Boxing in the 2000s
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Lists of notable fights and other key news by year


2000

*February 19
Erik Morales Erik Isaac Morales Elvira (; born September 1, 1976) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2012. He is the first Mexico-born boxer in history to win world titles in four different weight classes, having held the WBC ...
defeats
Marco Antonio Barrera Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia (born January 17, 1974) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO junior featherweight title twice betwe ...
to unify the WBO and WBC
super bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanctioning organizations or ...
belts. Was named fight of the year by
Ring Magazine ''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...
*March 3
Félix Trinidad Félix Juan Trinidad García (born January 10, 1973), popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes and is said to b ...
defeats David Reid by unanimous decision for the WBA
light middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...
title. *April 8
Uriah Grant Uriah or Uriyah () is a Hebrew given name. It may refer to: People In the Bible *Uriah the Hittite, a soldier in King David's army in the Books of Samuel *Uriah, a priest under Ahaz in the Books of Kings *Uriah (prophet), a prophet murdered by Je ...
knocked out
Thomas Hearns Thomas Hearns (born October 18, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra", and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and oversized arms and shoulders allowed ...
in the third round to win the IBO Cruiserweight championship. Hearns would never again be boxing for a world title; he retired in 2006. *April 15
Fernando Vargas Fernando Javier Vargas (born December 7, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2007. He was a two-time light middleweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 1998 to 2000, and the WBA title from 200 ...
successfully defends the IBF
light middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...
title against former WBA
welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
champion
Ike Quartey Isufu "Ike" Quartey (born 27 November 1969) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2006. He held the WBA welterweight title from 1994 to 1998, and challenged once for IBF junior-middleweight title in 2000. Early year ...
*April 1
Chris Byrd Christopher Cornelius Byrd (born August 15, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2009. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having first won the WBO title in 2000 after an upset corner stoppage over th ...
wins the WBO Heavyweight title from
Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of KyivLennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...
defends the IBF and WBC
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 Wo ...
titles via 2nd-round KO against Michael Grant *June 17
Sugar Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF li ...
defeats
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
by split decision for the WBC
welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
title. *July 15 Lennox Lewis defeat Frans Botha via 2nd-round KO to retained his WBC, IBF, IBO, Lineal Heavyweight Championship *August 12
Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...
defeats
John Ruiz John Ruiz (born January 4, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2010, and held the WBA heavyweight title twice between 2001 and 2005. Ruiz is of Puerto Rican descent, and is the first Latino boxer to win a wo ...
by unanimous decision for the vacant WBA
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 Wo ...
title making Holyfield the only heavyweight in boxing history to win a portion of the HW title 4 times. *September 2 Erik Morales defeats Kevin Kelley by 7th-round KO to win the Interim WBC Featherweight Championship *Diego Corrales defeats Angel Manfredy by 3rd-round TKO to retained his IBF & IBA Super Featherweight Championship *September 9 Roy Jones Jr. defeats Eric Harding by 10th-round TKO to retained his WBC, WBA, IBF, and won the IBO Light Heavyweight Championship *November 11
Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...
defends the WBC and IBF
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 Wo ...
titles in a lopsided unanimous decision against David Tua. *December 1 Bernard Hopkins defeats Antwun Echols by 10th-round TKO to retained his IBF Middleweight Championship *December 2
Félix Trinidad Félix Juan Trinidad García (born January 10, 1973), popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes and is said to b ...
defeats
Fernando Vargas Fernando Javier Vargas (born December 7, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2007. He was a two-time light middleweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 1998 to 2000, and the WBA title from 200 ...
by 12th-round KO to unify the WBA and IBF
light middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...
titles. Trinidad was knocked down early in the fourth round to come back and defeat Vargas.


2001

*January 20
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
dominates
Diego Corrales Diego "Chico" Corrales Jr. (August 25, 1977 – May 7, 2007) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2007. He was a multiple-time world champion in two weight divisions, having held the IBF super featherweight title from 199 ...
to successfully defend his WBC
Super Featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although firs ...
title. Corrales was knocked down five times, before his corner threw the towel in the tenth round. *March 3 John Ruiz defeats Evander Holyfield by unanimous decision to win the WBA Heavyweight championship. Ruiz, an American of Puerto Rican descent, becomes the first Hispanic world heavyweight champion. *March 24
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
wins decisively against
Arturo Gatti Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was an Italian-Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. A world champion in two weight classes, Gatti held the IBF junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the WBC super ...
by knockout in five rounds in a non-title match. *April 7 After a fourteen-minute introduction,
Naseem Hamed Naseem Hamed (born 12 February 1974), nicknamed Prince Naseem and Naz, is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2002.. Retrieved 25 February 2016. He held multiple featherweight world championships, including the WBO ti ...
loses to
Marco Antonio Barrera Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia (born January 17, 1974) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO junior featherweight title twice betwe ...
by unanimous decision. Barrera, then known as a brawler, surprisingly easily out-boxed Hamed, who later retired after his next bout. *April 22
Hasim Rahman Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC tit ...
defeats
Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...
via 5th-round KO in South Africa and wins the WBC and IBF heavyweight titles. Rahman lands a hard right hand for the upset knockout. *May 12
Félix Trinidad Félix Juan Trinidad García (born January 10, 1973), popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes and is said to b ...
beats
William Joppy William Torelle Joppy (born September 11, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2011, and held the WBA middleweight title three times between 1996 and 2003. Professional career Joppy won his first of three W ...
, by knockout in 5, to take the WBA
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 ...
title. *June 23
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
captures the WBC
Light Middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...
title by unanimous decision against Javier Castillejo. *July 13
Micky Ward George Michael Ward Jr. (born October 4, 1965), often known by his nickname, "Irish" Micky Ward, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2003. He challenged once for the IBF light welterweight title in 1997, and held t ...
defeats
Emanuel Augustus Emanuel Augustus (born Emanuel Ya'kov Burton, January 2, 1975), is an American former professional boxer from Brownsville, Texas who competed from 1994 to 2011. He was known as The Drunken Master, taken from the Jackie Chan films of the same n ...
by 10-round decision and is named fight of the year by
Ring Magazine ''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...
*July 28
Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...
defends the WBC, WBA, and IBF
light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...
titles against
Julio César González Julio César González Ibarra (July 30, 1976 – March 10, 2012) was a Mexican professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2011, and held the WBO and lineal light heavyweight titles from 2003 to 2004. Amateur career Gonzalez was a member o ...
by unanimous decision. *September 29 In a career defining performance,
Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...
defeats
Félix Trinidad Félix Juan Trinidad García (born January 10, 1973), popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes and is said to b ...
by technical knockout in 12, to successfully unify the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles to become the
Undisputed Middleweight Champion This is a list of undisputed champions in professional boxing. Eras that are not listed do not have any undisputed champions. Championship recognition Titles have been awarded by: *New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), founded in 1920 * ...
. *November 3
Kostya Tszyu Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu (; rus, Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю, , kənstɐnʲˈtʲin bɐˈrisəvʲɪtɕ ˈkosʲtʲə ˈdzːʲu; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian Australian former professional bo ...
becomes the
undisputed champion Undisputed championship may refer to: *Undisputed championship (boxing) *Undisputed championship (professional wrestling) An undisputed championship is a professional wrestling term for a champion who has obtained all of the major individual cha ...
of the Light Welterweight division as he defeats
Zab Judah Zabdiel Judah (born October 27, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2019. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles between 2000 and 2004 ...
by a dramatic second-round knockout in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. Judah was later suspended for 6 months and fined by the
Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, ...
for attacking referee Jay Nady and hurling his stool toward the center of the ring after the fight was stopped. *November 17
Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...
recaptures the WBC and IBF Heavyweight title as he avenges his loss against
Hasim Rahman Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC tit ...
by fourth-round knockout. *December 15 John Ruiz and Evander Holyfield fought to a draw for the WBA Heavyweight Championship


2002

*January 26
Vernon Forrest Vernon Forrest (February 12, 1971 – July 25, 2009) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC, IBF, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal welterweig ...
upsets
Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, incl ...
by unanimous decision, to capture the WBC Welterweight title. *February 2 In his first fight after becoming Undisputed
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 ...
Champion, Bernard Hopkins defends the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles against Carl Daniels. *March 30 In a rematch,
Ricardo Mayorga Ricardo Antonio Mayorga Perez (born October 3, 1973) is a Nicaraguan boxing, professional boxer and former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. In boxing he is a former two-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA (Unified), World ...
defeats Andrew "six heads" Lewis by 5th-round TKO to capture the WBA
welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
title. *April 20
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
moves to lightweight and wins by controversial unanimous decision against
José Luis Castillo José Luis Castillo (born December 14, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2014. Generally considered one of the best lightweights of his era, he is a two-time world champion at that weight, having held the WB ...
to take the WBC Lightweight title. *May 18
Micky Ward George Michael Ward Jr. (born October 4, 1965), often known by his nickname, "Irish" Micky Ward, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2003. He challenged once for the IBF light welterweight title in 1997, and held t ...
defeats
Arturo Gatti Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was an Italian-Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. A world champion in two weight classes, Gatti held the IBF junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the WBC super ...
in a very competitive non-title light welterweight bout. After getting knocked down in the ninth round Gatti came back and traded power punches with Ward. The fight was later named the 2002 ''Ring'' Magazine fight of the year. *June 1
Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...
defeats
Hasim Rahman Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC tit ...
by technical decision in eight rounds. A welt the size of a golf ball formed on Rahman's head leading the referee to stop the fight. *June 8
Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...
defeats
Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...
by eighth-round knockout. The fight is overshadowed by its prefight melee, in which Tyson rushed Lewis and started a brawl. *June 22 In their rematch,
Marco Antonio Barrera Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia (born January 17, 1974) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO junior featherweight title twice betwe ...
defeats
Erik Morales Erik Isaac Morales Elvira (; born September 1, 1976) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2012. He is the first Mexico-born boxer in history to win world titles in four different weight classes, having held the WBC ...
by unanimous decision to take the WBC
featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...
title. *July 20
Vernon Forrest Vernon Forrest (February 12, 1971 – July 25, 2009) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC, IBF, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal welterweig ...
defeats
Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, incl ...
in their rematch by unanimous decision, in
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
to defend the WBC Welterweight title. *September 14
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
defeats
Fernando Vargas Fernando Javier Vargas (born December 7, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2007. He was a two-time light middleweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 1998 to 2000, and the WBA title from 200 ...
by 11th-round TKO to unify the WBC and WBA light middleweight belts. *November 23 Arturo Gatti defeats Mickey Ward by unanimous decision in their second fight *December 7
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
defends his WBC lightweight title as he defeats
José Luis Castillo José Luis Castillo (born December 14, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2014. Generally considered one of the best lightweights of his era, he is a two-time world champion at that weight, having held the WB ...
in their rematch.


2003

*January 25
Ricardo Mayorga Ricardo Antonio Mayorga Perez (born October 3, 1973) is a Nicaraguan boxing, professional boxer and former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. In boxing he is a former two-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA (Unified), World ...
knocks out
Vernon Forrest Vernon Forrest (February 12, 1971 – July 25, 2009) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC, IBF, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal welterweig ...
by 3rd-round knockout, to unify the WBC and WBA Welterweight titles. * March 1 Roy Jones Jr. defeats John Ruiz by unanimous decision to win the WBA Heavyweight Championship *June 21
Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...
defends his title as he defeats
Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of KyivRicardo Mayorga Ricardo Antonio Mayorga Perez (born October 3, 1973) is a Nicaraguan boxing, professional boxer and former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. In boxing he is a former two-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA (Unified), World ...
successfully defends his WBA and WBC welterweight belts as he defeats
Vernon Forrest Vernon Forrest (February 12, 1971 – July 25, 2009) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC, IBF, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal welterweig ...
by controversial majority decision. *July 17
Jeff Lacy Jeffrey Scott Lacy (born May 12, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2015. He held the IBF super middleweight title from 2004 to 2006, and the IBO super middleweight title from 2005 to 2006. Lacy rose to pro ...
(as an up-and-coming super middleweight) defeats Richard Grant to win the vacant NABA Super Middleweight title as well as the USBA and WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight titles. *September 13
Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, incl ...
defeats
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
in their rematch to unify the WBC and WBA light middleweight title belts. *November 8
Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...
defeats
Antonio Tarver Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968) is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF ...
by controversial majority decision to recapture the
light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...
title. Many thought this was Jones's first real challenge in his career. *November 15
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
upsets
Marco Antonio Barrera Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia (born January 17, 1974) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO junior featherweight title twice betwe ...
by eleventh-round technical knockout to earn the ''Ring'' Magazine featherweight title. *December 13
Cory Spinks Cory Spinks (born Cory Calvin; February 20, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2013. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed welterweight title from 2003 to 2005, ...
becomes the Undisputed Welterweight Champion after he defeats
Ricardo Mayorga Ricardo Antonio Mayorga Perez (born October 3, 1973) is a Nicaraguan boxing, professional boxer and former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. In boxing he is a former two-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA (Unified), World ...
by majority decision.


2004

* January 17-
Zsolt Erdei Zsolt Erdei (born 31 May 1974) is a Hungarian former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO and lineal light-heavyweight titles from 2004 to 2009 (making eleven c ...
defeats
Julio César González Julio César González Ibarra (July 30, 1976 – March 10, 2012) was a Mexican professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2011, and held the WBO and lineal light heavyweight titles from 2003 to 2004. Amateur career Gonzalez was a member o ...
to become the WBO Light Heavyweight *March 13-
Winky Wright Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the undisputed title at that weight until ...
becomes the Undisputed Light Middleweight Champion after defeating
Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, incl ...
by unanimous decision. *April 10-
Cory Spinks Cory Spinks (born Cory Calvin; February 20, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2013. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed welterweight title from 2003 to 2005, ...
defends his undisputed welterweight title as he defeats
Zab Judah Zabdiel Judah (born October 27, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2019. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles between 2000 and 2004 ...
by unanimous decision. *May 8-
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
and
Juan Manuel Márquez Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is known for defeating Manny Pacquiao. He is the third Mexican boxer (after Érik Morales and Jorge Arce) to become a ...
fought for the Featherweight championship. Although he was knocked down 3 times in the 1st round, Márquez managed to control the succeeding rounds to earn a somewhat controversial draw. Márquez retained his WBA and IBF titles, while Pacquiao retained his Ring Magazine title. *May 15-
Antonio Tarver Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968) is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF ...
upsets
Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...
, knocking him out in the second round to take the WBC, WBA and WBO
light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...
titles. *September 18-
Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...
adds the WBO title to his undisputed middleweight status as he defeats
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
by a bodyshot knockout in the ninth round. This is Oscar De La Hoya's only defeat by knockout, and the last knockout victory Hopkins achieved (All of Hopkins' victories since then have been by decision). *September 25-
Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...
gets knocked out for the second consecutive fight as he loses to
Glen Johnson Glen McLeod Cooper Johnson (''né'' Stephens; born 23 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played predominantly as a right back. Johnson began his career at West Ham United, spending time on loan at Millwall, and was s ...
for the
IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
light heavyweight title. *November 20-
Winky Wright Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the undisputed title at that weight until ...
beats
Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, incl ...
in their rematch to defend the light middleweight title. *December 18-
Glen Johnson Glen McLeod Cooper Johnson (''né'' Stephens; born 23 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played predominantly as a right back. Johnson began his career at West Ham United, spending time on loan at Millwall, and was s ...
beats
Antonio Tarver Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968) is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF ...
by split decision.


2005

*February 5
Zab Judah Zabdiel Judah (born October 27, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2019. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles between 2000 and 2004 ...
knocks out
Cory Spinks Cory Spinks (born Cory Calvin; February 20, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2013. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed welterweight title from 2003 to 2005, ...
in nine rounds in Spinks's hometown,
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. Judah becomes the new Undisputed Welterweight Champion. Spinks had a dramatic ring entrance with rapper
Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...
. *March 19
Erik Morales Erik Isaac Morales Elvira (; born September 1, 1976) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2012. He is the first Mexico-born boxer in history to win world titles in four different weight classes, having held the WBC ...
defeats
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
by unanimous decision. *May 7
Diego Corrales Diego "Chico" Corrales Jr. (August 25, 1977 – May 7, 2007) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2007. He was a multiple-time world champion in two weight divisions, having held the IBF super featherweight title from 199 ...
defeats
José Luis Castillo José Luis Castillo (born December 14, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2014. Generally considered one of the best lightweights of his era, he is a two-time world champion at that weight, having held the WB ...
by 10th-round knockout for the
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
-
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
lightweight title unification. Both men were exchanging brutal punishment throughout the fight, before a dramatic tenth round in which Corrales scored a TKO after getting knocked down twice. It won
Fight of the Year Fight of the Year is an award given to the boxing match considered to be the best fight that year. It is awarded by a variety of different institutions. It may refer to: * ''The Ring'' magazine Fight of the Year – awarded by ''The Ring'' magazi ...
. *May 14
Winky Wright Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the undisputed title at that weight until ...
beats
Félix Trinidad Félix Juan Trinidad García (born January 10, 1973), popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes and is said to b ...
by unanimous decision. *June 4
Ricky Hatton Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships at li ...
defeats '' The Ring'' champion and universally acknowledged #1 Light-Welterweight
Kostya Tszyu Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu (; rus, Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю, , kənstɐnʲˈtʲin bɐˈrisəvʲɪtɕ ˈkosʲtʲə ˈdzːʲu; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian Australian former professional bo ...
by 11th-round TKO for the IBF Light-Welterweight title. After a highly physical battle, Tszyu was unable to come out for the twelfth round. *June 18
Antonio Tarver Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968) is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF ...
defeats
Glen Johnson Glen McLeod Cooper Johnson (''né'' Stephens; born 23 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played predominantly as a right back. Johnson began his career at West Ham United, spending time on loan at Millwall, and was s ...
by unanimous decision in their rematch. *June 25
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
comprehensively defeats
Arturo Gatti Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was an Italian-Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. A world champion in two weight classes, Gatti held the IBF junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the WBC super ...
by six-round technical knockout to capture the WBC Light Welterweight title. *July 16
Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...
loses a split decision against
Jermain Taylor Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, and ...
, who becomes the new Undisputed Middleweight Champion of the World. *October 1
Antonio Tarver Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968) is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF ...
again beats
Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...
, this time by unanimous decision. *December 3
Jermain Taylor Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, and ...
retains the middleweight title as he defeats
Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...
by unanimous decision. *December 17 Nikolay Valuev defeats
John Ruiz John Ruiz (born January 4, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2010, and held the WBA heavyweight title twice between 2001 and 2005. Ruiz is of Puerto Rican descent, and is the first Latino boxer to win a wo ...
to win the WBA World Heavyweight Title for the first time.


2006

*January 7
Carlos Baldomir Carlos Manuel Baldomir (born April 30, 1971) is an Argentine former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He held the WBC, The ''Ring'', and lineal welterweight titles in 2006, and challenged once for the WBC super welterweight t ...
upsets
Zab Judah Zabdiel Judah (born October 27, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2019. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles between 2000 and 2004 ...
to win the WBC welterweight title, as well as being the recognized welterweight champion, as Judah was the undisputed champion at the time of the bout. *January 7 On the
undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
of the Baldomir/Judah bout,
O'Neil Bell O'Neil Bell (29 December 1974 – 25 November 2015) was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2011. He held the undisputed cruiserweight title in 2006 and the lineal cruiserweight title from 2006 to 2007. Professional career ...
becomes the second undisputed Cruiserweight Champion, as he defeats Frenchman
Jean-Marc Mormeck Jean-Marc Gilbert Mormeck (born 3 June 1972) is a French former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2014. He is a two-time unified world cruiserweight champion, having held the WBA, WBC and ''The Ring'' world titles twice between 20 ...
by knockout in the 10th. *January 21
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
exacts his revenge on
Erik Morales Erik Isaac Morales Elvira (; born September 1, 1976) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2012. He is the first Mexico-born boxer in history to win world titles in four different weight classes, having held the WBC ...
by stopping him in the 10th round. *February 25
Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, incl ...
TKOs
Fernando Vargas Fernando Javier Vargas (born December 7, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2007. He was a two-time light middleweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 1998 to 2000, and the WBA title from 200 ...
. *March 3
Joe Calzaghe Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine ...
defeats
Jeff Lacy Jeffrey Scott Lacy (born May 12, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2015. He held the IBF super middleweight title from 2004 to 2006, and the IBO super middleweight title from 2005 to 2006. Lacy rose to pro ...
by lopsided unanimous decision for the IBF-WBO super middleweight unification. *March 18
James Toney James Nathaniel Toney (born August 24, 1968) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2017. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF and lineal middleweight titles from 1991 to ...
fights
Hasim Rahman Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC tit ...
for the WBC Heavyweight title; the fight ends in a draw. *April 1
Sergei Liakhovich Siarhei Piatrovich Liakhovich ( be, Сяргей Пятровіч Ляховіч, Siarhiej Piatrovič Lachovič; russian: Серге́й Петро́вич Ляхо́вич, Sergey Petrovich Lyakhovich; also Siarhiej Piatrovič Liachovič or Siar ...
wins the WBO
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 Wo ...
title from
Lamon Brewster Lamon Tajuan Brewster (born June 5, 1973) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2010. He held the WBO heavyweight title from 2004 to 2006, and is best known for scoring an upset knockout victory over Wladimir Klitsc ...
by unanimous decision. *April 8
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
defeats
Zab Judah Zabdiel Judah (born October 27, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2019. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles between 2000 and 2004 ...
by unanimous decision to win the IBF welterweight title. A mini-riot ensues as
Roger Mayweather Roger Mayweather (April 24, 1961 – March 17, 2020) was an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1999. He was a two-division world champion, having held the WBA and ''The Ring'' super featherweight ti ...
, Floyd's uncle and trainer, runs into the ring, retaliating to a low blow and rabbit punch by Judah. *April 22
Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
wins the IBF world heavyweight title from
Chris Byrd Christopher Cornelius Byrd (born August 15, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2009. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having first won the WBO title in 2000 after an upset corner stoppage over th ...
by TKO in round 7. *May 6
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
returns from a 20-month break and defeats
Ricardo Mayorga Ricardo Antonio Mayorga Perez (born October 3, 1973) is a Nicaraguan boxing, professional boxer and former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. In boxing he is a former two-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA (Unified), World ...
for the WBC
super welterweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...
title. *May 11 Former two-time heavyweight champion
Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in his ...
dies from complications of Alzheimer’s disease and prostate cancer. *May 20
Marco Antonio Barrera Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia (born January 17, 1974) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO junior featherweight title twice betwe ...
defeats
Rocky Juarez Ricardo "Rocky" Juárez (born April 15, 1980) is an American former professional boxer. He is a former WBC Silver featherweight champion and a multiple-time world title challenger. Juarez was known over his career for his aggressive fighting styl ...
by split decision. Juarez was competitive throughout the fight, breaking Barrera's nose in the early rounds. The fight was originally announced as a draw, until it was later revealed that there were two scorecard tabulation errors. *June 10
Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...
defeats
Antonio Tarver Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968) is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF ...
by unanimous decision to take the light heavyweight world championship. *June 17 –
Winky Wright Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the undisputed title at that weight until ...
and
Jermain Taylor Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, and ...
fight ends in a draw for the undisputed middleweight championship of the world in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
*July 22
Carlos Baldomir Carlos Manuel Baldomir (born April 30, 1971) is an Argentine former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He held the WBC, The ''Ring'', and lineal welterweight titles in 2006, and challenged once for the WBC super welterweight t ...
defends his welterweight title as he defeats
Arturo Gatti Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was an Italian-Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. A world champion in two weight classes, Gatti held the IBF junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the WBC super ...
by 9th-round knockout. *August 5
Edwin Valero Edwin Valero (3 December 1981 – 19 April 2010) was a Venezuelan professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2010. He was an list of undefeated boxing world champions, undefeated former world champion in two weight class (boxing), weight classe ...
wins the WBA super featherweight title by defeating
Vicente Mosquera Vicente Eduardo Mosquera Mena (born December 9, 1979 in Panama City, Panama) is a Panamanian professional boxer. He is a former World Boxing Association (WBA) super-featherweight champion. On April 30, 2005 he defeated Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai (Y ...
by 10th-round TKO in Mosquera's home country,
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
. *August 12
Oleg Maskaev Oleg Alexandrovich Maskayev (russian: Олег Александрович Маскаев; also Maskaev; born 2 March 1969) is a Russian-American former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2013, and held the WBC heavyweight title from 2 ...
knocks out
Hasim Rahman Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC tit ...
in the 12th round to win the WBC Heavyweight title. *September 16
Marco Antonio Barrera Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia (born January 17, 1974) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO junior featherweight title twice betwe ...
defeats
Rocky Juarez Ricardo "Rocky" Juárez (born April 15, 1980) is an American former professional boxer. He is a former WBC Silver featherweight champion and a multiple-time world title challenger. Juarez was known over his career for his aggressive fighting styl ...
in the rematch and successfully defends his WBC super featherweight title. *October 14
Mikkel Kessler Mikkel Kessler (born 1 March 1979) is a Danish former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2013. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the WBA title three times between 2004 and 2013, and the WBC title twic ...
unifies the WBC and WBA Super middleweight titles after knocking out
Markus Beyer Markus Beyer (28 April 1971 – 3 December 2018) was a German professional boxer who won the WBC super middleweight title. As an amateur he represented Germany at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics in the light middleweight division. He also won a ...
in three rounds. *November 4
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
becomes the WBC and linear Welterweight champion after he defeats
Carlos Baldomir Carlos Manuel Baldomir (born April 30, 1971) is an Argentine former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He held the WBC, The ''Ring'', and lineal welterweight titles in 2006, and challenged once for the WBC super welterweight t ...
by unanimous decision. *November 11
Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
defends his IBF heavyweight title by defeating American contender
Calvin Brock Calvin Vance Brock (born January 22, 1975) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2007. He was ranked as the world's No.9 heavyweight by BoxRec at the conclusion of 2005. Calvin Brock was trained by Tom Yankello. In ...
by a stunning knockout in the 7th round. *November 18
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
knocks out
Erik Morales Erik Isaac Morales Elvira (; born September 1, 1976) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2012. He is the first Mexico-born boxer in history to win world titles in four different weight classes, having held the WBC ...
in the 3rd round of their third and final match.


2007

* January 6
Sam Peter Samuel Okon Peter (born September 6, 1980) is a Nigerian professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title in 2008, when he stopped Oleg Maskaev in six rounds. In his prime, he was known for his rivalry with the Klitschko brothers, having ...
defeats
James Toney James Nathaniel Toney (born August 24, 1968) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2017. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF and lineal middleweight titles from 1991 to ...
by unanimous decision in their rematch. Peter becomes the #1 challenger for WBC Heavyweight champion
Oleg Maskaev Oleg Alexandrovich Maskayev (russian: Олег Александрович Маскаев; also Maskaev; born 2 March 1969) is a Russian-American former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2013, and held the WBC heavyweight title from 2 ...
. * January 20 Nikolay Valuev defends his WBA Heavyweight title by defeating
Jameel McCline Jameel McCline (born May 20, 1970) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged for the world heavyweight title on an unprecedented four occasions, losing all four attempts to Wladimir Klitschko, Chris Byrd, Nikolai Valuev and Samuel ...
by technical knockout after McCline blew out his knee. *January 20
Ricky Hatton Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships at li ...
beats
Juan Urango Juan Fernando Urango Rivas (born October 4, 1980), best known as Juan Urango, is a Colombian former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2012. He held the IBF junior welterweight title twice between 2006 and 2010, and challenged once fo ...
by unanimous decision. Both fighters were previously unbeaten. * February 3
Chad Dawson Chad Dawson (born July 13, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He has held multiple light heavyweight world championships, and was one of the most highly regarded boxers in that division between 2006 an ...
becomes WBC Light Heavyweight champion after defeating
Tomasz Adamek Tomasz "Tomek" Adamek (; born 1 December 1976) is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2018. He held world championships in two weight class (boxing), weight classes, including the World Boxing Council, WBC light heavyweig ...
by unanimous decision. Despite being knocked down from a straight right hand in round 10, Dawson dominates most of the fight with his speed. * February 10
Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, incl ...
becomes WBC Welterweight champion by defeating
Luis Collazo Luis Collazo (born April 22, 1981) is an American professional boxer who held the WBA welterweight title from 2005 to 2006. Professional career Collazo is of Puerto Rican descent, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Collazo won the WBA Wel ...
by unanimous decision. * March 3
Rafael Márquez Rafael Márquez Álvarez (; born 13 February 1979) is a Mexican former professional footballer and current head coach of Spanish team Barcelona Atlètic. Nicknamed '' El Káiser'', he is regarded as the best defender in Mexico's history and o ...
moves up in weight class and defeats ''Ring'' Magazine and WBC Super Bantamweight champion
Israel Vázquez Israel Vázquez Castañeda (born December 25, 1977) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2010. He is a three-time super bantamweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2004 to 2005; and the WBC, ''The R ...
by 7th-round technical knockout. Vazquez did not answer the bell after badly breaking his nose and having trouble breathing. * March 10
Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
defends his IBF Heavyweight title by defeating Ray Austin by 2nd-round knockout. * March 17
Juan Manuel Márquez Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is known for defeating Manny Pacquiao. He is the third Mexican boxer (after Érik Morales and Jorge Arce) to become a ...
defeats
Marco Antonio Barrera Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia (born January 17, 1974) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO junior featherweight title twice betwe ...
by unanimous decision to become the WBC Super Featherweight champion. In the seventh round there was controversy, as Marquez thoroughly dominated the round then got knocked down by Barrera. Referee Jay Nady ruled this a slip, then penalized Barrera for hitting while Marquez was on the canvas. * March 24
Mikkel Kessler Mikkel Kessler (born 1 March 1979) is a Danish former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2013. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the WBA title three times between 2004 and 2013, and the WBC title twic ...
defends his WBA and WBC Super middleweight titles bt defeating
Librado Andrade Librado Andrade Ornelas (born September 2, 1978) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2013, and challenged three times for a super middleweight world title between 2007 and 2009. His brother Enrique Ornelas is also a p ...
by a shutout unanimous decision. * April 7
Joe Calzaghe Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine ...
defends his WBO and Ring Magazine super middleweight titles by defeating
Peter Manfredo Peter Manfredo Jr. (born November 26, 1980) is a former American professional boxer and former IBO middleweight champion. He has challenged twice for upper-level world titles, at middleweight and super middleweight, as well as having won the ...
(of The Contender fame) by a 3rd-round technical knockout. * April
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
airs De la Hoya/Mayweather 24/7 for three weeks to hype the highly anticipated matchup between
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
and
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
* April 14
Ruslan Chagaev Ruslan Shamilevich Chagaev ( tt-Cyrl, Руслан Шамил улы Чагаев; uz, Ruslan Shamilovich Chagayev; russian: Руслан Шамилович Чагаев); born 19 October 1978) is an Uzbekistani former professional boxer who c ...
becomes the new WBA Heavyweight Champion after defeating
Nicolay Valuev Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev (, rus, Никола́й Серге́евич Валу́ев, p=vɐˈlujɪf; born 21 August 1973) is a Russian politician and former professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1993 to 2009, and held the WBA heav ...
by majority decision. * April 28 Juan Díaz unifies the WBA and WBO Lightweight titles after defeating
Acelino Freitas Acelino "Popó" Freitas (; born September 21, 1975) is a Brazilian politician and a former professional boxer who competed between 1995 to 2017. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBO super featherweight title from 19 ...
. Freitas refused to answer the bell before round nine. * May 5 In a highly anticipated matchup,
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
defeats
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
by split decision, taking the WBC junior middleweight title. Despite being one of the richest fights in the history of the sport, the fight generally did not match the hype. * May 7 Former super featherweight and lightweight champion
Diego Corrales Diego "Chico" Corrales Jr. (August 25, 1977 – May 7, 2007) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2007. He was a multiple-time world champion in two weight divisions, having held the IBF super featherweight title from 199 ...
dies in a motorcycle accident near his home in Las Vegas. Corrales died on the two-year anniversary of his thrilling first fight against José Luis Castillo, regarded as one of the greatest fights in modern history. * June 2
Sultan Ibragimov Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov (russian: Султан-Ахмед Магомедсалихович Ибрагимов, av, Султан-АхӀмад МухӀаммадсалихӀазул вас Ибрагьимов; born 8 March 1975 ...
defeats
Shannon Briggs Shannon Briggs (born December 4, 1971) is an American former professional boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion, having held the lineal heavyweight championship from 1997 to 1998, and the WBO title from 2006 to 2007. Briggs is known for ...
by unanimous decision to take the WBO heavyweight title. * June 9
Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...
successfully defends his WBA Welterweight title as he defeats
Zab Judah Zabdiel Judah (born October 27, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2019. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles between 2000 and 2004 ...
by technical knockout in the 11th. * June 23
Ricky Hatton Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships at li ...
defends his ''
Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
'' light welterweight crown as he defeats
José Luis Castillo José Luis Castillo (born December 14, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2014. Generally considered one of the best lightweights of his era, he is a two-time world champion at that weight, having held the WB ...
by knockout. Hatton hits him with a perfect
liver punch A liver shot or liver punch is a punch, kick, or knee strike to the right side of the ribcage that damages the liver. Blunt force to the liver can be excruciatingly painful, and an especially effective shot will incapacitate a person instantly. Th ...
, putting him on the canvas for the first time in his pro career. * July 7
Vic Darchinyan Vakhtang "Vic" Darchinyan ( hy, Վախթանգ Դարչինյան; born 7 January 1976) is an Armenian former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2017. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF flywei ...
loses his IBF and IBO flyweight titles, getting knocked out by
Nonito Donaire Nonito Gonzales Donaire Jr. (; ; born November 16, 1982) is a Filipino American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes from flyweight to featherweight, and is the oldest boxer in history to win a b ...
in five rounds. * July 14 Paul Williams becomes the WBO welterweight champion as he defeats
Antonio Margarito Antonio Margarito Montiel (born March 18, 1978) is a Mexican-American former professional boxer who competed between 1994 and 2017. He held multiple welterweight world championships, including the WBO title from 2002 to 2007, the IBF title in ...
by unanimous decision. * July 18
Daisuke Naito is a former professional boxer from Japan. He is the former WBC and lineal flyweight champion, and former Japanese and OPBF flyweight champion. Professional career Naito made his professional debut in October, 1996. He compiled an undefeat ...
upsets
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam Pongsaklek Wonjongkam ( th, พงษ์ศักดิ์เล็ก วันจงคำ; born: 11 August 1977) is a former Thai professional boxer and current boxing trainer. He is a two-time former lineal flyweight champion. During his fir ...
, who had previously beaten him twice, by unanimous decision. Naito ends Wonjongkam's six-year run as WBC flyweight champion. * July 21
Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...
beats
Winky Wright Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the undisputed title at that weight until ...
by unanimous decision. * August 4
Israel Vázquez Israel Vázquez Castañeda (born December 25, 1977) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2010. He is a three-time super bantamweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2004 to 2005; and the WBC, ''The R ...
defeats
Rafael Márquez Rafael Márquez Álvarez (; born 13 February 1979) is a Mexican former professional footballer and current head coach of Spanish team Barcelona Atlètic. Nicknamed '' El Káiser'', he is regarded as the best defender in Mexico's history and o ...
by technical knockout in the 6th round of their rematch to recapture the
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
super bantamweight title. The two traded punches throughout the fight before Vázquez dominated Márquez in the sixth round, causing the referee to stop the fight. * August 25 Iván Calderón defeats
Hugo Fidel Cazares Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Hugo (film), ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise ...
in a split decision to win the WBO Light Flyweight title and to become The Ring Magazine Jr. Flyweight champion. This was Calderon's first fight at Light Flyweight. * September 29
Kelly Pavlik Kelly Robert Pavlik (born April 5, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012. He won the unified WBC, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal middleweight titles by defeating Jermain Taylor in 2007, and made three ...
upsets
Jermain Taylor Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, and ...
by seventh-round TKO to win the WBC, WBO and universally recognized middleweight championship. Pavlik was knocked down in the second round but rallied back against a tired Taylor. * October 6
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
defeats
Marco Antonio Barrera Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia (born January 17, 1974) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO junior featherweight title twice betwe ...
by unanimous decision. Barrera would announce his retirement after the fight. * October 13-Sultan Ibragimov defeats Evander Holyfield by 12-round Unanimous Decision and retains title of WBO World Heavyweight Champion. * November 4
Joe Calzaghe Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine ...
defeats
Mikkel Kessler Mikkel Kessler (born 1 March 1979) is a Danish former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2013. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the WBA title three times between 2004 and 2013, and the WBC title twic ...
by unanimous decision in a unification bout for the WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles. Calzaghe becomes the first undisputed super middleweight champion and surpasses the 20 defenses made by Bernard Hopkins and Larry Holmes at middleweight and heavyweight respectively. * November 11
David Haye David Deron Haye (born 13 October 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 2002 and 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, and was the first British boxer to reach the final of the World Amate ...
beats Jean Marc Mormeck by a 7th-round TKO to win the WBC cruiserweight title and the WBA super cruiserweight title. * December 8
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
defends his WBC and Ring Welterweight titles, defeating
Ricky Hatton Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships at li ...
by 10th-round technical knockout. * December 16 Danny Green defeats
Stipe Drews Stipe Drews (born Stipe Drviš, 8 June 1973) is a retired Croatian professional Boxing, boxer. He won the World Boxing Association, WBA's version of the world light heavyweight championship title on 27 April 2007. Amateur career As an amateur ...
to win the WBA Light Heavyweight title. This is Green's first successful world title match after trying to win the WBC Super Middleweight Title twice.


2008

* January 19
Ruslan Chagaev Ruslan Shamilevich Chagaev ( tt-Cyrl, Руслан Шамил улы Чагаев; uz, Ruslan Shamilovich Chagayev; russian: Руслан Шамилович Чагаев); born 19 October 1978) is an Uzbekistani former professional boxer who c ...
defends his WBA Heavyweight title, defeating
Matt Skelton Matt Skelton (born 23 January 1967) is a British former professional boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist. In boxing he competed from 2002 to 2014. He challenged once for the WBA heavyweight title in 2008. At regional level, he held the ...
by unanimous decision. * January 19
Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...
defeats
Félix Trinidad Félix Juan Trinidad García (born January 10, 1973), popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes and is said to b ...
by unanimous decision. In his first fight in two years and second in five, Trinidad was down twice. * February 16
Kelly Pavlik Kelly Robert Pavlik (born April 5, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012. He won the unified WBC, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal middleweight titles by defeating Jermain Taylor in 2007, and made three ...
defeats
Jermain Taylor Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, and ...
by unanimous decision in a rematch of their 2007 encounter. * February 23
Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
unifies the IBF and WBO heavyweight titles as he defeats
Sultan Ibragimov Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov (russian: Султан-Ахмед Магомедсалихович Ибрагимов, av, Султан-АхӀмад МухӀаммадсалихӀазул вас Ибрагьимов; born 8 March 1975 ...
by unanimous decision in
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
. * March 1
Israel Vázquez Israel Vázquez Castañeda (born December 25, 1977) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2010. He is a three-time super bantamweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2004 to 2005; and the WBC, ''The R ...
successfully defends the WBC and Ring Magazine titles as he defeats
Rafael Márquez Rafael Márquez Álvarez (; born 13 February 1979) is a Mexican former professional footballer and current head coach of Spanish team Barcelona Atlètic. Nicknamed '' El Káiser'', he is regarded as the best defender in Mexico's history and o ...
by split decision. * March 8
David Haye David Deron Haye (born 13 October 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 2002 and 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, and was the first British boxer to reach the final of the World Amate ...
unifies the WBA, WBC and WBO titles as he defeats
Enzo Maccarinelli Enzo Maccarinelli (born 20 August 1980) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2016. He held the WBO cruiserweight title from 2006 to 2008. At regional level, he held the European and British cruiserweight titles betwe ...
by a 2nd-round technical knockout. * March 8
Nate Campbell Nathaniel "Nate" Campbell III (born March 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014, and currently works as a TV host. In boxing he held the unified WBA (Undisputed), IBF and WBO lightweight titles from 200 ...
upsets Juan Díaz by split decision. Campbell becomes the unified WBA, IBF and WBO champion. * March 8
Sam Peter Samuel Okon Peter (born September 6, 1980) is a Nigerian professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title in 2008, when he stopped Oleg Maskaev in six rounds. In his prime, he was known for his rivalry with the Klitschko brothers, having ...
wins the WBC Heavyweight title as he defeats
Oleg Maskaev Oleg Alexandrovich Maskayev (russian: Олег Александрович Маскаев; also Maskaev; born 2 March 1969) is a Russian-American former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2013, and held the WBC heavyweight title from 2 ...
by 6th-round TKO. * March 15
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
becomes the Ring Magazine and WBC super featherweight champion as he defeats
Juan Manuel Márquez Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is known for defeating Manny Pacquiao. He is the third Mexican boxer (after Érik Morales and Jorge Arce) to become a ...
by split decision. * March 22
Joel Casamayor Joel Casamayor Johnson (born July 12, 1971) is a Cuban American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2011. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA super featherweight title from 2000 to 2002; and the ...
defeats
Michael Katsidis Michael Alan Katsidis ( ; el, Μιχάλης Κατσίδης; born 15 August 1980) is an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He held the WBO interim lightweight title twice between 2007 and 2010, and challeng ...
by 10th-round technical knockout to defend the Ring Magazine Lightweight championship. In a thrilling back-and-forth fight, Casamayor knocked down Katsidis twice in the opening round, only to have Katsidis come back with a knockdown in the 6th. Casamayor knocked Katsidis down again in the 10th, hurting him in the process, and the referee called a halt to the contest. * April 12
Chad Dawson Chad Dawson (born July 13, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He has held multiple light heavyweight world championships, and was one of the most highly regarded boxers in that division between 2006 an ...
defeats
Glen Johnson Glen McLeod Cooper Johnson (''né'' Stephens; born 23 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played predominantly as a right back. Johnson began his career at West Ham United, spending time on loan at Millwall, and was s ...
by a close unanimous decision and retains his WBC Light Heavyweight title. * April 12
Antonio Tarver Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968) is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF ...
gains the IBF Light Heavyweight title as he defeats
Clinton Woods Clinton Woods (born 1 May 1972) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2009, and held the IBF light-heavyweight title from 2005 to 2008. At regional level he held the Commonwealth super-middleweight title from 1997 to ...
by unanimous decision. * April 12
Antonio Margarito Antonio Margarito Montiel (born March 18, 1978) is a Mexican-American former professional boxer who competed between 1994 and 2017. He held multiple welterweight world championships, including the WBO title from 2002 to 2007, the IBF title in ...
knocks out
Kermit Cintron Kermit may refer to: *Kermit the Frog, ''The Muppets'' character *Kermit Roosevelt (disambiguation), any of several descendants of U. S. President Theodore Roosevelt *Kermit (given name) *Kermit, the stage name for Paul Leveridge of Black Grape *K ...
in the 6th round to gain the IBF Welterweight title. * April 12
Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...
defeats former Contender star
Alfonso Gomez Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
to retain the WBA Welterweight title. The fight doctor put a halt on the contest before the start of the 6th round. * April 19
Joe Calzaghe Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine ...
defeats
Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...
in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
by split decision to gain the ''
Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
''
Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...
championship. * June 28
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
defeats David Díaz via 9th-round knockout to take the WBC lightweight crown, his fifth world title in five weight divisions. * July 26
Antonio Margarito Antonio Margarito Montiel (born March 18, 1978) is a Mexican-American former professional boxer who competed between 1994 and 2017. He held multiple welterweight world championships, including the WBO title from 2002 to 2007, the IBF title in ...
knocks out
Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...
in the 11th to gain the WBA Welterweight title. Cotto managed to control the early rounds, but Margarito came back with relentless pressure, eventually winning one of the greatest fights of the year. But the handwrap controversy surrounding Margarito was later to call the victory's validity into question. * September 13
Juan Manuel Márquez Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is known for defeating Manny Pacquiao. He is the third Mexican boxer (after Érik Morales and Jorge Arce) to become a ...
defeats
Joel Casamayor Joel Casamayor Johnson (born July 12, 1971) is a Cuban American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2011. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA super featherweight title from 2000 to 2002; and the ...
by stopping him in the 11th round after two knockdowns to capture the Ring Magazine Lightweight title. * September 15 Roman Gonzalez knocks out
Yutaka Niida is a retired professional boxer in the minimumweight (105 lb) division and former WBA world minimumweight champion. Professional boxing career Niida belonged to the Yokohama Hikari Boxing Gym, his trainer was Mitsunori Seki and Hidefumi Oika ...
to become the WBA minimumweight champion. * October 11 In his first fight in four years,
Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of KyivSam Peter Samuel Okon Peter (born September 6, 1980) is a Nigerian professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title in 2008, when he stopped Oleg Maskaev in six rounds. In his prime, he was known for his rivalry with the Klitschko brothers, having ...
, who had previously given trouble to
Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
. * October 18
Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...
beats undefeated
Kelly Pavlik Kelly Robert Pavlik (born April 5, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012. He won the unified WBC, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal middleweight titles by defeating Jermain Taylor in 2007, and made three ...
via unanimous decision. Despite being 17 years older than Pavlik, Hopkins outworked and outhustled him throughout the fight. * November 8
Joe Calzaghe Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine ...
defeats
Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...
in New York City by unanimous decision to retain the ''Ring'' Magazine Light Heavyweight title. Despite being put down in the 1st round, Calzaghe controlled the succeeding rounds to win the decision. * November 22
Ricky Hatton Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships at li ...
stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...
Paul Malignaggi Paul "Paulie" Malignaggi (; ; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017 and has since worked as a boxing commentator and analyst. He held world championships in two weight classes, including ...
in the 11th round to retain the ''Ring'' Magazine
Light Welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
title. * December 6
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
defeats
Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...
after eight rounds in a fight billed as "
The Dream Match Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao, also billed as ''The Dream Match'', was a professional boxing welterweight superfight. The bout took place on December 6, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Pacquiao defeated De La Hoy ...
." When De La Hoya couldn't answer the bell for the ninth round, it was officially a
technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
. * December 6
Carl Froch Carl Martin Froch, (born 2 July 1977) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2014, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the W ...
defeats
Jean Pascal Jean-Thenistor Pascal (born 28 October 1982) is a Haitian-born Canadian professional boxer. He held the WBA (Regular) light-heavyweight title from 2019 to 2021, and previously the WBC, IBO, '' Ring'' magazine and lineal light-heavyweight tit ...
by decision to become the WBC Super Middleweight Champion. * December 13
Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
beats
Hasim Rahman Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC tit ...
by 7th-round TKO.


2009

* January 24
Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, incl ...
defeats
Antonio Margarito Antonio Margarito Montiel (born March 18, 1978) is a Mexican-American former professional boxer who competed between 1994 and 2017. He held multiple welterweight world championships, including the WBO title from 2002 to 2007, the IBF title in ...
to win the WBA welterweight title by 9th-round TKO. Controversy erupted before the fight when it was discovered that Margarito had an illegal plaster-like substance in his gloves. Margarito and his trainer had their boxing licenses revoked. *30 January Former heavyweight champion 1959-1960 Ingemar Johansson dies from complications of pneumonia and had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. * February 5:
Joe Calzaghe Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine ...
retires unbeaten in 46 bouts as a two weight champion * February 21
Kelly Pavlik Kelly Robert Pavlik (born April 5, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012. He won the unified WBC, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal middleweight titles by defeating Jermain Taylor in 2007, and made three ...
beat
Marco Antonio Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born June 16, 1980) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2015. He held the WBC interim middleweight title in 2014, and challenged twice for a middleweight world title in 2009 and 2012. Professi ...
by stoppage in the 9th round. This was Pavlik's second defense of his ''
Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
'',
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
, and
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
middleweight titles. * February 28
Juan Manuel Márquez Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is known for defeating Manny Pacquiao. He is the third Mexican boxer (after Érik Morales and Jorge Arce) to become a ...
defeats Juan Díaz via 9th-round TKO to bag the WBA and
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
lightweight titles. The 14,571 spectators in attendance at the
Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Houston ...
was the largest in Texas boxing history. This fight was later named the
fight of the year Fight of the Year is an award given to the boxing match considered to be the best fight that year. It is awarded by a variety of different institutions. It may refer to: * ''The Ring'' magazine Fight of the Year – awarded by ''The Ring'' magazi ...
. * February 28 Román González beats Francisco Rosas to get the WBA minimumweight title for the second time. * March 14 Amir Khan defeats
Marco Antonio Barrera Marco Antonio Barrera Tapia (born January 17, 1974) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2011. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO junior featherweight title twice betwe ...
after the fight was stopped toward the end of the 5th round. Barrera suffering a severe cut, reopened from his previous fight, by a clash of heads late in the opening round. With Barrera deemed in no position to fight on by the ringside doctor, the fight went to the scorecards where Khan was ahead on all three. * March 21
Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...
knocks out
Omar Sheika Omar Sheika (born February 20, 1977) is an American former professional boxer and multiple time super middleweight world title challenger. He is of Palestinian descent. Raised in Paterson, New Jersey, Sheika attended Eastside High School and ...
in the 5th round to win the vacant NABO light heavyweight title. This was Jones' first knockout win in 6½ years. The undercard featured
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, incorp ...
fights. * April 25
Carl Froch Carl Martin Froch, (born 2 July 1977) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2014, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the W ...
beats
Jermain Taylor Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, and ...
via 12th-round TKO. This was Froch's first defense of his
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
super middleweight title. Froch was knocked down in the 3rd round, and Taylor was knocked down in the 12th. * May 2
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
stops
Ricky Hatton Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships at li ...
after two brutal rounds in a fight billed as " The Battle of East and West" in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. During the 1st round, Pacquiao knocked down Hatton twice. In the 2nd round, Pacquiao continued to rain Hatton with furious combinations, eventually knocking him out with a thunderous left hook. For his win, Pacquiao took the IBO and '' The Ring'' light welterweight titles. The fight was named the
knockout of the year '' The Ring'' magazine was established in 1922 and has named a Knockout of the Year since 1989, based on the magazine's writers' criteria. Knockouts of the Year by decade 1980s * 1989: Michael Nunn ''KO 1'' Sumbu Kalambay 1990s * 1990: Terr ...
. * May 9
Chad Dawson Chad Dawson (born July 13, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He has held multiple light heavyweight world championships, and was one of the most highly regarded boxers in that division between 2006 an ...
defeats
Antonio Tarver Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968) is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF ...
by decision. This was Dawson's first defense of his
IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
and IBO light heavyweight titles. * June 20
Wladimir Klitschko Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
beat
Ruslan Chagaev Ruslan Shamilevich Chagaev ( tt-Cyrl, Руслан Шамил улы Чагаев; uz, Ruslan Shamilovich Chagayev; russian: Руслан Шамилович Чагаев); born 19 October 1978) is an Uzbekistani former professional boxer who c ...
by RTD in the 9th round. The fight was Klitschko's seventh defense of his IBO and
IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
heavyweight titles and his third defense of his
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
heavyweight title. Klitschko also won the vacant ''
Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
'' heavyweight title and the vacant lineal title. The crowd of 61,000 was the biggest boxing audience in Germany since
Max Schmeling Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (, ; 28 September 1905 – 2 February 2005) was a German boxing, boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cul ...
knocked out
Adolf Heuser Adolf Heuser (3 October 1907 – 19 November 1988)
in front of 70,000 in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
in 1939. * August 15
Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...
stops
Jeff Lacy Jeffrey Scott Lacy (born May 12, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2015. He held the IBF super middleweight title from 2004 to 2006, and the IBO super middleweight title from 2005 to 2006. Lacy rose to pro ...
in the 10th round. This was Jones' first defense of his NABO light heavyweight title. The fight was entitled "Hook City". * September 12 Iván Calderón defeats
Rodel Mayol Rodel Bryan Generalao Mayol (born August 9, 1981 in Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines), more commonly known as just Rodel Mayol, is a Filipino former professional boxer and the former WBC Light Flyweight World Champion. Early life Mayol is the el ...
to defend his
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
light flyweight title for the fifth time. The two had previously fought to a draw. * September 19
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
dominates
Juan Manuel Márquez Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is known for defeating Manny Pacquiao. He is the third Mexican boxer (after Érik Morales and Jorge Arce) to become a ...
in Mayweather's comeback fight, after retiring 21 months earlier. It was the first time Marquez had fought above the . limit. There was some controversy over Mayweather being two pounds over the weight limit, for which he later paid Marquez $600,000. The fight was aired the same night that
UFC 103 ''UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on September 19, 2009 in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center. The event was broadcast on pay-per-view. Background This w ...
was aired, however sold much better, with 600,000 more PPV buys. * September 19 Chris John defeats
Rocky Juarez Ricardo "Rocky" Juárez (born April 15, 1980) is an American former professional boxer. He is a former WBC Silver featherweight champion and a multiple-time world title challenger. Juarez was known over his career for his aggressive fighting styl ...
by decision after fighting Juarez to a draw earlier in the year. The fight was part of the undercard of
Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez Floyd may refer to: As a name * Floyd (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Floyd (surname), a list of people and fictional characters Places in the United States * Floyd, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Floyd, Iow ...
, and some journalists had thought it might turn out a better fight than the main event. * September 26
Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of KyivChris Arreola Cristobal Arreola (born March 5, 1981) is an American professional boxer who has challenged three times for the WBC heavyweight title. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.8 heavyweight at the conclusion of 2007 and as No.7 heavyweight from ...
in the 10th round. The fight was Klitschko's fourth defense of his
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
heavyweight title. * October 10 Juan Manuel López beats Rogers Mtagwa by decision to defend his
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
Super Bantamweight title for the fourth time. * October 10
Juan Carlos Salgado Juan Carlos Salgado (born December 20, 1984, in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican professional boxer. He is the former World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation Super Featherweight Champion. Professional career Juan Carlos w ...
knocks out
Jorge Linares Jorge Luis Linares Palencia (born 22 August 1985) is a Venezuelan professional boxer. He has held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBC featherweight title from 2007 to 2008; the WBA super featherweight title from 20 ...
in the 1st round. The fight was named the
upset of the year '' The Ring'' magazine was established in 1922 and has since named an Upset of the Year since 1970. The award, based on the magazine's writers' criteria, is given to a fight that resulted in an outcome that was highly contrary to general expectat ...
. * October 17
Arthur Abraham Avetik Abrahamyan ( hy, Ավետիք Աբրահամյան; born 20 February 1980), best known as Arthur Abraham, is an Armenian-German former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight c ...
knocks out
Jermain Taylor Jermain Taylor (born August 11, 1978) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He remains the most recent undisputed middleweight champion, having won the WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine, and ...
with less than 10 seconds left in the fight as part of the Super Six Tournament. * October 18
Carl Froch Carl Martin Froch, (born 2 July 1977) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2014, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the W ...
beats
Andre Dirrell Andre Dirrell (born September 7, 1983) is an American professional boxer who held the IBF interim super middleweight title from 2017 to 2018. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the middleweight division at the 2004 Olympics. His younger bro ...
by split decision as part of the Super Six Tournament. * October 24
Tomasz Adamek Tomasz "Tomek" Adamek (; born 1 December 1976) is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2018. He held world championships in two weight class (boxing), weight classes, including the World Boxing Council, WBC light heavyweig ...
beats
Andrew Golota Andrzej Jan Gołota (; born 5 January 1968), best known as Andrew Golota, is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2013. He challenged four times for a heavyweight world title (by all four major sanctioning bodies), and as ...
for the
IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
International Heavyweight Title. This is Adamek's debut as a heavyweight. * November 7
David Haye David Deron Haye (born 13 October 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 2002 and 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, and was the first British boxer to reach the final of the World Amate ...
beats
Nikolai Valuev Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev (, rus, Никола́й Серге́евич Валу́ев, p=vɐˈlujɪf; born 21 August 1973) is a Russian politician and former professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1993 to 2009, and held the WBA heav ...
by points to become the WBA Heavyweight Champion. * November 7
Chad Dawson Chad Dawson (born July 13, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He has held multiple light heavyweight world championships, and was one of the most highly regarded boxers in that division between 2006 an ...
defeats
Glen Johnson Glen McLeod Cooper Johnson (''né'' Stephens; born 23 August 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played predominantly as a right back. Johnson began his career at West Ham United, spending time on loan at Millwall, and was s ...
in a rematch to win the
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
Light Heavyweight titled and retain the IBO Light Heavyweight title. * November 14
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
defeats
Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...
by a technical knockout with 2:05 left in the fight to become the only boxer to win a world title in seven different weight divisions. As well as to win Cotto's
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
welterweight title and the inaugural
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
Diamond Belt. * November 14
Yuri Foreman Yuri Foreman (born August 5, 1980) is an Israeli professional boxer who held the WBA super welterweight title from 2009 to 2010. He was born in Gomel, Belarus, but currently fights out of Brooklyn, New York. Foreman has also pursued Jewish reli ...
defeats Daniel Santos by unanimous decision to win the WBA Super welterweight champion and become the first Israeli boxer to win a world title. * November 21
Andre Ward Andre Michael Ward (born February 23, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and held multiple world titles in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super), ...
upsets
Mikkel Kessler Mikkel Kessler (born 1 March 1979) is a Danish former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2013. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the WBA title three times between 2004 and 2013, and the WBC title twic ...
as part of the Super Six Tournament to become the WBA Super Middleweight Champion. * November 28
Lucian Bute Lucian Bute (born February 28, 1980) is a Romanian-Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2017. He held the International Boxing Federation, IBF super-middleweight title from 2007 to 2012, successfully making nine consecutiv ...
knocks out
Librado Andrade Librado Andrade Ornelas (born September 2, 1978) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2013, and challenged three times for a super middleweight world title between 2007 and 2009. His brother Enrique Ornelas is also a p ...
at the end of the fourth round as part of a rematch between the two fighters. * December 2 Danny Green knocks out
Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...
in a shocking 2:02 KO after Green landed two solid left hands and a right cross to the temple that knocked Jones out. * December 2
Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...
, at nearly 45 years old, beats
Enrique Ornelas Enrique Andrade Ornelas (born September 17, 1980) is a Mexican professional boxer. A two-time world title challenger, Ornelas challenged for the WBO super middleweight title in 2010, as well as the WBA light heavyweight title in 2012. Backgroun ...
by decision. * December 5 Amir Khan stops
Dmitriy Salita Dmitry Salita (russian: Дмитрий Салита; uk, Дмитро Саліта), Dmitry Aleksandrovich Lekhtman, is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. Born in Ukraine, he grew up in New York City from the age of nin ...
in a seventy-six second TKO. The first knockdown came only ten seconds after the fight began. This is Salita's first career loss.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boxing In The 1939 Cal.Golden Gloves Champs 2000s 2000s 2000s in sports