Cruiserweight, also referred to as junior heavyweight, is a
weight class
Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Alte ...
in
professional boxing between
light heavyweight and
heavyweight. Before the advent of the current cruiserweight class, "light heavyweight" and "cruiserweight" were sometimes used interchangeably in the United Kingdom.
Professional boxing
The current weight limit for the division is . When originally established, the weight limit was . The division was established in order to accommodate smaller heavyweight boxers who could not compete with the growing size of boxers in that division. While many great heavyweight champions (such as
Rocky Marciano and
Joe Louis) weighed around 190 pounds in their career, during the 1970s it became fairly standard that fit heavyweight boxers weighed at least . It was felt by many boxing authorities that asking men weighing between and to fight these larger men was unfair.
The WBC was the first boxing organization to recognize the cruiserweight division when it sanctioned a bout between
Marvin Camel and
Mate Parlov
Mate Parlov (16 November 1948 – 29 July 2008) was a Croatian- Yugoslavian boxer and Olympic gold medalist who was European and World Champion as an amateur and as a professional.
Background
Mate Parlov was born in Split, the youngest of four ...
on December 8, 1979, for their version of the title. That fight was a draw, but in the rematch in March 1980 Camel won and became the first cruiserweight champion. In 1982 the
World Boxing Association recognized
Ossie Ocasio
Osvaldo "Ossie" Ocasio (born August 12, 1955) is a Puerto Rican former boxer who held the world cruiserweight championship. Nicknamed "Jaws", his peculiar nickname was the result of him accidentally biting another boxer during a sparring sessio ...
as their first cruiserweight champion when he defeated South African Robbie Williams (although at that time the WBA called the division "junior heavyweight"). The
International Boxing Federation followed suit in 1983 when it matched former WBC champion
Marvin Camel against Rick Sekorski for their inaugural title. Camel won and became the first IBF cruiserweight champion.
Several boxers moved up to
heavyweight after winning world titles at cruiserweight.
Evander Holyfield unified the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles to become undisputed champion, the first to do so, and then moved up to the heavyweight division in 1988. In 2006, the second man to become undisputed champion was
O’Neil Bell, who was later stripped of the IBF title.
Other notable champions in the division have been
Bobby Czyz,
Dwight Muhammad Qawi,
Tomasz Adamek,
Virgil Hill,
Al Cole,
Orlin Norris
Orlin Levance Norris (born October 4, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1986 to 2005. He held the WBA cruiserweight title from 1993 to 1995. As an amateur, he won the National Golden Gloves title. He is the brothe ...
,
James Toney,
David Haye,
Tony Bellew and
Oleksandr Usyk.
Current world champions
Current world rankings
''The Ring''
As of , .
Keys:
: Current ''
The Ring'' world champion
BoxRec
As of , .
Longest reigning world cruiserweight champions
Below is a list of longest reigning cruiserweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.
: Active reign
: Reign has ended
WBA Cruiserweight Champions
Retrieved on 27 December 2012.
Kickboxing
In kickboxing, a cruiserweight fighter generally weighs between 82 kg (181 lb) and 88 kg (195 lb). However, some governing bodies have slightly different classes. The International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) Cruiserweight (professional and amateur) division is 186.1 lb–195 lb or 84.6 kg–88.6 kg.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruiserweight (Boxing)
Boxing weight classes
Kickboxing weight classes
*
*