An interim championship is an alternate title that is awarded by the sanctioning bodies of

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...

, and in other

combat sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the oppon ...

s such as

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

, and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

. Occasionally, the champion of a particular

weight division 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). Altern ...

is temporarily unable to defend his championship because of medical, legal, or other reasons beyond the competitor's control. When this case occurs, two highly ranked contenders may fight for an interim championship of the same weight division – leading to two champions existing in the same weight division simultaneously. Once the original champion can return, at the discretion of the sanctioning body or promotion concerned, they must defend their title against the interim champion - who will relinquish their interim title to fight for the full world title. If the original champion cannot return, refuses to defend their title, or transfers to a different weight division, the interim champion is promoted to full championship status. The WBC, however, has begun awarding interim titles to the winners of final eliminator fights, effectively signifying a

mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight or be forced to vacate their title as champion. A mandatory defence is the opposite of a voluntary defence, where the champi ...

position for the full world title. Recent examples include the winners of Dillian Whyte vs. Oscar Rivas and

Devin Haney Devin Miles Haney (; born November 17, 1998) is an American professional boxer. He is the current undisputed lightweight champion, having held the WBC title since 2019 and the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and ''Ring'' titles since June 2022. As of ...

vs.

Zaur Abdullaev Zaur Magomedalievich Abdullaev (russian: Заур Магомедалиевич Абдуллаев; born 23 March 1994) is a Russian professional boxer who challenged for the WBC interim lightweight title in 2019. Professional career Abdullaev ...

. In the case of professional wrestling, due to the entertainment and scripted nature of the sport, an interim championship is rarely used as most reasons – while similar to the ones in combat sports that are sometimes beyond the wrestler's control – usually lead to the champion being stripped of the title and a new champion is determined. One example of an interim champion was on

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

's NXT brand, where

NXT Cruiserweight Champion The NXT Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. Before its retirement, it was defended across the NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live brand divisions, which were d ...

Jordan Devlin Jordan Devlin (born 15 March 1990) is an Irish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name JD McDonagh. He previously performed in NXT UK, where was a one-time and the longest re ...

could not travel to the United States to defend the title due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

travel restrictions, rendering him only able to defend the title on NXT's UK brand at the time. Therefore, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, an interim Cruiserweight Championship was created and won in a tournament by

Santos Escobar Jorge Luis Alcantar Bolly (born April 30, 1984), is a Mexican second-generation ''luchador'' (professional wrestler). He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Santos Escobar. Before his WWE ca ...

. Once travel restrictions eased up, Devlin and Escobar fought in a unification match at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver to determine the sole champion, which Escobar won. Recent examples include the winners of

Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wr ...

vs.

Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...

and

Toni Storm Toni Rossall (born 19 October 1995), better known by the ring name Toni Storm, is a New Zealand-Australian professional wrestler. She is currently signed to AEW, where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. She previously worked for WWE ...

vs.

Britt Baker Brittany Baker (born April 23, 1991) is an American professional wrestler and dentist. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she performs under the ring name Britt Baker where she is a former AEW Women's World Champion. Born in Punxs ...

vs.

Jamie Hayter Paige Wooding (born 23 April 1995) better known by the ring name Jamie Hayter is an English professional wrestler who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is the current AEW Women's World Champion in her first reign. S ...

vs.

Hikaru Shida is a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, actress, and model, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a former and the longest-reigning AEW Women's World Champion. On February 25, 2021, she became the longest reign ...

Current interim champions

References

* Jackson, Ron
"Flyweight champ wins 15th defence."
''SuperBoxing''. URL accessed 3 August 2006. * WBA officials
World Boxing Association World Championships Regulations.
World Boxing Association. accessed 22 December 2014. {{World boxing champions Boxing rules and regulations Boxing champions

Current interim champions

See also

References