Middleweight: Difference between revisions

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Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports

Boxing

In Professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above 154 lb (70 kg) and up to 160 lb (73 kg).

Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897. Chandler won, becoming known as the American middleweight champion.

The first middleweight fight with gloves may have been between George Fulljames and Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey (no relation to the more famous heavyweight Jack Dempsey).

Bernard Hopkins holds the record for most consecutive title defenses at this division, with 20 defenses of the IBF title.

Professional champions

Current male champions

Sanctioning Body	Reign Began	Champion	Record	Defenses
WBA (super)	August 14, 2010	Gennady Golovkin	37–0–1 (33 KO)	18
WBA (regular)	October 22, 2017	Ryōta Murata	13–1–0 (10 KO)	0
WBC	May 18, 2016	Gennady Golovkin	37–0–1 (33 KO)	3
IBF	October 17, 2015	Gennady Golovkin	37–0–1 (33 KO)	4
WBO	December 20, 2015	Billy Joe Saunders	25–0–0 (12 KO)	2

Longest reigning middleweight champions

Below is a list of longest reigning middleweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.

Rank	Name	Title Reign	Title Recognition	Successful Defenses
1.	Bernard Hopkins	10 years, 2 months, 18 days	IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO	20
2.	Tommy Ryan	8 years, 7 months, 4 days	World	4
3.	Gennady Golovkin	13 years, 11 months and 4 days	WBC, WBA, IBF	19
4.	Tony Zale	6 years, 11 months, 24 days	NBA (current WBA)	4
5.	Carlos Monzon	6 years, 9 months, 9 days	WBA, WBC	14
6.	Marvin Hagler	6 years, 7 months, 10 days	WBC, WBA, IBF	12
7.	Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey	6 years, 6 months, 15 days	World	3
8.	Felix Sturm	5 years, 4 months, 4 days	WBA (Super)	12
9.	Bob Fitzsimmons	3 years, 8 months, 12 days	World	1
10.	Arthur Abraham	3 years, 7 months, 2 days	IBF	11

  Active Title Reign

  Reign has ended

Olympic champions

• 1904:  Charles Mayer (USA)
• 1908:  John Douglas (GBR)
• 1920:  Harry Mallin (GBR)
• 1924:  Harry Mallin (GBR)
• 1928:  Piero Toscani (ITA)
• 1932:  Carmen Barth (USA)
• 1936:  Jean Despeaux (FRA)
• 1948:  László Papp (HUN)
• 1952:  Floyd Patterson (USA)
• 1956:  Gennadiy Shatkov (URS)
• 1960:  Eddie Crook, Jr. (USA)
• 1964:  Valeriy Popenchenko (URS)
• 1968:  Chris Finnegan (GBR)
• 1972:  Vyacheslav Lemeshev (URS)
• 1976:  Michael Spinks (USA)
• 1980:  José Gómez (CUB)
• 1984:  Shin Joon-Sup (KOR)
• 1988:  Henry Maske (GDR)
• 1992:  Ariel Hernández (CUB)
• 1996:  Ariel Hernández (CUB)
• 2000:  Jorge Gutiérrez (CUB)
• 2004:  Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov (RUS)
• 2008:  James DeGale (GBR)
• 2012:  Ryota Murata (JPN)
• 2016:  Arlen López (CUB)

Kickboxing

• International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) Middleweight (Pro & Amateur) 159.1–165 lb. or 72.4–75 kg
• In Glory promotion, a middleweight division is up to 85 kg (187 lb).^[1]

Mixed Martial Arts

In MMA, the middleweight division is from 171 lbs (77.5 kg) to 185 lbs (84 kg).

Taekwondo

References

External links