3 months, 11 days	2 292	1	lineal	6	6	[22]
10.	Evander Holyfield	6 years, 1 month, 1 day	2 223	4	WBA, WBC, IBF	10	9	[23]
11.	James J. Jeffries	5 years, 11 months, 4 days	2 156	1	lineal	8	6	[24]
12.	Deontay Wilder	5 years, 1 months, 5 days	1 859	1	WBC	10	8	[25]
13.	Joe Frazier	4 years, 10 months, 18 days	1 785	1	NYSAC, WBA, WBC	10	10	[26]
14.	Floyd Patterson	4 years, 10 months, 0 days	1 765	2	NYSAC, NBA	8	7	[27]
15.	James J. Corbett	4 years, 6 months, 10 days	1 652	1	lineal	2	2	[28]

Individual reign

Below is a list of longest reigning heavyweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. The list includes both The Ring and lineal championships. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.

Note: The names in italics are champions that did not win The Ring championship (1922-1989, 2002-)/lineal championship (1885-1921)/undisputed championship (1922-) during the reign

Pos.	Name	Title Reign	Title recognition	Successful defenses	Beaten opponents[29]	Fights
1.	Joe Louis	11 years, 8 months, 8 days	lineal	26	21	[14][15]
2.	Wladimir Klitschko	9 years, 7 months and 6 days	IBF (+WBA, WBO, The Ring)	18	17	[13]
3.	Larry Holmes	7 years, 3 months, 12 days	WBC-to-IBF (+The Ring/Lineal)	19	19	[19]
4.	Jack Dempsey	7 years, 2 months, 19 days	lineal	5	5	[20]
5.	John L. Sullivan	7 years, 0 months, 9 days	lineal	0	0	[21]
6.	Jack Johnson	6 years, 3 months, 10 days	lineal	5	5	[22]
7.	Muhammad Ali	5 years, 11 months, 9 days	The Ring/Lineal, (+WBA, WBC stripped)	9	9	[16]
8.	James J. Jeffries	5 years, 11 months, 4 days	lineal	7	6	[24]
9.	Vitali Klitschko	5 years, 2 months, 4 days	WBC	9	9	[18]
10.	Deontay Wilder	5 years, 1 month 5 days	WBC	10	9	[25]
11.	Joe Frazier	4 years, 10 months, 18 days	NYSAC (+WBA, WBC)	9	9	[26]
12.	James J. Corbett	4 years, 6 months, 10 days	lineal	1	1	[28]
13.	Jess Willard	4 years, 2 months, 29 days	lineal	1	1	[30]
14.	Lennox Lewis	4 years, 2 months, 15 days	WBC (+IBF, WBA stripped, The Ring/Lineal)	9	8	[17]
15.	Rocky Marciano	3 years, 11 months, 29 days	lineal	6	5	[31]

Amateur

The lower limit for heavyweight was established in 1948 at 81 kg (178.6 lb). A weight class named "super heavyweight" was established in 1984, and with it a maximum 91 kg (200.6 lb) for the heavyweight division.

Kickboxing

• In kickboxing, a heavyweight fighter generally weighs between 88 and 100 kg (194 and 220 lb; 13 st 12 lb and 15 st 10 lb). The fighters over 100 kg (220 lb; 15 st 10 lb) are considered super heavyweights.
• International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) Heavyweight (Pro & Amateur) 215.1-235 lb or 97.6-106.6 kg.
• In Glory promotion, a heavyweight division is over 95 kg (209 lb) and no upper weight limit.

Mixed martial arts

The heavyweight division in MMA generally groups fighters between 205 and 265 lb (93 and 120 kg).

Heavyweight is also the title of a documentary film that documented the fight camp of Fabricio Werdum when he became the UFC Heavyweight Champion. ^[32]

Professional wrestling

The term "world heavyweight" in modern wrestling generally refers to a champion wrestler who is seen as a prominent competitor, rather than an adherent to a particular weight class. The World Heavyweight Championship in wrestling is usually considered the main title in a given promotion. Prior to the wrestling industry publicly acknowledging the predetermined nature of the sport, a Heavyweight title was generally competed for by larger wrestlers while smaller wrestlers competed as (among other names and classifications) "Junior Heavyweights" and "Light-Heavyweights".

Analogous uses

The word "heavyweight" is sometimes used in other fields (e.g. politics) to denote a person who is especially powerful or influential. In this context, "big beast" has a similar meaning. Other boxing analogies include "punching above his [their] weight" to denote a person or entity (e.g. a country) whose influence is arguably greater than his/its basic attributes would suggest.

References

External links

• Barry Hugman's Boxing