In certain sports, when a sportsman wins three crowns, titles, medals, belts or other distinctions, the athlete is called a triple champion.

Boxing

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

, a triple champion is a boxer who has won world titles in three

weight classes Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Altern ...

. For most of the 20th century it was a remarkable achievement, possibly securing one a spot in the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

with other immortals of the sport. Beginning in the 1970s, triple champions have become increasingly more common because of the numerous weight divisions (17) and the countless professional boxing entities that claim a "world" championship. The first triple champion of boxing was

Bob Fitzsimmons Robert James Fitzsimmons (26 May 1863 – 22 October 1917) was a British professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett (the man who beat John L. Sullivan), ...

when he added the Light Heavyweight (175 lbs) crown to his World Middleweight (160 lbs) and Heavyweight (200+ lbs) belts on November 25, 1903.

Barney Ross Barney Ross (born Dov-Ber "Beryl" David Rosofsky; December 23, 1909 – January 17, 1967) was an American professional boxer. Ross became a world champion in three weight divisions and was a decorated veteran of World War II. Early life Dov- ...

was the first boxer to simultaneously hold world titles in two different weight classes when he won World Lightweight (135 lbs) title and World Light Welterweight (140 lbs) against Tony Canzoneri on June 23, 1933. Later Ross won the World Welterweight (147 lbs) Title from Jimmy McLarnin on May 28, 1934.

Henry Armstrong Henry Jackson Jr. (December 12, 1912 – October 24, 1988) was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisi ...

was the first man to hold three titles in three divisions simultaneously. He won the World Featherweight (126 lbs) title from Petey Sarron on October 29, 1937, the World Welterweight (147) title from Barney Ross on May 31, 1938, and won the World Lightweight Title (135 lbs) in his next fight, on August 17 against Lou Ambers. Armstrong then immediately vacated the Featherweight Title because he could no longer make the weight.

Wilfred Benítez Wilfred "Wilfredo" Benítez (born September 12, 1958) is an American-born Puerto Rican former professional boxer and the youngest world champion in the sport's history. Earning his first of three career world titles in separate weight division ...

was the youngest ever champion at any weight. Benitez first won the WBA Light Welterweight (140 lbs) Title from Antonio Cervantes on March 6, 1976, at age 17. He moved up in weight to win the WBC Welterweight (147 lbs) title from Carlos Palomino on January 14, 1979, and finally won a third title when he added the WBC Light Middleweight (154 lbs) title from Maurice Hope on May 23, 1981. When boxing organizations started to create additional divisions or weight classes (there were only eight divisions originally when modern title lineages began being generally recognized around 1890), it became possible for boxers to reach new milestones in boxing, such as the quadruple and

Quintuple Champion In different sports an athlete who wins five crowns, titles, medals, belts, or other distinctions is called a Quintuple Champion. Boxing In boxing, a quintuple champion is a boxer who has won world titles in at least five different weight classes ...

Grappling & Wrestling

In grappling type martial arts, a triple champion is someone who has won a championship, medal (gold, silver or bronze) or a tournament in all three categories: -

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

(MMA) -

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

- and in either

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

, Amateur Wrestling or

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist (MMA), amateur wrestler, and professional American football player who holds both American and Canadian citizenship. He is ...

and

Ronda Rousey Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women� ...

are examples on the professional level.

Combat Sports

In general combat sports, a triple champion (or triple crown champion) is someone who wins a championship belt in all three categories: Striking (

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

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

), Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). This is considered the most prestigious accomplishments in all combat sports. It is worth noting that boxing, grappling and MMA each have their own respective triple champion title within each individual sport.

Formula One

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young Stewart (born 11 June 1939), known as Jackie Stewart, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland. Nicknamed the "Flying Scot", he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Cha ...

Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in Formula ...

Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian retired racing driver and businessman. Since his retirement, Piquet, a three-time World Champion, has been ranked among the greatest Formula One (F1) drivers in various motorspo ...

and

Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and ...

are all triple world champions.

Touring Car racing

Andy Priaulx Andrew Graham Priaulx, MBE ( born 8 August 1974) is a British professional racing driver from Guernsey. In 2019 he raced for Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and Cyan Racing Lynk & Co in the FIA World Tou ...

and

José María López José María "Pechito" López (born 26 April 1983) is an Argentine race car driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing and 2014–2016 World Touring Car Champion. He raced in the 2006 GP ...

both won three world championships.

Boxing

Grappling & Wrestling

Combat Sports

Formula One

Touring Car racing

See also

External links