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There are four major heavyweight boxing belts needed to become the undisputed champion.
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Muhammad Ali held all of the major heavyweight belts of his era three times.
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Only one boxer has become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in the four-belt era.
For such a pure and straightforward sport, the upper echelons of world competition have certainly been made more convoluted than they have to be.
As it stands, there are four major world titles. Owning one will crown you a world heavyweight champion; two or three belts make you a unified champion; and claiming all four belts makes you undisputed.
Here’s what you need to know about the heavyweight boxing belts.
How Many Heavyweight Boxing Belts Are There?
There are four major world heavyweight boxing belts as well as two minor world titles. The WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO are the major heavyweight titles and the ones boxers throughout the division aspire to claim.
Ring Magazine has given out a belt for decades, but it has never been considered a major title. It has become less highly regarded since boxing promotion Golden Boy Enterprises acquired the publication.
In 1988, the IBO was founded as an independent sanctioning body away from the big four. Its world rankings and belt-holding champions draw from its independent computerised system of rankings. Still, it is a minor belt.
As well as these, there are continental, national, and regional heavyweight titles to claim as boxers aspire towards the world stage.
What Heavyweight Boxing Belts Do You Need to Become Undisputed?
To become the undisputed world heavyweight champion, you need to hold the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO World title belts all at once.
Some of these governing bodies offer world titles below their outright top belts, which further convolutes the top ranks of what should be a straightforward sport.
Who Has Been Named an Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion?
The modern era of the undisputed world heavyweight title began in 1963, when the New York State Athletic Commission and NBA titles gave way to the WBA and WBC.
In the 20 years of needing these two belts to become undisputed, some of the greatest boxers of all time took the crown: Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Leon Spinks all became undisputed.
Of them all, Ali was the most dominant. He held both belts on three occasions, totalling 11 defences of the crown. There were seven reigns from 1963 to 1983, but for three champions, not one defence was achieved.
In 1983, the IBF earned recognition as a major belt, and Mike Tyson was the first to become a three-belt unified king, defeating Tony Tucker to bring the WBA, WBC, and IBF together.
Tyson defended the crown six times before Buster Douglas shocked the world in 1990 to claim the lot. He lost the title to Evander Holyfield in his first defence, who would lose in his fourth fight as undisputed champion to Riddick Bowe.
Bowe decided to throw the WBC title in the bin after becoming the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1992, and it took until 1999 for all of the heavyweight belts to be held by one boxer once again.
This would be the stakes in Lennox Lewis’ two-fight saga with Holyfield. After a much-maligned draw on the scorecards, the British heavyweight beat his American counterpart by unanimous decision in the contracted rematch.
Lewis was stripped of the WBA belt when John Ruiz went to court claiming to be the mandatory challenger the champion should have faced next – instead, Lewis fought the WBC mandatory challenger, Michael Grant.
In the end, Lewis joined a surprisingly common trend of undisputed champions who couldn’t defend their titles due to the politics of the governing bodies.
On 18 May, Oleksandr Usyk became the first four-belt undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, claiming Tyson Fury’s WBC to add to the Ukrainian’s WBA, IBF, and WBO. His reign would last for just over five weeks.
Again, mandatory challengers got in the way. Usyk was required by the IBF to face Daniel Dubois next, but he opted for the bigger, more gentlemanly rematch with Fury – which the boxing betting odds see him winning.
About the WBA Heavyweight Boxing Belt
The World Boxing Association is the oldest professional boxing sanctioning body, having been formed in 1921 as the NBA (National Boxing Association). In 1962, the NBA became the WBA.
Despite being an ever-present major belt in heavyweight boxing, the WBA has become a bit of a laughing stock under the charge of Gilberto Mendoza Jr.
The WBA now recognises a whole host of world champions, including regular, interim, gold, and super champions. It’s made meeting the mandatory requirements for fighters and establishing rankings nearly impossible.
About the WBC Heavyweight Boxing Belt
Established in 1963, the World Boxing Council helped to forge the modern era of world heavyweight boxing, and now, its belt features some of the governing body’s best-ever boxers.
On the WBC belt, you’ll see Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather, and Don Jose Sulaiman, the two greatest boxers of the division’s history, and the reigning champion.
The WBC heavyweight title features Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Muhammad Ali, Don Jose Sulaiman, Floyd Mayweather, and now Oleksandr Usyk.
About the IBF Heavyweight Boxing Belt
Making the undisputed crown a three-belt effort, the IBF became a recognised major governing body in 1983, formed from a splinter faction that disagreed with Gilberto Mendoza Sr winning the presidency bid at the WBA.
The IBF’s mandatory requirements are what caused Usyk to be among the most short-lived undisputed world heavyweight champions, putting the belt up for a match between Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua.
Dubois would defy the odds to win that bout. It’s tough to say at this point if the betting markets will favour him to retain the title in an expected rematch with AJ, but if he does, there’ll likely be another undisputed match for Usyk afterwards.
About the WBO Heavyweight Boxing Belt
Founded in 1988, it wasn’t until 2007 that the WBO became recognised as a major body, at which point, its belt was added to forge the big four of boxing.
In a case of the youngest showing the oldest how it’s done, like the WBA, the WBO also offers super titles. However, these are honorary belts that mark career achievements rather than world belts to put on the line.
What Does it Mean to be a Unified World Heavyweight Boxing Champion?
To be a unified world heavyweight boxing champion, you need to have at least two of the four major belts. Anyone with two or three of these belts is considered to be a unified world champion.
What Does it Mean to be a Lineal World Heavyweight Boxing Champion?
The lineal world heavyweight boxing champion is the last boxer to beat the champion. It’s a title that doesn’t come with a belt, nor much recognition officially, but it’s something that boxers can use to inflate their statuses.
For example, when Tyson Fury returned from his hiatus, he was able to hold himself up as the lineal champion because he beat the last one, Wladimir Klitschko, in 2015.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Adobe*
