Two champions will step into the boxing ring on November 6 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. But only one will leave that ring with the distinction as boxing's first undisputed super middleweight champion.
WBC, WBA (Super) and WBO champion Canelo Alvarez and IBF titleholder Caleb Plant have been on a collision course over the past year. Canelo began his journey to become undisputed in December 2020. Following his capturing of the light heavyweight championship over Sergey Kovalev in 2019, Canelo dropped down to 168 pounds to face Callum Smith in December 2020.
Canelo dominated the undefeated Smith to become the WBA (Super) and WBC champion. After making a title defense in February, Canelo stopped Billy Joe Saunders to add the WBO title in May. And there's only one champion left for Canelo to beat in order to become undisputed.
However, Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) doesn't plan to roll over for Canelo as he holds the IBF championship and also has dreams of becoming undisputed. Plant won his title in 2019 when he upset Jose Uzcategui with a unanimous decision. He's made three successful title defenses but now has his toughest test ahead of him.
Never before has one fighter held all four titles in the super middleweight division. That will likely come to an end on November 6,
Figuring out who the world champions are in boxing has become convoluted for the casual fan. There are a number of 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.
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: World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
A fourth was added in 2004 when the World Boxing Organization was recognized by the WBC in its ranking listings.
And the four-belt era was upon us in boxing.
Since 2004, there have only been five men's fighters who have held all four titles from major sanctioning bodies in the same weight class.
- Oleksandr Usyk (cruiserweight)
- Bernard Hopkins (middleweight)
- Jermain Taylor (middleweight)
- Terence Crawford (junior welterweight)
- Josh Taylor (junior welterweight)
But there have been plenty of fighters who have held two or more of the major sanctioning titles in a division.
What is a unified champion?
A unified champion is one who 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 — IBF, WBA (super), WBO
- Light heavyweight: Artur Beterbiev — IBF, WBC
- Super middleweight: Canelo Alvarez -- WBA (super), WBC, WBO
- Junior middleweight: Jermell Charlo — IBF, WBA (super), WBC
- Welterweight: Errol Spence Jr. — IBF, WBC
- Junior welterweight: Josh Taylor — IBF, WBA (super), WBC, WBO
- Lightweight: Teofimo Lopez — IBF, WBA (super), WBO
- Super bantamweight: Murodjon Akhmadaliev — IFB, WBA (super)
- Bantamweight: Naoya Inoue — IBF, WBA (super)
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 only been accomplished by nine fighters in the four-belt era, five men and four women.
Undisputed men's boxing champions
- Oleksandr Usyk (cruiserweight)
- Bernard Hopkins (middleweight)
- Jermain Taylor (middleweight)
- Terence Crawford (junior welterweight)
- Josh Taylor (junior welterweight)*
*current champion
Undisputed women's boxing champions
- Claressa Shields (middleweight)
- Claressa Shields (light middleweight)*
- Cecilia Braekhus (welterweight)
- Jessica McCaskill (welterweight)*
- Katie Taylor (lightweight)*
*current champion
