List of Top 15 Cruiserweight Boxing Champions

The best cruiserweight champions of all-time

The cruiserweight division is one of the newest in boxing history, established in 1979.

It was formed to bridge the expansive gap between light-heavyweight and heavyweight, which was a minimum of 25lbs, which is over a stone-and-a-half difference in weight.

It’s the closest class to the glamour division – the heavyweights. And, as such, many of its champions will look to advance upwards once they have conquered the cruiserweights, which has resulted in the creation of some of boxing’s biggest stars.

Evander Holyfield

“The Real Deal” Holyfield is widely regarded as the No.1 cruiserweight of all-time, but Usyk’s historic crowning at heavyweight has seen him claim second place on this list. 

He was the first boxer in history to ever become undisputed at two weights, achieving the record before Usyk achieved the same feat in the four-belt era.

From Alabama, Holyfield won a bronze medal at the1984 Olympic Games in LA, a culmination of all the work he had put in since starting to box at the age of seven and amassing a 160-14, 76KO amateur record.

Evander defeated boxing legends Larry Holmes, George Foreman, Buster Douglas, Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer and Mike Tyson. 

At cruiserweight, he defeated a who’s who of names, such as Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Henry Tillman, Carlos De Leon, Ricky Parkey.

He won the WBA cruiserweight title in his 12th fight in 1986, aged 23, then he unified in his 15th fight in 1987, then became undisputed in his 18th fight in in 1988, at 25.

He ambitiously moved up to heavyweight and became undisputed there in 1990. He defended successfully three times before Riddick Bowe decisioned him in 1992, but he got his revenge in their 1993 rematch.

Dwight Muhammad Qawi

Dwight Braxton, known as the “Camden Buzzsaw”, was a two-weight world champion having conquered the WBC and Ring light-heavyweight titles during 1981-83, then the WBA cruiserweight strap from 1985-86.

The Baltimore-born boxer grew up in New Jersey, where he got mixed up in crime at an early age and was served a five-year prison sentence for armed robbery. In was in the local Rahway State Prison where he learned to box and immediately turned professional on his release.

Braxton changed his name to Dwight Muhammad Qawi after converting to Islam and he was often likened to ‘Smokin’ Joe Frazier due to his style that was developed in the same Philadelphian gym he trained in. 

Starting boxing so late meant that he only won one from his first three pro fights, but he soon found his feet to win his next 18 contests.

It was in his 18th fight when he won the WBC and Ring light-heavy titles, which he conceded to Michael Spinks in his fourth defence in 1983.

Just two years later, he became a two-weight champ by winning the WBA cruiserweight crown in South Africa in July 1985. He defended the belt to his former conqueror’s brother, Leon Spinks, but then conceded it in his next fight to Evander Holyfeld via split decision.

He attempted to regain his championship in a rematch in 1987, but was conclusively KO’d in the fourth round by “The Real Deal”.

He continued to fight for another 11 years, yet failed to become world champion ever again, but, despite this, he left his mark on the weight class forever.

David Haye

The Hayemaker is one of Britain’s best ever boxers after winning world titles in two weight classes.

The charismatic champion competed between 2002-2018, and was the first ever British boxer to reach the final of the World Amateur Boxing Championships in 2001.

The Bermondsey boxer became a unified cruiserweight champion in 2008, collecting three of the four world titles, as well as the Ring belt and Lineal title. He was the No.1 cruiserweight in the world for two years from 2005-07.

It was in 2008 when he moved up to heavyweight and replicated his success by winning the WBA bauble from Russian giant Nikolai Valuev despite the champion’s 9-inch height and 99lbs weight advantage.

Haye is one of only three boxers in history to have unified cruiserweight world titles and become a heavyweight world champion too, alongside Holyfield and Usyk.

Carlos DeLeon

Carlos DeLeon made history by becoming the first cruiserweight to win the world title twice. He broke this record even further by regaining the championship on two more occasions.

Puerto Rico’s “Sugar” DeLeon defeated the world’s first-ever cruiserweight world champion, Marvin Camel, in 1980.

It was 1986 when he joined the likes of Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson by becoming a three-time world champion. When he lost his unification fight and WBC title to Evander Holyfield in 1988, “The Real Deal” moved up to heavyweight immediately after and created a window of opportunity for “Sugar” to make history once again. He regained his WBC belt and became a four-time world champ.

Johnny Nelson

Sheffield’s Johnny Nelson is the cruiserweight division’s longest reigning world champion of all-time, defending his championship against 13 different opponents over six years, five months, 11 days; more than any other cruiserweight in history.

“The Entertainer” won British and European titles twice before winning the WBO World championship in 1999 against fellow Brit, Carl Thompson.

Nelson also never lost his title in the ring, choosing to retire in November 2005 after his 59th fight. The likeable Steel City man is still on TV screens as a pundit for Sky Sports Boxing.

Marco Huck

“Captain” Marco Huck shares the record for 13 consecutive cruiserweight world title defences with the aforementioned Johnny Nelson.

The Serbia-born German held the WBO cruiserweight title for almost six years between 2009-2015. 

He attempted to become a heavyweight world champion in 2012, but he was denied by the WBA titlist at the time, Alexander Povetkin.

Known for explosive power and aggression, Huck won his last four fights, although one was later changed to a No Contest after it was ruled the referee made an incorrect call.

Surprisingly, Huck fought this year, in June 2024, winning his first fight in four years despite being almost 40-years-old. He never actually announced his retirement, so his 20-year pro career continues.

Juan Carlos Gomez

Juan Carlos Gomez is a Cuban who held the WBC cruiserweight title from 1998-2002. 

Like the aforementioned Huck, he, too, attempted to win world titles at heavyweight, but he was up against Vitali Klitschko and was felled in the ninth round.

However, the “Black Panther” won against heavyweights Oliver McCall and Denis Bakhtov.

Juan Carlos Gomez made a record 10 successful defences of his WBC cruiserweight crown and never lost the title in the ring.

Mairis Briedis

“The Latvian Punisher” Mairis Briedis is a three-time cruiserweight world champion.

He made history in his homeland when he became the first Latvian to ever become a world boxing champion when he won the WBC title in 2017.

The former police officer gave two-weight undisputed ruler Oleksandr Usyk one of the hardest fights of his career in their 2017 WBSS semi-final, where one judge saw it a draw.

The Latvian legend came straight back to win the next WBSS tournament and become world champion a third time.

Briedis only announced his retirement from boxing in August 2024, after back to back defeats to the new kid on the block, Jai Opetaia.

Anaclet Wamba

Congolese-French boxer Anaclet Wamba held the WBC World cruiserweight championship between 1991-1994.

The Olympian turned pro in 1980, fighting his first 15 fights in France, and didn’t become a world champion until almost 11 years later. He retired after his 49th fight in 1994 and never lost his world title in the ring.

Vasiliy Jirov

Olympic champion Vasiliy Jirov held the IBF World cruiserweight title from 1999-2003.

“The Tiger” from Kazakhstan was an outstanding amateur, also winning to World bronze medals, and proved to be a powerful, dominant world champion after tuning pro in 1997.

He won the IBF crown in June 1999, fighting mostly in America, and went 31 fights unbeaten until he met James Toney in 2003.

His last 10 fights were checkered with wins, losses and draws, until he retired in 2009.

Jean Marc Mormeck

Jean Marc Mormeck is a two-time unified world cruiserweight champion.

“The Marksman” from France was the first boxer to hold unified cruiserweight titles since Evander Holyfield, and first to capture the Ring title since Carlos DeLeon.

Like many other cruiserweights, he attempted to make history by challenging for a heavyweight title in 2012 against the dominant titlist Wladimir Klitschko, but was stopped inside four.

O’Neil Bell

Jamaican fighter O’Neil Bell held the undisputed cruiserweight championship in 2006. 

The “Supernova” lost his second pro contest in 1998, but then went unbeaten in his next 26 bouts, picking up the IBF, WBA, WBC, Ring titles.

He retired in 2011 after losing three from his last four fights.

James Toney

Triple champion James Toney is mostly known as a middleweight, but he won the IBF World cruiserweight title from Vasiliy Jirov in 2003 and never lost the belt in the ring.

The Michigan man competed at cruiserweight many times, winning half-a-dozen championship fights at the weight.

He has more knockouts on his record – 47 – than 12 of the cruiserweights on this list had wins.

Guillermo Jones

Guillermo Jones held the WBA cruiserweight title from 2008-2012.

“El Felino” won his first 21 fights in Panama (two in Venezuela), competing at super-welterweight.

Just three years on from challenging for the WBA super-welterweight title in May 1998, he challenged Johnny Nelson for his WBO cruiserweight crown in England, and took the record-breaking champion to a draw.

A whole six years later and he won the WBA cruiserweight belt in Germany in 2008, 15 years into his pro career. He lost the tile after he failed a drugs test in 2013, but recorded another three wins before retiring in 2017.