List of heavyweight boxing champions

This is a chronological list of world heavyweight boxing champions, as recognized by the following organizations:

The World Boxing Association (WBA), founded in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA),
The World Boxing Council (WBC), founded in 1963,
The International Boxing Federation (IBF), founded in 1983,
The World Boxing Organization (WBO), founded in 1988, and
The International Boxing Organization (IBO), founded in 1991.

Prior to the rise of sanctioning bodies, champions were acknowledged by the public at large.

Reign Began	Reign Ended	Champion	Recognition
February 7, 1882	September 7, 1892	John L. Sullivan	Universal
Sullivan was the first champion under Marquess of Queensberry rules, having defeated Paddy Ryan in a bare-knuckle fight in 1882 to earn championship recognition.
September 7, 1892	March 17, 1897	James J. Corbett	Universal
March 17, 1897	June 9, 1899	Bob Fitzsimmons	Universal
June 9, 1899	May 13, 1905¹	James J. Jeffries	Universal
Jeffries was the first champion to relinquish the title, announcing his retirement and declaring that the winner of a match between Marvin Hart and Jack Root would be the next legitimate champion. Jeffries would return to the ring to face Jack Johnson.
July 3, 1905	February 23, 1906	Marvin Hart	Universal
February 23, 1906	December 26, 1908	Tommy Burns	Universal
December 26, 1908	April 5, 1915	Jack Johnson	Universal
April 5, 1915	July 4, 1919	Jess Willard	Universal
July 4, 1919	September 23, 1926	Jack Dempsey	Universal
September 23, 1926	July 31, 1928²	Gene Tunney	Universal
Tunney announced his retirement from professional boxing on July 31, 1928, relinquishing the championship.
September 26, 1928	June 12, 1930	Jack Sharkey	NBA
Sharkey defeated Tommy Loughran for the vacant NBA championship, but was not universally recognized as champion.
June 12, 1930	June 21, 1932	Max Schmeling	Universal
Schmeling defeated NBA champion Jack Sharkey to earn universal recognition as champion.
June 21, 1932	June 29, 1933	Jack Sharkey	Universal
June 29, 1933	June 14, 1934	Primo Carnera	Universal
June 14, 1934	June 13, 1935	Max Baer	Universal
June 13, 1935	June 22, 1937	James J. Braddock	Universal
June 22, 1937	March 1, 1949³	Joe Louis	Universal
June 22, 1949	September 27, 1950	Ezzard Charles	NBA
September 27, 1950	July 18, 1951	Ezzard Charles	Universal
Charles won the vacant National Boxing Association championship, but was not universally recognized as champion until defeating Joe Louis, the former champion who had come out of retirement.
July 18, 1951	September 23, 1952	Jersey Joe Walcott	Universal
September 23, 1952	April 27, 1956²	Rocky Marciano	Universal
Marciano announced his retirement from professional boxing, relinquishing the championship.
November 30, 1956	June 26, 1959	Floyd Patterson	Universal
June 26, 1959	June 20, 1960	Ingemar Johansson	Universal
June 20, 1960	September 25, 1962	Floyd Patterson	Universal
September 25, 1962	February 25, 1964	Sonny Liston	Universal
February 25, 1964	June 19, 1964	Cassius Clay	Universal
The WBA withdrew its recognition of Clay (now known as Muhammad Ali) as champion for agreeing to an immediate rematch against Liston, a violation of the organization's rules at the time. The WBC and other organizations continued to recognize him. (See Ali versus Liston.)
June 19, 1964	February 6, 1967	Cassius Clay	WBC
March 5, 1965	February 6, 1967	Ernie Terrell	WBA
February 6, 1967	April 29, 1967	Muhammad Ali	Universal
All sanctioning bodies withdrew recognition of Ali as champion for his refusal to be inducted into the United States Army subsequent to being drafted in early 1967.
March 4, 1968	February 16, 1970	Joe Frazier	WBC
April 28, 1968	February 16, 1970	Jimmy Ellis	WBA
February 16, 1970	January 22, 1973	Joe Frazier	Universal
Initially recognized by the powerful New York state athletic commission and the fledgling World Boxing Council, Frazier was recognized by all sanctioning bodies as champion after defeating Ellis; but universal recognition came only upon defeating Muhammad Ali on March 8, 1971. (See Fight of the Century.)
January 22, 1973	October 30, 1974	George Foreman	Universal
October 30, 1974	February 15, 1978	Muhammad Ali	Universal
February 15, 1978	March 18, 1978³	Leon Spinks	Universal
March 18, 1978	September 15, 1978	Leon Spinks	WBA
March 18, 1978	June 9, 1978	Ken Norton	WBC
June 9, 1978	December 11, 1983¹	Larry Holmes	WBC
Holmes relinquished his WBC title to assume the championship of the newly formed International Boxing Federation.
September 15, 1978	April 27, 1979¹	Muhammad Ali	WBA
Believing his career over, Ali relinquished his WBA title in exchange for a payment from promoter Don King, who was trying to stage a bout between then-WBC champ Larry Holmes and John Tate for the undisputed title. The bout never materialized, and Ali would return to the ring in 1980.
October 20, 1979	March 31, 1980	John Tate	WBA
March 31, 1980	December 10, 1982	Mike Weaver	WBA
December 10, 1982	September 23, 1983	Michael Dokes	WBA
September 23, 1983	December 1, 1984	Gerrie Coetzee	WBA
December 11, 1983	September 21, 1985	Larry Holmes	IBF
March 9, 1984	August 31, 1984	Tim Witherspoon	WBC
August 31, 1984	March 22, 1986	Pinklon Thomas	WBC
December 1, 1984	April 29, 1985	Greg Page	WBA
April 29, 1985	January 17, 1986	Tony Tubbs	WBA
September 21, 1985	February 19, 1987³	Michael Spinks	IBF
January 17, 1986	December 12, 1986	Tim Witherspoon	WBA
March 22, 1986	November 22, 1986	Trevor Berbick	WBC
November 22, 1986	March 7, 1987	Mike Tyson	WBC
December 12, 1986	March 7, 1987	James "Bonecrusher" Smith	WBA
March 7, 1987	August 1, 1987	Mike Tyson	WBA, WBC
May 30, 1987	August 1, 1987	Tony Tucker	IBF
August 1, 1987	February 10, 1990	Mike Tyson	IBF, WBA & WBC
May 6, 1989	January 11, 1991	Francesco Damiani	WBO
Though Damiani defeated Johnny DuPlooy to become the WBO's first Heavyweight champion, Tyson's reign in the division during this period is virtually undisputed.
February 10, 1990	October 25, 1990	James "Buster" Douglas	IBF, WBA & WBC
October 25, 1990	November 13, 1992	Evander Holyfield	IBF, WBA & WBC
January 11, 1991	December 24, 1991³	Ray Mercer	WBO
May 15, 1992	February 3, 1993³	Michael Moorer	WBO
November 13, 1992	December 14, 1992³	Riddick Bowe	IBF, WBA & WBC
Bowe was stripped of his WBC championship for refusing to fight Lennox Lewis.
November 14, 1992	January 29, 1993³	Pinklon Thomas	IBO
December 14, 1992	November 6, 1993	Riddick Bowe	IBF & WBA
December 14, 1992	September 24, 1994	Lennox Lewis	WBC
Lewis defeated Razor Ruddock on October 31, 1992 in a WBC 'eliminator' fight. When Riddick Bowe's championship recognition was withdrawn by the organization, the WBC immediately awarded Lewis the title.
June 7, 1993	October 29, 1993	Tommy Morrison	WBO
October 29, 1993	March 19, 1994	Michael Bentt	WBO
November 6, 1993	April 22, 1994	Evander Holyfield	IBF & WBA
March 19, 1994	March 11, 1995	Herbie Hide	WBO
April 22, 1994	November 5, 1994	Michael Moorer	IBF & WBA
August 4, 1994	August 29, 1994	Danell Nicholson³	IBO
September 24, 1994	September 2, 1995	Oliver McCall	WBC
October 29, 1994	November 8, 1995³	Jimmy Thunder	IBO
November 5, 1994	March 4, 1995³	George Foreman	IBF & WBA
The World Boxing Association withdrew its recognition of Foreman, but Foreman retained IBF championship recognition until it too was withdrawn.
March 4, 1995	June 28, 1995³	George Foreman	IBF
March 11, 1995	May 1, 1996¹	Riddick Bowe	WBO
April 8, 1995	September 7, 1996	Bruce Seldon	WBA
September 2, 1995	March 16, 1996	Frank Bruno	WBC
December 9, 1995	September 7, 1996³	Francois Botha	IBF
A drug test following Botha's victory over Axel Shultz for the IBF title vacated by George Foreman revealed that he had used illegal anabolic steroids. Upon the discovery the IBF "vacated" its championship. The organization has subsequently erased the episode from its own written history, not listing Botha among its recognized champions.
January 12, 1996	September 16, 1999³	Brian Nielsen	IBO
March 16, 1996	September 7, 1996	Mike Tyson	WBC
June 22, 1996	November 8, 1997	Michael Moorer	IBF
June 29, 1996	February 17, 1997¹	Henry Akinwande	WBO
Akinwande had been ranked the WBC's #2 contender when he won the WBO title. The WBC, which has feuded with the WBO since the latter's founding in 1988, dropped Akinwande from its rankings altogether. Akinwande subsequently relinquished his WBO title in exchange for the opportunity to meet Lennox Lewis in a bout for the WBC championship.
September 7, 1996	September 24, 1996¹	Mike Tyson	WBA & WBC
September 24, 1996	November 9, 1996	Mike Tyson	WBA
November 9, 1996	November 8, 1997	Evander Holyfield	WBA
February 7, 1997	November 13, 1999	Lennox Lewis	WBC
June 28, 1997	June 26, 1999	Herbie Hide	WBO
November 8, 1997	November 13, 1999	Evander Holyfield	IBF & WBA
June 26, 1999	April 1, 2000	Vitali Klitschko	WBO
November 13, 1999	April 29, 2000³	Lennox Lewis	IBF, IBO, WBA & WBC
In early 2000 the World Boxing Association and Lewis were sued by representatives of John Ruiz claiming that they had reneged on an agreement by which Ruiz would have fought Lewis for the WBA title. A New Jersey court ruled in favor of Ruiz, and ordered Lewis to either have his next bout against Ruiz or relinquish the title. Lewis elected instead to fight contender Michael Grant, relinquishing his WBA title on the day of the match.
April 1, 2000	October 14, 2000	Chris Byrd	WBO
April 29, 2000	April 22, 2001	Lennox Lewis	IBF, IBO & WBC
August 12, 2000	March 3, 2001	Evander Holyfield	WBA
October 14, 2000	March 8, 2003	Wladimir Klitschko	WBO
March 3, 2001	March 1, 2003	John Ruiz	WBA
April 22, 2001	November 17, 2001	Hasim Rahman	IBF, IBO & WBC
November 17, 2001	September 5, 2002¹	Lennox Lewis	IBF, IBO & WBC
Lewis relinquished the IBF title upon receiving payment of $1 million (US) by promoter Don King, who wished to stage a bout between Chris Byrd and Evander Holyfield for the vacant title.
September 5, 2002	February 6, 2004²	Lennox Lewis	IBO & WBC
December 14, 2002	present	Chris Byrd	IBF
March 1, 2003	February 20, 2004¹	Roy Jones Jr.	WBA
March 8, 2003	October 9, 2003¹	Corrie Sanders	WBO
February 20, 2004	April 30, 2005	John Ruiz	WBA
Ruiz beat Hasim Rahman on December 13, 2003 to become the WBA's "interim" champion. He was awarded the championship following Roy Jones, Jr.'s announcement that he was relinquishing it to concentrate on lower weight divisions.
April 10, 2004	present	Lamon Brewster	WBO
April 24, 2004	present	Vitali Klitschko	WBC
April 30, 2005	May 17, 2005	James Toney	WBA
On May 10, 2005, a drug test following Toney's victory over John Ruiz for the WBA title revealed that he had used products containing nandrolone, an anabolic steroid. Toney's victory was changed to a 'no contest' by New York state athletic commission. On May 17, 2005, the WBA advised Toney that it was "vacating (his) title", whereupon it was restored to John Ruiz.
May 17, 2005	present	John Ruiz	WBA

Footnotes

¹ Relinquished championship title.

² Retired as champion, relinquishing title.

³ Championship recognition withdrawn by sanctioning organization due to champion's failure or refusal to defend title against the organization's #1 ranked contender.

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List of heavyweight boxing champions

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