In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.7 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has produced some of boxing's greatest champions:Bernard Hopkins, Evander Holyfield, Tommy Loughran, Billy Conn, Joey Maxim, Archie Moore, Jonathan Oakey, Bob Foster, Michael Spinks, Dariusz Michalczewski and Roy Jones Jr. to name a few.

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 both the cruiser and eventually heavyweight divisions and became undisputed champion of both.

Daniel Cormier (born March 20, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and a former Olympic wrestler. He is currently signed to Strikeforce, fighting in the heavyweight division. Cormier is ranked #4 in the heavyweight division by Fight Matrix.

Cormier is the son of Joseph and Audrey Cormier. He has an older brother named Joseph and a sister named Felicia. When Cormier was seven, his father was shot and killed on Thanksgiving Day in 1986 by the father of his second wife.

He was a three-time Louisiana wrestling state champion in high school and high school All-American. In high school, Northside High School, he suffered only two losses after his freshman year, both coming in injury defaults. He had a 101–9 record during his high school career and was also an All-State performer in football. After high school he attended Colby Community College where he was a two-time junior college national champion. After Colby he transferred to wrestling powerhouse Oklahoma State University where he was an NCAA runner-up, losing to Cael Sanderson in the finals.