This is a list of world champions who have been certified by The Ring magazine. The Ring is a boxing magazine that was founded in 1922. The Ring has its own version of the lineal championship in a given weight class. The Ring began awarding world championship belts in 1922. The first Ring world title belt was awarded to heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and the second was awarded to flyweight champion Pancho Villa. The Ring stopped giving belts to world champions in the 1990s but began again in 2002.^[1]

In 2002, The Ring created a lineal championship system 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".^[2] The policy was updated in 2012 and there are now three ways that a boxer can win The Ring's title:

• Defeat the reigning champion.
• Win a box-off between The Ring's number-one and number-two rated contenders.
• If 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.

There are now also six ways that a boxer can lose The Ring's title:

• The champion loses a fight in the weight class in which he is champion.
• The champion moves to another weight class.
• The champion does not schedule a fight in any weight class for 18 months.
• The champion does not schedule a fight at his championship weight for 18 months (even if he fights at another weight).
• The champion does not schedule a fight with a Top-5 contender from any weight class for two years.
• The champion retires.

In 2007, The Ring was acquired by the owners of fight promoter Golden Boy Promotions,^[3] which has publicized The Ring's world championship when this is at stake in fights it promotes (such as Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones, Jr. in 2008).^[4]

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.^{[5] [6] [7]}

Heavyweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Jack Dempsey	1922 - September 23, 1926
2	Gene Tunney	September 23, 1926 - July 31, 1928 (Retired)
3	Max Schmeling (defeated Jack Sharkey)	June 12, 1930 - June 21, 1932
4	Jack Sharkey	June 21, 1932 - June 29, 1933
5	Primo Carnera	June 29, 1933 - June 14, 1934
6	Max Baer	June 14, 1934 - June 13, 1935
7	James J. Braddock	June 13, 1935 - June 22, 1937
8	Joe Louis	June 22, 1937 - September 27, 1950
9	Ezzard Charles	September 27, 1950 - July 18, 1951
10	Jersey Joe Walcott	July 18, 1951 - September 23, 1952
11	Rocky Marciano	September 23, 1952 - April 27, 1956 (Retired)
12	Floyd Patterson (defeated Archie Moore)	November 30, 1956 - June 26, 1959
13	Ingemar Johansson	June 26, 1959 - June 20, 1960
14	Floyd Patterson	June 20, 1960 - September 25, 1962
15	Sonny Liston	September 25, 1962 - February 25, 1964
16	Muhammad Ali	February 25, 1964 - March 8, 1971
17	Joe Frazier	March 8, 1971 - January 22, 1973
18	George Foreman	January 22, 1973 - October 30, 1974
19	Muhammad Ali	October 30, 1974 - February 15, 1978
20	Leon Spinks	February 15, 1978 - September 15, 1978
21	Muhammad Ali	September 15, 1978 - October 2, 1980
22	Larry Holmes	October 2, 1980 - September 21, 1985
23	Michael Spinks	September 21, 1985 - June 27, 1988
24	Mike Tyson	June 27, 1988 - February 11, 1990
25	James Douglas	February 11, 1990 - October 25, 1990
26	Evander Holyfield	October 25, 1990 - Oct. 1990 (discontinued championship policy during Holyfield's reign)
27	Lennox Lewis	2002 - February 6, 2004 (Retired)
28	Vitali Klitschko (defeated Corrie Sanders)	April 24, 2004 - November 9, 2005 (Retired)
29	Wladimir Klitschko (defeated Ruslan Chagaev)	June 20, 2009–present

Cruiserweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Carlos De León (Awarded title by Ring)	February 3, 1984 - June 6, 1985
2	Alfonzo Ratliff	June 6, 1985 - September 21, 1985
3	Bernard Benton	September 21, 1985 - March 22, 1986
4	Carlos De León	March 22, 1986 - March 30, 1987 (Ring stopped recognizing weight class)
5	Jean-Marc Mormeck (Defeated Wayne Braithwaite)	April 2, 2005 - January 7, 2006
6	O'Neil Bell	January 7, 2006 - March 17, 2007
7	Jean-Marc Mormeck	March 17, 2007 - November 10, 2007
8	David Haye	November 10, 2007 - May 23, 2008 (Moved up to Heavyweight)
9	Tomasz Adamek (Defeated Steve Cunningham)	December 11, 2008 - February 20, 2010 (Moved up to Heavyweight)
10	Yoan Pablo Hernandez (Defeated Steve Cunningham)	February 4, 2012 - Present

Light Heavyweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Maxie Rosenbloom	June 25, 1930 - November 16, 1934
2	Bob Olin	November 16, 1934 - October 31, 1935
3	John Henry Lewis	October 31, 1935 - June 1939 (Retired)
4	Billy Conn (beat Melio Bettina)	July 13, 1939 - May 1941 (moved up to Heavyweight)
5	Gus Lesnevich (beat Tami Mauriello)	August 26, 1941 - July 26, 1948
6	Freddie Mills	July 26, 1948 - January 24, 1950
7	Joey Maxim	January 24, 1950 - December 17, 1952
8	Archie Moore	December 17, 1952 - May 12, 1962 (moved up to Heavyweight)
9	Harold Johnson (beat Doug Jones)	May 12, 1962 - June 1, 1963
10	Willie Pastrano	June 1, 1963 - March 30, 1965
11	José Torres	March 30, 1965 - December 16, 1966
12	Dick Tiger	December 16, 1966 - May 24, 1968
13	Bob Foster	May 24, 1968 - September 16, 1974 (retired)
14	Víctor Galíndez	1979 - November 30, 1979 (lost to Marvin Johnson)
15	Matthew Saad Muhammad (awarded title by Ring)	November 30, 1979 - December 19, 1981
16	Dwight Muhammad Qawi	December 19, 1981 - March 18, 1983
17	Michael Spinks	March 18, 1983 - September 21, 1985 (won heavyweight title)
18	Roy Jones Jr.	2001 - May 15, 2004
19	Antonio Tarver	May 15, 2004 - December 18, 2004
20	Glen Johnson	December 18, 2004 - June 18, 2005
21	Antonio Tarver	June 18, 2005 - June 10, 2006
22	Bernard Hopkins	June 10, 2006 - April 19, 2008
23	Joe Calzaghe	April 19, 2008 - February 6, 2009 (Retired)
24	Jean Pascal (Defeated Chad Dawson)	August 14, 2010 - May 21, 2011
25	Bernard Hopkins	May 21, 2011 - April 28, 2012
26	Chad Dawson	April 28, 2012 - Present

Super Middleweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Joe Calzaghe (defeated Jeff Lacy)	March 4, 2006 - September 28, 2008 (won light heavyweight/vacated)
2	Andre Ward (defeated Carl Froch)	December 17, 2011 - present

Middleweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Marcel Thil	1933 - September 23, 1937 (Vacated title)
2	Freddie Steele (Awarded title)	September 23, 1937 - 1938 (Stripped)
3	Tony Zale (beat Georgie Abrams)	November 28, 1941 - July 16, 1947
4	Rocky Graziano	July 16, 1947 - June 10, 1948
5	Tony Zale	June 10, 1948 - September 21, 1948
6	Marcel Cerdan	September 21, 1948 - June 16, 1949
7	Jake LaMotta	June 16, 1949 - February 14, 1951
8	Sugar Ray Robinson	February 14, 1951 - July 10, 1951
9	Randy Turpin	July 10, 1951 - September 12, 1951
10	Sugar Ray Robinson	September 12, 1951 - December 18, 1952 (Retired)
11	Carl Olson (beat Randy Turpin)	October 21, 1953 - December 9, 1955
12	Sugar Ray Robinson	December 9, 1955 - January 2, 1957
13	Gene Fullmer	January 2, 1957 - May 1, 1957
14	Sugar Ray Robinson	May 1, 1957 - January 22, 1960
15	Paul Pender	January 22, 1960 - July 11, 1961
16	Terry Downes	July 11, 1961 - April 7, 1962
17	Paul Pender	April 7, 1962 - May 7, 1963 (Retired)
18	Dick Tiger (Awarded title by Ring)	May 7, 1963 - December 7, 1963
19	Joey Giardello	December 7, 1963 - October 21, 1965
20	Dick Tiger	October 21, 1965 - April 25, 1966
21	Emile Griffith	April 25, 1966 - April 17, 1967
22	Nino Benvenuti	April 17, 1967 - September 29, 1967
23	Emile Griffith	September 29, 1967 - March 4, 1968
24	Nino Benvenuti	March 4, 1968 - November 7, 1970
25	Carlos Monzón	November 7, 1970 - August 29, 1977 (Retired)
26	Rodrigo Valdez (beat Bennie Briscoe)	November 5, 1977 - April 22, 1978
27	Hugo Corro	April 22, 1978 - June 30, 1979
28	Vito Antuofermo	June 30, 1979 - March 16, 1980
29	Alan Minter	March 16, 1980 - September 27, 1980
30	Marvelous Marvin Hagler	September 27, 1980 - April 6, 1987
31	Sugar Ray Leonard	April 6, 1987 - (retired, then moved up to Super Middleweight)
32	Sumbu Kalambay (Awarded title by Ring)	July 6, 1988 - March 2, 1989 (Ring ceased publication for 7 months)
33	Bernard Hopkins	September 29, 2001 - July 16, 2005
34	Jermain Taylor	July 16, 2005 - September 29, 2007
35	Kelly Pavlik	September 29, 2007 – April 17, 2010
36	Sergio Gabriel Martínez	April 17, 2010 – present

Junior Middleweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Oscar Albarado (beat Koichi Wajima)	June 4, 1974 - January 21, 1975
2	Koichi Wajima	January 21, 1975 - June 7, 1975
3	Jae-Doo Yuh	June 7, 1975 - February 17, 1976
4	Koichi Wajima	February 17, 1976 - May 18, 1976
5	Jose Manuel Duran	May 18, 1976 - October 8, 1976
6	Miguel Angel Castellini	October 8, 1976 - March 5, 1977
7	Eddie Gazo	March 5, 1977 - August 9, 1978
8	Masashi Kudo	August 9, 1978 - October 24, 1979
9	Ayub Kalule	October 24, 1979 - June 25, 1981
10	Sugar Ray Leonard	June 25, 1981 - June 25, 1982
11	Thomas Hearns	May 1983 - September 1986
12	Oscar De La Hoya (beat Fernando Vargas)	September 14, 2002 - September 13, 2003
13	Shane Mosley	September 13, 2003 - March 13, 2004
14	Winky Wright	March 13, 2004 - November 7, 2005 (moved up to Middleweight)

Welterweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Jimmy McLarnin	1933 - May 28, 1934
2	Barney Ross	May 28, 1934 - September 17, 1934
3	Jimmy McLarnin	September 17, 1934 - May 28, 1935
4	Barney Ross	May 28, 1935 - May 31, 1938
5	Henry Armstrong	May 31, 1938 - October 4, 1940
6	Fritzie Zivic	October 4, 1940 - July 29, 1941
7	Freddie Cochrane	July 29, 1941 - February 1, 1946
8	Marty Servo	February 1, 1946 - September 25, 1946 (Retired)
9	Sugar Ray Robinson (beat Tommy Bell)	December 20, 1946 - 1951
10	Kid Gavilan (beat Billy Graham)	August 29, 1951 - October 20, 1954
11	Johnny Saxton	October 20, 1954 - April 1, 1955
12	Tony DeMarco	April 1, 1955 - June 10, 1955
13	Carmen Basilio	June 10, 1955 - March 14, 1956
14	Johnny Saxton	March 14, 1956 - September 12, 1956
15	Carmen Basilio	September 12, 1956 - September 23, 1957 (Vacated / Won Middleweight)
16	Virgil Akins (beat Vince Martinez)	June 6, 1958 - December 5, 1958
17	Don Jordan	December 5, 1958 - May 27, 1960
18	Benny Paret	May 27, 1960 - April 1, 1961
19	Emile Griffith	April 1, 1961 - September 30, 1961
20	Benny Paret	September 30, 1961 - March 24, 1962
21	Emile Griffith	March 24, 1962 - March 21, 1963
22	Luis Manuel Rodríguez	March 21, 1963 - June 8, 1963
23	Emile Griffith	June 8, 1963 - April 25, 1966 (Vacated / Won Middleweight)
24	Curtis Cokes (beat Jean Josselin)	November 28, 1966 - April 18, 1969
25	José Nápoles	April 18, 1969 - December 3, 1970
26	Billy Backus	December 3, 1970 - June 4, 1971
27	José Nápoles	June 4, 1971 - December 6, 1975
28	John Stracey	December 6, 1975 - June 22, 1976
29	Carlos Palomino	June 22, 1976 - January 14, 1979
30	Wilfred Benítez	January 14, 1979 - November 30, 1979
31	Sugar Ray Leonard	November 30, 1979 - June 20, 1980
32	Roberto Durán	June 20, 1980 - November 25, 1980
33	Sugar Ray Leonard	November 25, 1980 - November 9, 1982 (Retired)
34	Donald Curry (defeated Milton McCrory)	December 6, 1985 - September 27, 1986
35	Lloyd Honeyghan	September 27, 1986 - October 27, 1987
36	Jorge Vaca	October 27, 1987 - March 29, 1988
37	Lloyd Honeyghan	March 29, 1988 - February 4, 1989
38	Marlon Starling	February 4, 1989 - March 2, 1989 (Ring ceased publication for 7 months)
39	Vernon Forrest (beat Shane Mosley)	January 26, 2002 - January 25, 2003
40	Ricardo Mayorga	January 25, 2003 - December 13, 2003
41	Cory Spinks	December 13, 2003 - February 5, 2005
42	Zab Judah	February 5, 2005 - January 7, 2006
43	Carlos Manuel Baldomir	January 7, 2006 - November 4, 2006
44	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	November 4, 2006 - June 29, 2008 (Retired)

Junior Welterweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Duilio Loi	December 15, 1962 - January 1963 (Retired)
2	Eddie Perkins	1963 - January 18, 1965
3	Carlos Hernández	January 18, 1965 - April 29, 1966
4	Sandro Lopopolo	April 29, 1966 - April 30, 1967
5	Takeshi Fuji	April 30, 1967 - December 12, 1968
6	Nicolino Locche	December 12, 1968 - March 10, 1972
7	Alfonso Frazer	March 10, 1972 - October 28, 1972
8	Antonio Cervantes	October 28, 1972 - March 6, 1976
9	Wilfred Benítez	March 6, 1976 - January 14, 1979 (won welterweight title)
10	Antonio Cervantes	1979 - August 2, 1980
11	Aaron Pryor	August 2, 1980 - October 26, 1983 (Retired)
12	Kostya Tszyu (beat Zab Judah)	November 3, 2001 - June 4, 2005
13	Ricky Hatton	June 4, 2005 - May 2, 2009
14	Manny Pacquiao	May 2, 2009 - July 23, 2010 (Vacated)

Lightweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Barney Ross	June 23,1933 - 1933 (Vacated / Moved up to Jr. Welterweight)
2	Tony Canzoneri (beat Lou Ambers)	May 10, 1935 - September 3, 1936
3	Lou Ambers	September 3, 1936 - August 17, 1938
4	Henry Armstrong	August 17, 1938 - August 22, 1939
5	Lou Ambers	August 22, 1939 - May 10, 1940
6	Lew Jenkins	May 10, 1940 - December 19, 1941
7	Sammy Angott	December 19, 1941 - November 13, 1942 (Retired)
8	Ike Williams (beat Bob Montgomery)	August 4, 1947 - May 25, 1951
9	Jimmy Carter	May 25, 1951 - May 14, 1952
10	Lauro Salas	May 14, 1952 - October 15, 1952
11	Jimmy Carter	October 15, 1952 - March 5, 1954
12	Paddy DeMarco	March 5, 1954 - November 17, 1954
13	Jimmy Carter	November 17, 1954 - June 29, 1955
14	Wallace (Bud) Smith	June 29, 1955 - August 24, 1956
15	Joe Brown	August 24, 1956 - April 21, 1962
16	Carlos Ortiz	April 21, 1962 - April 10, 1965
17	Ismael Laguna	April 10, 1965 - November 13, 1965
18	Carlos Ortiz	November 13, 1965 - June 29, 1968
19	Carlos Cruz	June 29, 1968 - February 18, 1969
20	Mando Ramos	February 18, 1969 - March 3, 1970
21	Ismael Laguna	March 3, 1970 - September 26, 1970
22	Ken Buchanan	September 26, 1970 - June 26, 1972
23	Roberto Durán	June 26, 1972 - February 2, 1979 (moved up to Welterweight)
24	Jim Watt (Awarded title by Ring)	April 12, 1981 - June 20, 1981
25	Alexis Argüello	June 20, 1981 - February 1983 (moved up to Junior Welterweight)
26	Julio César Chávez (beat José Luis Ramírez)	October 29, 1988 - March 2, 1989 (Ring vacated title)
27	Pernell Whitaker (beat Juan Nazario)	August 11, 1990 - January 14, 1992 (moved up to Junior Welterweight)
28	Floyd Mayweather Jr. (beat José Luis Castillo)	April 20, 2002 - May 22, 2004 (moved up to Junior Welterweight)
29	José Luis Castillo (beat Juan Lazcano)	June 5, 2004 - May 7, 2005
30	Diego Corrales	May 7, 2005 - October 7, 2006
31	Joel Casamayor	October 7, 2006 - September 13, 2008
32	Juan Manuel Márquez	September 13, 2008 – April 14, 2012 (moved up to Junior Welterweight)

Junior Lightweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Flash Elorde	1963 - June 15, 1967
2	Yoshiaki Numata	June 15, 1967 - December 14, 1967
3	Hiroshi Kobayashi	December 14, 1967 - July 29, 1971
4	Alfredo Marcano	July 29, 1971 - April 25, 1972
5	Ben Villaflor	April 25, 1972 - March 13, 1973
6	Kuniaki Shibata	March 13, 1973 - October 17, 1973
7	Ben Villaflor	October 17, 1973 - October 16, 1976
8	Samuel Serrano	October 16, 1976 - August 2, 1980
9	Yasutsune Uehara	August 2, 1980 - April 9, 1981
10	Samuel Serrano	April 9, 1981 - January 19, 1983
11	Roger Mayweather	January 19, 1983 - February 26, 1984
12	Rocky Lockridge	February 26, 1984 - May 19, 1985
13	Wilfredo Gómez	May 19, 1985 - May 24, 1986
14	Alfredo Layne	May 24, 1986 - September 27, 1986
15	Brian Mitchell	September 27, 1986 - March 30, 1987
16	Manny Pacquiao (beat Juan Manuel Márquez)	March 15, 2008 - July 2008 (Moved up to lightweight)

Featherweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Kid Chocolate	1933 -
2	Freddie Miller	1935 - May 11, 1936
3	Petey Sarron	May 11, 1936- October 29, 1937
4	Henry Armstrong	October 29, 1937 - December 5, 1938 (Vacated)
5	Joey Archibald (beat Leo Rodak)	April 18, 1939 - May 20, 1940
6	Harry Jeffra	May 20, 1940 - May 12, 1941
7	Joey Archibald	May 12, 1941 - September 11, 1941
8	Chalky Wright	September 11, 1941 - November 20, 1942
9	Willie Pep	November 20, 1942 - October 29, 1948
10	Sandy Saddler	October 29, 1948 - February 11, 1949
11	Willie Pep	February 11, 1949 - September 8, 1950
12	Sandy Saddler	September 8, 1950 - January 21, 1957 (Retired)
13	Hogan Bassey (beat Cherif Hamia)	June 24, 1957 - March 18, 1959
14	Davey Moore	March 18, 1959 - March 21, 1963
15	Sugar Ramos	March 21, 1963 - September 26, 1964
16	Vicente Saldivar	September 26, 1964 - October 14, 1967 (Retired)
17	Johnny Famechon (beat José Legrá)	January 21, 1969 - May 9, 1970
18	Vicente Saldivar	May 9, 1970 - December 11, 1970
19	Kuniaki Shibata	December 11, 1970 - May 19, 1972
20	Clemente Sanchez	May 19, 1972 - December 16, 1972 (Vacated)
21	Alexis Argüello (beat Rigoberto Riasco)	May 31,1976 - June 20, 1977 (Vacated/Moved to Jr. Lightweight)
22	Danny Lopez (beat Roberto Castañón)	March 10, 1979 - February 2, 1980
23	Salvador Sánchez	February 2, 1980 - August 12, 1982 (Died in car accident)
24	Eusebio Pedroza (Awarded title by Ring)	September 22, 1982 - June 8, 1985
25	Barry McGuigan	June 8, 1985 - June 23, 1986
26	Steve Cruz	June 23, 1986 - March 6, 1987
27	Antonio Esparragoza	March 6, 1987 - March 2, 1989 (Ring stopped recognizing champs)
28	Marco Antonio Barrera (beat Erik Morales)	June 22, 2002 - November 15, 2003
29	Manny Pacquiao	November 15, 2003 - March 19, 2005 (Moved up to junior lightweight)

Junior Featherweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Wilfredo Gómez (beat Nestor Jimenez)	March 9, 1979 - May 1983
2	Paulie Ayala (beat Bones Adams)	February 23, 2002 - May 2004 (Moved to Featherweight)
3	Israel Vázquez (beat Óscar Larios)	December 3, 2005 - March 3, 2007
4	Rafael Márquez	March 3, 2007 - August 4, 2007
5	Israel Vázquez	August 4, 2007 - May 28, 2009 (moved up to featherweight)

Bantamweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Al Brown	1933 -
2	Baltazar Sangchili	1935 -
3	Sixto Escobar	1937 - September 23, 1937
4	Harry Jeffra	September 23, 1937 - February 20, 1938
5	Sixto Escobar	February 20, 1938 - October 4, 1939 (Vacated)
6	Lou Salica (beat Tommy Forte)	January 13, 1941 - August 7, 1942
7	Manuel Ortiz	August 7, 1942 - January 6, 1947
8	Harold Dade	January 6, 1947 - March 11, 1947
9	Manuel Ortiz	March 11, 1947 - May 31, 1950
10	Vic Toweel	May 31, 1950 - November 15, 1952
11	Jimmy Carruthers	November 15, 1952 - May 16, 1954 (Retired)
12	Robert Cohen (beat Chamrern Songkitrat)	September 19, 1954 - June 29, 1956
13	Mario D'Agata	June 29, 1956 - April 1, 1957
14	Alphonse Halimi	April 1, 1957 - July 8, 1959
15	Jose Becerra	July 8, 1959 - August 30, 1960 (Retired)
16	Eder Jofre (beat Piero Rollo)	March 25, 1961 - May 17, 1965
17	Fighting Harada	May 17, 1965 - February 26, 1968
18	Lionel Rose	February 26, 1968 - August 22, 1969
19	Rubén Olivares	August 22, 1969 - October 16, 1970
20	Chucho Castillo	October 16, 1970 - April 2, 1971
21	Rubén Olivares	April 2, 1971 - March 19, 1972
22	Rafael Herrera	March 19, 1972 - July 30, 1972
23	Enrique Pinder	July 30, 1972 - January 30, 1973
24	Romeo Anaya	January 20, 1973 - November 3, 1973
25	Arnold Taylor	November 3, 1973 - July 3, 1974
26	Soo Hwan Hong	July 3, 1974 - March 14, 1975
27	Alfonso Zamora	March 14, 1975 - November 19, 1977
28	Jorge Luján	November 19, 1977 - August 29, 1980
29	Julian Solís	August 29, 1980 - November 14, 1980
30	Jeff Chandler	November 14, 1980 - April 7, 1984
31	Richie Sandoval	April 7, 1984 - March 10, 1986
32	Gaby Canizales	March 10, 1986 - June 4, 1986
33	Bernardo Pinango	June 4, 1986 - March 1987 (moved up to junior featherweight)

Junior Bantamweight[link]

The Ring has not yet awarded a championship in the junior bantamweight division.

Flyweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Pancho Villa	June 18, 1923 - September 24, 1925
2	Fidel LaBarba (Defeated Elky Clark)	January 21, 1927 - August 23, 1927 (Retired)
3	Benny Lynch (Defeated Small Montana)	January 19, 1937 - June 29, 1938 (Vacated/Missed weight)
4	Peter Kane (Defeated Jackie Jurich)	September 22, 1938 - June 19, 1943
5	Jackie Paterson	June 19, 1943 - March 23, 1948
6	Rinty Monaghan	March 23, 1948 - April 25, 1950 (Retired)
7	Terry Allen (Defeated Honore Pratesi)	April 25, 1950 - August 1, 1950
8	Dado Marino	August 1, 1950 - May 19, 1952
9	Yoshio Shirai	May 19, 1952 - November 26, 1954
10	Pascual Perez	November 26, 1954 - April 16, 1960
11	Pone Kingpetch	April 16, 1960 - October 10, 1962
12	Fighting Harada	October 10, 1962 - January 12, 1963
13	Pone Kingpetch	January 12, 1963 - September 18, 1963
14	Hiroyuki Ebihara	September 18, 1963 - January 23, 1964
15	Pone Kingpetch	January 23, 1964 - April 23, 1965
16	Salvatore Burruni	April 23, 1965 - June 14, 1966
17	Walter McGowan	June 14, 1966 - December 30, 1966
18	Chartchai Chionoi	December 30, 1966 - February 23, 1969
19	Efren Torres	February 23, 1969 - March 20, 1970
20	Chartchai Chionoi	March 20, 1970 - December 7, 1970
21	Erbito Salavarria	December 7, 1970 - February 9, 1973
22	Venice Borkorsor	February 9, 1973 - July 10, 1973 (Vacated/Moved to Bantamweight)
23	Miguel Canto (Defeated Shoji Oguma)	January 8, 1975 - March 18, 1979
24	Chan-Hee Park	March 18, 1979 - May 18, 1980
25	Shoji Oguma	May 18, 1980 - May 12, 1981
26	Antonio Avelar	May 12, 1981 - March 20, 1982
27	Prudencio Cardona	March 20, 1982 - July 24, 1982
28	Freddy Castillo	July 24, 1982 - November 6, 1982
29	Eleoncio Mercedes	November 6, 1982 - March 15, 1983
30	Charlie Magri	March 15, 1983 - September 27, 1983
31	Frank Cedeno	September 27, 1983 - January 18, 1984
32	Koji Kobayashi	January 18, 1984 - April 9, 1984
33	Gabriel Bernal	April 9, 1984 - October 8, 1984
34	Sot Chitalada	October 8, 1984 - July 24, 1988
35	Yong-Kang Kim	July 24, 1988 - March 2, 1989 (The Ring ceased awarding belts)
36	Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (Defeated Kōki Kameda)	March 27, 2010 – March 2, 2012
37	Sonny Boy Jaro	March 2, 2012 – present

Junior Flyweight[link]

Number	Champion	Reign
1	Rosendo Álvarez	March 31, 2003 - October 2, 2004
2	Hugo Cázares (beat Nelson Dieppa)	September 30, 2006 - August 25, 2007
3	Ivan Calderón	August 25, 2007 - August 28, 2010
4	Giovani Segura	August 28, 2010 – September 19, 2011 (moved up to flyweight)

Strawweight[link]

The Ring has not yet awarded a championship in the Strawweight division.

See also[link]

• Lineal championship
• List of current world boxing champions
• Ring Magazine pound for pound
• The Ring

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Ring

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Look up champion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A champion (from the late Latin campio) is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, and even further (artificial) divisions at one or more of these levels, as in soccer. Their champions can be accordingly styled, e.g. national champion, world champion. In certain disciplines, there are specific titles for champions, either descriptive, as the baspehlivan in Turkish oil wrestling, yokozuna in Japanese sumo wrestling; or copied from real life, such as the koenig and kaiser ('king' and 'emperor') in traditional archery competitions (not just national, also at lower levels) in the Low Countries.

• In a broader sense, nearly any sort of competition can be considered a championship, and the victor of it a champion. Thus, there are championships for many non-sporting competitions such as spelling bees or wargames. In this context, it is used as an noun. An example would be, "Bianca is a CHAMPION".

• It is also possible to champion a cause. In an ideological sense, encompassing religion, a champion may be an evangelist, a visionary advocate who clears the field for the triumph of the idea. Or the champion may merely make a strong case for a new corporate division to a resistant board of directors. Such a champion may take on responsibility for publicizing the project and garnering funding. Such a champion is beyond a simple promoter. Here it is used as a verb. An example is, "The fundraiser championed rights for everyone."

• A national champion is a large company that is dominant in its field and favored by the government of the country in which it is based in the belief that it will be in that country's interests if the company is successful in foreign markets. The practice is controversial, and not widely believed by economists to be beneficial, but has long been a policy of France and other countries.

The original meaning of the word partakes of both these senses: in the Feudal Era, knights were expected to be champions of both prowess in combat and of causes, the latter most commonly being either patriotic, romantic or religious in nature. This reaches its most literal in a trial by combat, in which each combatant champions the cause of one side of the trial. A "King's Champion" is appointed for ceremonial purposes at the coronation of an English Monarch, to defeat any challenger to the monarch's right to be crowned.

World Champion is a title used to denote a winner of a World championship in a particular sport, discipline or game.

See also[link]

• World championship
• Championship

References[link]

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)

Tony Zale
Statistics
Real name	Antoni Florian Zaleski
Nickname(s)	Man of Steel
Rated at	Middleweight
Height	5 ft 7 1⁄2 in (1.71 m)
Reach	69 in (175 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1913-05-29)May 29, 1913 Gary, Indiana
Died	March 20, 1997(1997-03-20) (aged 83)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	87
Wins	67
Wins by KO	45
Losses	18
Draws	2
No contests	0

Anthony Florian Zaleski (May 29, 1913 – March 20, 1997) was an American boxer. Zale was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, a steel town, which gave him his nickname, "Man of Steel." In addition, he had the reputation of being able to take fearsome punishment and still rally to win, reinforcing that nickname. Zale was known as a strong body puncher, who punished his opponents and steadily wore them down before knocking them out.

Bouts against Rocky Graziano[link]

Zale was a 2-time world middleweight champion and made the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Zale is best remembered for his three bouts over a 21-month period with Rocky Graziano for the middleweight crown. These three bouts were among the most brutal and exciting middleweight championship matches of all time. The first match took place in Yankee Stadium, New York. Zale had served in World War II, was thirty-three years old, and had been inactive for about four years. Graziano was on a winning knockout streak and seemed to be in his prime. In their first match (September 27, 1946), after flooring Graziano in the first round, Zale took a savage beating from Graziano, and was on the verge of losing the fight by TKO. However, he rallied and knocked out Graziano in the sixth round to retain his title. The rematch, a year later in Chicago (July] 16, 1947), was a mirror image of their first fight. Graziano was battered around the ring, suffered a closed eye and appeared ready to lose by a knockout, then rallied and knocked Zale out in the sixth round, becoming middleweight champion of the world.

Their last fight was held in New Jersey the following year (June 10, 1948). Zale regained his crown, winning the match by a knockout in the third round. The knockout blows consisted of a perfect combination of a right to Graziano's body, then a left hook to Graziano's jaw. Graziano was knocked unconscious. This fight was Zale's last hurrah. His age and the many ring wars he fought seemed to catch up with him in his next fight against European Champion Marcel Cerdan later that year, who stopped him in the eleventh round to win the middleweight championship of the world (September 21, 1948). Graziano commented that years later he would wake up in a cold sweat having had the recurring nightmare of being back in the ring with Zale, who he said really was a man of steel.

Edith Piaf, who at the time was having an affair with Cerdan, was in the audience, praying to Saint Therese for his victory. Two of the three Graziano fights and the Cerdan fight were named Ring Magazine fights of the year.

Zale trained successful amateur boxer Robert Beal.

Zale was originally cast to play himself in the movie Somebody Up There Likes Me. When Paul Newman (playing Graziano) and he were sparring prior to filming, Newman got rough and Zale knocked him out. Zale was replaced by Courtland Shepard for the final fight scene.

External links[link]

• Professional boxing record for Tony Zale from BoxRec
• World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductees

Marcel Cerdan
Statistics
Real name	Marcellin Cerdan
Nickname(s)	Le Bombardier Marocain (The Moroccan Bomber) Casablanca Clouter
Rated at	Middleweight
Nationality	French
Born	July 22, 1916 Sidi Bel Abbès, French Algeria (now Algeria)
Died	October 28, 1949(1949-10-28) (aged 33) São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	117
Wins	113
Wins by KO	66
Losses	4
Draws	0
No contests	0

Marcellin "Marcel" Cerdan (French pronunciation: [maʁsɛl sɛʁdɑ̃]; July 22, 1916 – October 28, 1949^[1]) was a French pied noir world boxing champion who was considered by many boxing experts and fans to be France's greatest boxer, and beyond to be one of the best to have learned his craft in Africa. His life was marked by his sporting achievements, social lifestyle and ultimately, tragedy.

Marcel Cerdan was born on July 22, 1916 in Sidi Bel Abbès in what was then French Algeria.

Boxing career[link]

He began boxing professionally on November 4, 1934 in Meknes, Morocco, beating Marcel Bucchianeri by a decision in six rounds. Cerdan then ran a streak of 47 wins in a row between that first bout and January 4, 1939, when he lost for the first time, to Harry Craster by a disqualification in five rounds in London. Cerdan campaigned heavily in the French territories of Algeria and Morocco during that part of his career, as well as in metropolitan France, his parents' place of birth. In 1938, he beat Omar Kouidri in a 12-round decision at Casablanca to claim the French welterweight title.

After his first loss, Cerdan recorded five consecutive wins, which led him to challenge Saviello Turiello for Europe's welterweight title in Milan, Italy. He won the European title by a decision in 15 rounds to continue his ascent towards the championship (back then, it was considered essential to own at least a Continental title belt to earn a world title shot; nowadays, it is not considered as important).

Cerdan's winning streak eventually reached 23 bouts before he suffered a defeat to Victor Buttin by disqualification in eight rounds in Algiers.

For his next bout, Cerdan put his title on the line against José Ferrer (namesake of the Hollywood star). He knocked out Ferrer in one round,^[2] and won four more bouts in a row before facing another boxer with a namesake: James Toney, who shared that name with another boxer who would become world Middleweight champion five decades later. Cerdan knocked out Toney in two rounds to keep this new winning streak alive. The new streak would reach 37 wins. In between, he joined the American allies in World War II during 1944, and he won the Inter-Allied Championship.

He also went up in weight to the Middleweight division, and won the French title by beating Assane Douf by a knockout in three rounds. He later claimed the vacant European title by beating Léon Foquet by a knockout in one round. He retained that title a couple of times before losing it to Radu porcul de banciu by a decision in 15 at Brussels, Belgium. Soon, he went back to Belgium and re-took the title by beating Delannoit, also by decision.

Finally, after the rematch with Delannoit, Cerdan was given a world title opportunity and he travelled to the United States, where he beat world Middleweight champion Tony Zale. Cerdan became a world champion by knocking Zale out in the 12th round in Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, New Jersey on September 21, 1948.

Death and fame[link]

During his short period as a world champion, Cerdan became a popular figure of the Paris scene. Although married with three children, he had an affair with the famous singer Édith Piaf. The affair lasted from summer 1948 until his death in autumn 1949. They were very devoted to each other and Piaf wrote one of her most famous songs, Hymne à l'amour, for Cerdan.

For his first defence Cerdan returned to the United States, where he fought Jake LaMotta in Detroit. Cerdan was knocked down in round one, his shoulder was dislocated, and he had to give up after the tenth round.^[3] It would be the last fight of Cerdan's life. A contract was signed for a rematch and Cerdan went to training camp for it, but before camp began he boarded an Air France flight to visit Piaf in New York, where she was singing. The Lockheed L-749 Constellation crashed into Monte Redondo (São Miguel Island, Azores), killing all 11 crew members and 37 passengers on board, including Cerdan and the famous French violinist Ginette Neveu, while approaching the intermediate stop airport at Santa Maria.^[4][5] Days later, LaMotta lauded Cerdan as a great sportsman.^[6] Cerdan was interred in the Cimetière du Sud, Perpignan, Languedoc-Roussillon, France.

Cerdan's record was 113 wins and 4 losses, with 66 wins by knockout.^[7]

He is a member, along with LaMotta and Zale, of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.

In 1983, Cerdan and Piaf had their lives turned into a big screen biography by Claude Lelouch. The film, Édith et Marcel, starred Marcel Cerdan, Jr. in the role of his father and Évelyne Bouix as Piaf. He is portrayed by actor Jean-Pierre Martins in the 2007 Piaf biopic La Môme (entitled La Vie en Rose in English-speaking countries).

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Marcel Cerdan Official website, created by Nicolas Cerdan, his grandson (French)
• Marcel Cerdan Heritage - Vintage Sportswear (Eng/Fr), created by Nicolas Cerdan, his grandson
• IBHOF.com International Boxing Hall of Fame Homepage
• Marcel Cerdan at Find A Grave
• Professional boxing record for Marcel Cerdan from BoxRec
• Here's Looking At You, Casablanca: Marcel Cerdan