Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, 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
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 oppo ...
s.
Boxing
Professional
In
professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between
super middleweight
Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pound ...
and
cruiserweight.
The light-heavyweight class has produced some of boxing's greatest champions:
Bernard Hopkins (who, upon becoming champion, broke the record for oldest man to win a world title), Archie Moore was the FIRST oldest man to become champion
Tommy Loughran,
Billy Conn,
Joey Maxim,
Archie Moore,
Michael Moorer
Michael Lee Moorer (born November 12, 1967) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2008. He won a world championship on four occasions in two weight classes, having held the WBO light heavyweight title from 1988 t ...
,
Bob Foster,
Ann Wolfe
Ann Wolfe (born January 17, 1971) is an American retired boxer, trainer and actress. Wolfe held world titles in three different weight classes simultaneously and is regarded as one of the greatest female boxers of all time. She is a member of the ...
,
Michael Spinks,
Dariusz Michalczewski,
Roy Jones Jr.,
Sergey Kovalev
Sergey Alexandrovich Kovalev (russian: Сергей Александрович Ковалёв (Ko-va-LYOV); born 2 April 1983) is a Russian professional boxer. He has held multiple light-heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Undis ...
and
Zsolt Erdei.
Many light heavyweight champions unsuccessfully challenged for the heavyweight crown until Michael Spinks became the first reigning light heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight championship.
Bob Fitzsimmons captured the light-heavyweight championship after losing his heavyweight championship. Two all-time great heavyweight champions,
Ezzard Charles and
Floyd Patterson, started out as light heavyweights. Charles defeated Archie Moore and Joey Maxim several times in non-title bouts before becoming heavyweight champion and Patterson lost an eight-round decision to Joey Maxim before becoming heavyweight champion himself.
Evander Holyfield successfully moved up from the light-heavyweight division to the cruiserweight division and eventually the heavyweight division and became undisputed champion of the latter two.
Current world champions
Current world rankings
=''The Ring''
=
.
Keys:
: Current ''
The Ring'' world champion
=BoxRec
=
.
Longest reigning world light heavyweight champions
Below is a list of longest reigning light heavyweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.
: Active Title Reign
: Reign has ended
Amateur
In
amateur boxing, light heavyweight is a
weight division above and up to , falling between
middleweight
Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to .
Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
and
heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...
.
Olympic champions
*
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...
–
*
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hold ...
–
*
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...
–
*
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hir ...
–
*
1936 –
*
1948 –
*
1952 –
*
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
–
*
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
–
*
1964 –
*
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* J ...
–
*
1972 –
*
1976 –
*
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – In ...
–
*
1984 –
*
1988 –
*
1992 –
*
1996 –
*
2000 –
*
2004 –
*
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
–
*
2012 –
*
2016 –
*
2020 –
Kickboxing
* In
kickboxing, a light heavyweight fighter generally weighs between 77 kg (171 lb) and 82 kg (180 lb).
* In
International Kickboxing Federation (IKF), a light heavyweight division is 172.1 – 179 lb (78.3 – 81.4 kg).
* In
Glory promotion, a light heavyweight division is up to 95 kg (209 lb).
Official Glory Ranking
* In Bellator Kickboxing promotion, a light heavyweight division is up to 95 kg (209 lb).
* In ONE Championship, the light heavyweight division is up to .
Mixed martial arts
In MMA
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, incor ...
, the light heavyweight division is from 186 lb (84 kg) to 205 lb (93 kg).
References
{{Boxing weight classes
Boxing weight classes
Kickboxing weight classes
Professional wrestling weight classes
*
*