In November 2021, Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez scored a dominant 11th-round TKO win over the previously unbeaten Caleb Plant to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion in boxing history. Over the next 2 1/2 years, boxing's biggest attraction reeled off four defenses, made plenty of money and retained a lofty position on the pound-for-pound list.
However, Canelo is no longer undisputed. In July, the IBF stripped the 34-year-old boxer-puncher of their version of the title for refusing a fight against mandatory challenger William Scull. A Germany-based Cuban, Scull is an unbeaten but unheralded contender that Canelo had no interest in facing.
As a result, Scull will take on fellow unbeaten fighter Vladimir Shishkin for the vacant IBF title on Oct. 19, while Canelo forges ahead as The Ring Magazine champion and the unified WBA, WBC and WBO titleholder. From undisputed to unified, but what's the difference when Canelo remains the man to beat?
Figuring out who the world champions are in boxing has become convoluted for the casual fan. There are several belts in each division and things can get quite complicated when trying to figure out what the difference is between a "unified" champion and an "undisputed" champion.
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Before 1960, most of boxing's champions were considered "undisputed" because there was only one champion in each weight class. But as the popularity of the sport grew so did the number of boxing organizations that would crown their own champions. This led to many disputes over who was recognized as the "real" world champion, with fighters moving up and down in weight class, boxing politics coming into play and various other reasons.
Up until 2004, there were three major sanctioning bodies in boxing: the World Boxing Association (WBA), the World Boxing Council (WBC) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF). A fourth was added in 2004 when the World Boxing Organization (WBO) was recognized by the WBC in its ranking listings.
And the four-belt era was upon us in boxing.
What is an undisputed champion?
An undisputed champion is a fighter who holds all four major championship belts (IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO) in a division. It's a rare feat that has been accomplished by only a few boxers in the four-belt era.
Since 2004, there have been only nine male and 10 female boxers who have held all four titles from major sanctioning bodies in the same weight class.
Undisputed boxing champions (male)
- Oleksandr Usyk (cruiserweight and heavyweight)
- Canelo Alvarez (super middleweight)
- Bernard Hopkins (middleweight)
- Jermain Taylor (middleweight)
- Jermell Charlo (super welterweight)
- Terence Crawford (super lightweight and welterweight)
- Josh Taylor (super lightweight)
- Devin Haney (lightweight)
- Naoya Inoue (bantamweight and super bantamweight) *
*current champion
Undisputed boxing champions (female)
- Savannah Marshall (super middleweight)
- Franchon Crews-Dezurn (super middleweight)
- Claressa Shields (super welterweight and middleweight)*
- Cecilia Braekhus (welterweight)
- Jessica McCaskill (welterweight)
- Chantelle Cameron (super lightweight)
- Katie Taylor (lightweight and super lightweight)*
- Alycia Baumgardner (super featherweight)*
- Amanda Serrano (featherweight)
- Seniesa Estrada (minimumweight) *
*current champion
But there have been plenty of fighters who have held two or more of the major sanctioning titles in a division.
MORE: Is Oleksandr Usyk an all-time great?
What is a unified champion?
A unified champion holds two or more of the major sanctioning titles in a division:
- IBF
- WBA
- WBC
- WBO
Who are the unified champions in boxing?
Current unified champions include:
- Heavyweight; Oleksandr Usyk — WBA, WBC, WBO
- Light heavyweight: Artur Beterbiev — IBF, WBC, WBO
- Super Middleweight: Canelo Alvarez — WBA, WBC, WBO
- Middleweight: Zhanibek Alimkhanuly — IBF, WBO
- Super Welterweight: Ema Kozin — WBC, WBO
- Super Welterweight: Sebastian Fundora — WBC, WBO
- Lightweight: Katie Taylor — WBA, WBC
- Featherweight: Amanda Serrano — IBF, WBA, WBO
- Super Bantamweight: Ellie Scotney — IBF, WBO
- Bantamweight: Dina Thorslund — WBC, WBO
- Light Flyweight: Jessica Nery Plata — WBA, WBC
- Light Minimumweight: Eri Matsuda — WBA, WBO
