List of boxing quintuple champions

A quintuple champion in boxing refers to a boxer who has won world titles in five different categories of weight.

Recognition

Major sanctioning bodies

These "Big 4" sanctioning bodies are considered "major" enough to award championships. They are arranged in order of foundation:

The Ring

The Ring, boxing's most respected magazine, has awarded world championships in professional boxing within each weight class from its foundation in 1922 until the 1990s, and again since 2001. The Ring champions were at one point held the linear reign to the throne, the man who beat the man. The lineal champion is also known as the true champion of the division. The Ring stopped giving belts to world champions in the 1990s but began again in 2002.

In 2002, The Ring attempted to clear up the confusion regarding world champions by creating a championship policy. It echoed many critics' arguments that the sanctioning bodies in charge of boxing championships had undermined the sport by pitting undeserving contenders against undeserving "champions", and forcing the boxing public to see mismatches for so-called "world championships". The Ring attempted to clear up the confusion regarding world champions by creating a championship policy 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." The Ring claims to be more authoritative and open than the sanctioning bodies' rankings, with a page devoted to full explanations for ranking changes. A fighter pays no sanctioning fees to defend or fight for the title at stake, contrary to practices of the sanctioning bodies. Furthermore, a fighter cannot be stripped of the title unless he loses, decides to move to a different weight division, or retires.

There are currently only two ways that a boxer can win The Ring's title: defeat the reigning champion; or win a box-off between the magazine's number-one and number-two rated contenders (or, sometimes, number-one and number-three rated). A vacant Ring championship is filled when the number-one contender in a weight-division battles the number-two contender or the number-three contender (in cases where The Ring determines that the number-two and number-three contenders are close in abilities and records).

In May 2012, citing the number of vacancies in various weight classes as primary motivation, The Ring unveiled a new championship policy. Under the new policy, The Ring title can be awarded when the No. 1 and No. 2 fighters face one another or when 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. In addition, there are now six ways for a fighter to lose his title: lose a fight in his championship weight class; move to another weight class; not schedule a fight in any weight class for 18 months; not schedule a fight in his championship weight class for 18 months, even if fighting at another weight class; not scheduling a fight with a top 5 contender in any weight class for two years; or retiring.

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.

Lineal

The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) hands out the official version of the lineal championship. TBRB awards vacant championships when the two top-ranked fighters in any division meet and currently recognizes legitimate world champions or "true champions" each weight classes. The Board was formed to continue where The Ring "left off" in the aftermath of its purchase by Golden Boy Promotions in 2007 and the following dismissal of Nigel Collins. After the new editors announced a controversial new championship policy in May 2012, three prominent members of the Ring Advisory Panel resigned. This three members (Springs Toledo, Cliff Rold and Tim Starks) became the founding members of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, which was formed over the summer of 2012 with the assistance of Stewart Howe of England.

Since 2012, lineal champions are predetermined by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, which promotes the concept of a singular world champion per weight class.[1] Lineal champions are listed on Cyber Boxing Zone website which list lineal champions of the Queensberry Era to date.[2]

Minor sanctioning bodies

The International Boxing Organization (IBO) is sometimes included in the list of major boxing organizations. Besides the IBO, there are other sanctioning bodies. They are: World Professional Boxing Federation (WPBF), International Boxing Association (IBA), National Boxing Association (NBA).

Note:

  • The International Boxing Association (IBA) is not to be confused with the International Boxing Association (AIBA), a French acronym for Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur, which sanctions amateur matches.
  • The National Boxing Association (NBA) was established in 1984 and is not to be confused with the original National Boxing Association that was established in 1921 and changed its name to World Boxing Association (WBA) in 1962.

List of men's quintuple champions

The following is a list of quintuple champions who have held titles from one or more of the "Big Four" organizations (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO) and The Ring.

Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame
World Titles from The Ring
No. Name Titles Date Opponent Result
1
Thomas Hearns[3] 		WBA Welterweight Aug 2, 1980 Pipino Cuevas TKO 2/15
WBC Light middleweight Dec 3, 1982 Wilfred Benítez TKO 2/15
The Ring Light middleweight
WBC Light heavyweight Mar 7, 1987 Dennis Andries TKO 10/12
WBC Middleweight Oct 29, 1987 Juan Domingo Roldán KO 4/12
WBO Super middleweight Nov 4, 1988 James Kinchen MD 12/12
WBA Light heavyweight Mar 6, 1991 Virgil Hill UD 12/12
2
Sugar Ray Leonard[4] 		WBC Welterweight Nov 30, 1979 Wilfred Benítez TKO 15/15
The Ring Welterweight
WBC Welterweight – (2) Nov 25, 1980 Roberto Durán TKO 8/15
The Ring Welterweight – (2)
WBA Light middleweight Jun 25, 1981 Ayub Kalule TKO 9/15
The Ring Light middleweight
WBA Welterweight Sep 16, 1981 Thomas Hearns TKO 14/15
WBC Middleweight Apr 6, 1987 Marvin Hagler SD 12/12
The Ring Middleweight
WBC Super middleweight Nov 7, 1988 Don Lalonde TKO 9/12
WBC Light heavyweight
3
Oscar De La Hoya[5] 		WBO Super featherweight Mar 5, 1994 Jimmy Bredahl TKO 10/12
WBO Lightweight Feb 18, 1995 John-John Molina UD 12/12
IBF Lightweight May 6, 1995 Rafael Ruelas TKO 2/12
WBC Light welterweight Jun 7, 1996 Julio César Chávez TKO 4/12
WBC Welterweight Apr 12, 1997 Pernell Whitaker UD 12/12
WBC Welterweight – (2) Mar 21, 2000 No. 1 contender promoted[6]
WBC Light middleweight Jun 23, 2001 Javier Castillejo UD 12/12
WBA (Unified) Light middleweight Sep 14, 2002 Fernando Vargas TKO 11/12
The Ring Light middleweight
WBC Light middleweight – (2) May 6, 2006 Ricardo Mayorga TKO 6/12
4
Floyd Mayweather Jr.[7] 		WBC Super featherweight Oct 3, 1998 Genaro Hernández RTD 8/12
WBC Lightweight Apr 20, 2002 José Luis Castillo UD 12/12
The Ring Lightweight
WBC Light welterweight Jun 25, 2005 Arturo Gatti TKO 6/12
IBF Welterweight Apr 8, 2006 Zab Judah UD 12/12
WBC Welterweight Nov 4, 2006 Carlos Baldomir UD 12/12
The Ring Welterweight
WBC Light middleweight May 5, 2007 Oscar De La Hoya SD 12/12
WBC Welterweight – (2) Sep 17, 2011 Victor Ortiz KO 4/12
WBA (Super) Light middleweight May 5, 2012 Miguel Cotto UD 12/12
The Ring Welterweight – (2) May 4, 2013 Robert Guerrero UD 12/12
WBC Light middleweight – (2) Sep 14, 2013 Canelo Álvarez UD 12/12
The Ring Light middleweight
WBA (Unified) Welterweight May 3, 2014 Marcos Maidana MD 12/12
WBO Welterweight May 2, 2015 Manny Pacquiao UD 12/12
5
Manny Pacquiao[8]
 WBC Flyweight Dec 4, 1998 Chatchai Sasakul KO 8/12
IBF Super bantamweight Jun 23, 2001 Lehlohonolo Ledwaba TKO 6/12
The Ring Featherweight Nov 15, 2003 Marco Antonio Barrera TKO 11/12
WBC Super featherweight Mar 15, 2008 Juan Manuel Márquez SD 12/12
The Ring Super featherweight
WBC Lightweight Jun 28, 2008 David Díaz TKO 9/12

Note

  • Dates in bold format signify the date when they won their 5th division title.

List of women's quintuple champion

The following is a list of women’s quintuple champions who have held titles from one or more of the "Big Four" organizations (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO) and The Ring.

World Titles from The Ring
No. Name Titles Date Opponent Result
1 Amanda Serrano[9] IBF Super featherweight Sep 10, 2011 Kimberly Connor TKO 2/10
WBO Lightweight Aug 15, 2014 Maria Elena Maderna KO 6/10
WBO Featherweight (126) Feb 17, 2016 Olivia Gerula TKO 1/10
WBO Super bantamweight Oct 18, 2016 Alexandra Lazar TKO 5/10
WBO Bantamweight (118) Apr 22, 2017 Dahiana Santana TKO 8/10
WBO Featherweight (126) – (2) Sep 13, 2019 Heather Hardy UD 10/10
WBC Featherweight (126) Feb 4, 2021 Interim promoted[10]
IBF Featherweight (126) Sep 24, 2022 Sarah Mahfoud UD 10/10
The Ring Featherweight (126)
WBA Featherweight (126) Feb 4, 2023 Erika Cruz UD 10/10
2 Naoko Fujioka[11] WBC Mini flyweight May 8, 2011 Anabel Ortiz RTD 8/10
WBA Super flyweight Nov 13, 2013 Naoko Yamaguchi UD 10/10
WBO Bantamweight (118) Oct 19, 2015 Hee Jung Yuh UD 10/10
WBA Flyweight Mar 13, 2017 Isabel Millan TKO 10/10
WBO Light flyweight Dec 1, 2017 Yokasta Valle UD 10/10
3
Claressa Shields[12] 		IBF Super middleweight Aug 4, 2017 Nikki Adler TKO 5/10
WBC Super middleweight
IBF Middleweight Jun 22, 2018 Hanna Gabriel UD 10/10
WBA Middleweight
WBC Middleweight Nov 17, 2018 Hannah Rankin UD 10/10
WBO Middleweight Apr 13, 2019 Christina Hammer UD 10/10
The Ring Middleweight
WBC Light middleweight Jan 10, 2020 Ivana Habazin UD 10/10
WBO Light middleweight
IBF Light middleweight Mar 5, 2021 Marie-Eve Dicaire UD 10/10
WBA (Super) Light middleweight
The Ring Light middleweight
WBO Middleweight – (2) Oct 15, 2022 Savannah Marshall UD 10/10
WBO Light heavyweight Jul 27, 2024 Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse TKO 2/10
WBC Heavyweight

Note

  • Dates in bold format signify the date when they won their 5th division title.
  • Interim titles are not included unless they get promoted to the official champion.

Champions in greater than five weight classes

Several fighters have won major world titles in more than five weight divisions:

See also

References

  1. ^ "A PURIST VIEW: THE TRUE LINEAL CHAMPION". FIGHT VIEW 360. 2018-09-06. Archived from the original on 2019-09-22. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  2. ^ DeLisa, Mike (August 2004). "What the CBZ Means When it Refers to "Lineal Championships"". The CBZ Journal. cyberboxingzone. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  3. ^ "Thomas Hearns". Boxrec.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  4. ^ "Sugar Ray Leonard". Boxrec.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  5. ^ "Oscar De La Hoya". Boxrec.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-03. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  6. ^ "WBC declares de la Hoya welterweight champion". The Independent. 21 March 2000. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Floyd Mayweather Jr". Boxrec.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  8. ^ "Manny Pacquiao". Boxrec.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
  9. ^ "Amanda Serrano". Boxrec.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-20. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  10. ^ "Amanda Serrano Upgraded To WBC Featherweight Titlist, Mrdjenovich Named 'Emeritus Champion'". Boxingscene. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  11. ^ "Naoko Fujioka". Boxrec.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-26. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  12. ^ "Claressa Shields". Boxrec.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-30. Retrieved 2021-01-29.