THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

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KSTAT124
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THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

Originally, what follows was to be a brief reply on a thread in the Main Forum. It was posted there but, as you'll see, it became a much more in depth examination of the light heavyweight division than I had planned and it actually caused me to re-think my own opinion regarding the division's lineal championship. I've added a title, an opening paragraph, and much of the "addendum" but the rest is as it was in its original form (with a couple of corrections of typographical errors).


IN RESPONSE TO ANTONIO TARVER'S CLAIM or THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM


Recently, IBO/IBF light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver challenged newly crowned RING magazine light heavyweight king Joe Calzaghe claiming that he, Tarver, was the real light heavyweight champ not Calzaghe. History easily dismisses Tarver's claim but does it support The Ring's position that Calzaghe is the lineal world light heavyweight champion? You decide. I know I have.

There are three major trains of thought when it comes to the linear (lineal; actual) champion of the light heavyweight division. Of course, it would be so much easier if there wasn't all the conflicting points of view created by having numerous sanctioning bodies.

If we go back, to say Joey Maxim, we find he was the one and only champion. Archie Moore dethroned him in 1952. Moore ruled without any questions until 1960 when the NBA (the predecessor to the WBA) stripped him and had Harold Johnson fight Jesse Bowdry in early 1961 for their vacant title. Johnson won. Archie was still generally recognized as the world champion. The Ring, the New York State Athletic Commission, and the European Boxing Union were among those still backing "The Old Mongoose." After his successful defense against Giulio Rinaldi in June of 1961, it became obvious that Moore was no longer going to defend that belt. So, in 1962, Johnson, still the WBA (NBA) champion, met Doug Jones for the vacant world title. While it was viewed as a title defense by those who recognized Johnson, to the rest of the boxing world it was to fill the void left by Moore's permanent departure from the division. Johnson won.

For a while it was easy to keep track of who was the champ. The title passed from Johnson to Willie Pastrano to Jose Torres to Dick Tiger to Bob Foster (in 1968). It should noted that in 1963, the state commission in Michigan sanctioned a bout between Eddie Cotton and Henry Hank as being for its version of the world championship. Cotton won but never defended the title. He won and lost a number of bouts before fighting Torres for the actual championship in 1966, a bout Torres, of course, won.

The WBA stuck its nose into the picture and, in 1971, sanctioned a bout between Vicente Rondon and Jimmy Dupree for the title they had stripped from Foster. The Ring and the WBC had continued to recognize Foster. Rondon won and made 4 defenses before he and Foster fought in a title unifier in 1972, a bout Foster won in round 2.

Everything remained neat and orderly until Foster retired in 1974. (The retirement lasted less than a year but Foster never again fought for a title.) The title then split because the WBA sanctioned a Victor Galindez-Len Hutchins bout for their title while the WBC matched Jorge Ahumada, who had held Foster to a draw in Foster's last title defense, with John Conteh. Galindez and Conteh won the vacant titles. The WBA title passed from Galindez to Mike Rossman back to Galindez to Marvin Johnson to Eddie Gregory (Eddie Mustafa Muhammad) to Michael Spinks. Conteh was eventually stripped of the WBC title. Miguel Angel Cuello won the vacant title (beating Jesse Burnett) only to lose it to Mate Parlov. The title then passed from Parlov to Marvin Johnson to Matt Franklin (who then changed his name to Matthew Saad Muhammad) to Dwight Braxton (Dwight Muhammad Qawi). In 1983, Spinks and Qawi fought to unify the titles and to crown a true linear champion. Spinks won on points. The following year, Spinks added the new IBF title to his collection winning the inaugural IBF 175-pound title bout, while defending his WBA and WBC straps, with a decision over Eddie Davis.

In September 1985, things got complicated when Spinks won the heavyweight title from Larry Holmes and vacated the light heavyweight title. Eventually, each of the 3 sanctioning bodies crowned their own champ- WBC- J. B. Williamson (who beat Prince Mama Mohammed), WBA- Marvin Johnson (who defeated Leslie Stewart), and IBF- Slobodan Kacar (who outpointed Eddie Mustafa Muhammad).

Williamson lost the WBC belt in his first defense to Dennis Andries. The belt then passed from Andries to Thomas Hearns. Hearns vacated the title to return to the middleweight division and Donny Lalonde beat Eddie Davis for the vacant title in 1987.

Johnson made a couple of successful title defenses before losing the title to Stewart in 1987 who, before the year was over, lost it to Virgil Hill.

Kacar dropped the IBF belt in his first defense to Bobby Czyz. Czyz successfully defended the title 3 times before losing it, in 1987, to Charles Williams. Williams held the title until 1993 when he was defeated by Henry Maske.

In 1988, the fledgling WBO crowned Michael Moorer as its first light heavyweight champion after Moorer stopped Ramzi Hassan. Moorer made 9 successful title defenses before moving up to the heavyweight division. Leeonzer Barber then defeated Tom Collins for the vacant title in 1991 and defended it successfully 4 times before losing it to Dariusz Michalczewski by unanimous decision in 1994.

The WBC title passed from Lalonde to Sugar Ray Leonard in a bout also contested for the WBC's new championship at 168 pounds. Leonard vacated the light heavyweight title to campaign as the WBC super middleweight champion. Andries regained the title by beating Tony Wiilis in a bout the WBC sanctioned to fill the vacancy. He lost it to Jeff Harding, won it back from Harding, and went on to lose it to Harding again in 1991. Harding would lose the title to Mike McCallum, who held the interim title, in 1994. McCallum was dethroned by Fabrice Tiozzo the next year.

Hill made 10 successful title defenses before losing his belt to Hearns in 1991. Hearns lost the title to Iran Barkley in 1992 but Barkley voluntarily relinquished the title, returning to the super middleweight ranks. Hill won the vacant WBA championship later in 1992 by outpointing Frank Tate.

In 1996, after successfully defending the WBC title against Eric Lucas, Tiozzo started to campaign as a cruiserweight.

On November 23 of that year, Hill, who had defended his WBA title an additional 9 times, including a win over Tiozzo, since regaining it, and Maske, who had made 10 successful defenses of the IBF diadem, met in a title unification bout. Many historians recognized the bout as being for the vacant lineal championship. However, there were those who didn't. Hill won by split decision.

A day earlier, IBF super middleweight champion Roy Jones, Jr. beat McCallum for the interim WBC light heavyweight title. Tiozzo would later relinquish his belt and Jones' was upgraded to WBC world champion.

In 1997, Hill put his WBA and IBF belts on the line against defending WBO champ Michalczewski, who had already made 8 defenses of his title. Michalczewski won by unanimous decision but the victory was bittersweet. Michalczewski's win had given legitimacy to the WBO title and the WBA and IBF were not pleased to have competition.

The WBA stripped Michalczewski because he continued to display his WBO belt. The WBA did not, at that time, recognize the WBO (which had been formed by a group of disgruntled former WBA members). The IBF demanded Michalczewski defend his newly won IBF belt against William Guthrie within 30 days. Michalczewski said he couldn't do that so they too stripped him.

What Michalczewski was left with was his WBO title and recognition as lineal champ by an influential group of historians. What he didn't have were the WBA and IBF titles he earned or universal recognition as the "real" champ. He would hold the WBO title until his 24th defense when, in 2003, he was defeated by Julio Gonzalez by split decision.

Gonzalez' reign did not last long, In his first defense, he was dethroned by Zsolt Erdei.

Later in 1997, Guthrie TKOed Darrin Allen for the vacant IBF title but, in early 1998, he was KOed by Reggie Johnson in his first defense.

The WBA also filled their title in 1997. Lou Del Valle, who had once lost to Hill in a title bout, stopped Eddy Smulders to win their belt.

In March, 1997, Jones lost the WBC title to Montell Griffin via a 9th-round disqualification but less than 5 months later knocked Griffin out in the opening round to take the title back. He then voluntarily relinquished the title. Graciano Rocchigiani beat Michael Nunn for the vacant title but when Jones changed his mind, the WBC restored his title and withdrew recognition from Rocchigiani, claiming to have made a typographical error when Rocchigiani was listed in their ratings as their champion. Rocchigiani sued- but that's a subject for a different post.

Four months after Rocchigiani thought he'd won the title, Jones unified the WBA and WBC titles with a decision over Del Valle.

In 1999, Jones, who had made two defenses of the unified WBC-WBA title, and Johnson, who had defended the IBF title twice, met in a title unifier. Jones won by unanimous decision. The WBA also, by that time, had an interim champ as well- Richard Hall won that designation by halting Anthony Bigeni in late 1998. Jones, in his second defense of the unified WBC-WBA-IBF title, stopped Hall in 2000.

By 2001, The Ring recognized Jones, who they had previously ranked as the #1 contender for what they listed as the vacant world title, as the world champion. In September 2000, Jones had defeated Eric Harding, The Ring's #3 contender, in his defense after beating Hall. Michalczewski was The Ring's #2 contender at the time. Jones, who also picked up many fringe organizations' titles as well, was named as the "super champion" by the WBA who then had Del Valle and Bruno Girard fight for their "regular" title. They fought to a draw. Girard then beat Robert Koon for the title. In his 2nd defense, he outpointed Del Valle.

Jones continued to make defenses of his titles until moving up to the heavyweight division and defeating defending WBA champion John Ruiz in March 2003. While still recognized by The Ring, Jones had relinquished most of his other belts. Antonio Tarver defeated Montell Griffin for the vacant WBC and IBF titles in April 2003.

Girard lost the WBA "regular" title to Mehdi Sahnoune in 2003. Later that year, in his first defense, Sahnoune lost it to Silvio Branco who in turn, in his first defense, was defeated by Tiozzo, who had dropped back down from the cruiserweight weight class, in 2004.

Jones eventually relinquished the WBA heavyweight championship after moving back to 175 and regaining his WBC title from Tarver in November 2003.

The IBF's title was no longer in Tarver's possession by the time he fought Jones. That organization had Glen Johnson and Clinton Woods, who had been defeated by Jones in 2002, fight for their vacant championship in November 2003 also. That bout ended in a controversial draw necessitating a rematch which Johnson won.

Jones granted Tarver a rematch in which WBC title and his long dormant WBA super title were on the line (along with some fringe titles). Tarver won the belts by halting Jones in the 2nd round.

Tarver and Johnson wanted to fight a unifier but the WBC and the IBF got in the way. Both wanted their champs to defend against their respective mandatory challengers, Paul Briggs and Rico Hoye, instead. Tarver then relinquished his WBC (and WBA) titles while Johnson dumped his IBF title. The two fought for Tarver's Ring magazine and IBO (which he'd won from Jones) titles. Johnson won but in their rematch, lost those titles back to Tarver.

Woods defeated Hoye for the IBF's recognition while Tomasz Adamek prevailed over Briggs in a grueling battle for the WBC's.

On the WBA front, Branco won the interim version with a decision over Manny Siaca in 2006. Tiozzo, who had successfully defended the by-then "one and only" WBA title in 2005 by stopping Michalczewski, fought once in 2006 in a non-title bout. He was slated to fight interim titleholder Branco in 2007 but retired. Branco, upgraded to "full" champion status, lost the title to Stipe Drews, who in turn, was dethroned by Danny Green. Green signed to make his first defense against official challenger Hugo Garay but abruptly retired before doing so.

Adamek, after two successful defenses, lost the WBC title to Chad Dawson. Dawson has defended the title 3 times. Adrian Diaconu recently outpointed Chris Henry to win the interim version of the WBC title.

Tarver successfully defended The Ring and IBO titles against Jones in their third bout but lost those titles to Bernard Hopkins in 2006. Hopkins never really claimed the IBO belt as he briefly retired. His retirement was short-lived and not long enough to effect his Ring title. Tarver regained the IBO title by outpointing Elvir Muriqi in 2007.

Hopkins retained The Ring title with his win over Winky Wright in 2007 and lost it last Saturday to Joe Calzaghe. Tarver, in his second defense of his second reign as IBO kingpin, dethroned IBF champ Woods.

It should be noted that the IBO title was first filled in 1993 when Lenny LaPaglia defeated Darryl Fromm. LaPaglia never defended it as he moved up to the cruiserweight division. Drake Thadzi outpointed James Toney for the vacant title in 1997 and after one successful defense, challenged Michalczewski for the WBO belt. Michalczewski stopped Thadzi in 9. Thadzi retired after the loss.

The IBO title remained vacant until Jones beat Harding in 2000.

There are other claimants. Jones, in fact, holds the IBC title and the IBA belt was won by Reggie Johnson earlier this year. He beat Gonzalez for the vacant title. It had previously been held by Glen Johnson who won the then vacant title with a win over Hall in 2006. It became vacant when Glen lost to Woods in an attempt to regain the IBF title. It was once in Jones' possession as were the now vacant WBF and NBA titles (both last held by Prince Badi Ajamu who won them after his loss to Jones).

So, what does this confusing history of the light heavyweight division mean? That Calzaghe and Erdei are the only two of today's 175-pounders with any legitimate claim to the world title and Erdei's may actually be more valid than Calzaghe's. His title dates back to the Hill-Maske unifier. Calzaghe's dates back to Jones' win over Harding.

The third view among historians is that the title has been vacant since Spinks moved up to the heavyweights and that what was needed to produce a true, lineal champ was a Jones-Michalczewki that unfortunately never materialized.

A fourth interpretation could be that, if one considered the title vacant, when Jones regained the WBC title from Tarver in 2003, he became the "world champion." That would be because he had previously beaten Gonzalez, who had dethroned Michalczewski, in a bout contested for a version (or versions) of the world title. It's somewhat of a stretch given the amount of titles floating around in 2003 but it does seem, at least to me, to have more historic relevance than recognizing Jones in 2001 on the basis of his 2000 victory over Harding.

Being the lineal (or actual) champion does not necessarily mean one is the best titleholder at the time. Carlos Zarate was not the lineal champion. His stablemate, Alfonso Zamora, was. Zarate proved he was the better of the two when he knocked out Zamora but the KO came in a non-title bout and had no bearing on the lineal bantamweight title.

Alexis Arguello was certainly a better fighter than Samuel Serrano but it was Serrano, not Arguello, who held the lineal (or real or actual) championship at 130 when both reigned there.

Roy Jones, Jr., a titleholder in 4 different weight divisions and a future Hall of Famer, may have never been a lineal champion depending on one's interpretation of the light heavyweight title lineage. He held alphabet soup titles at 160, 168 (where he was an all-time great), and as a heavyweight. Under the long-prevailing sanctioning body madness, he was both helped and hurt by the availability of so many versions of each division's championship.


NOTE:

I was of the opinion that the never held Jones-Michalczewsi bout was what had been needed to fill the void left by Spinks but I now realize that's was not the case. If Jones and Michalczewski had fought, it would have been with Michalczewski defending the lineal championship against his bona fide #1 contender.

After carefully reviewing the events of 1996 and 1997, it is very hard not to endorse the IBRO-associated Cyber Boxing Zone's recognition of the Hill-Maske, Hill-Michalczweski bouts as being for the lineal title.

Hill was the reigning WBA champion and had a win over the then reigning WBC champion Tiozzo. The unbeaten Maske was the reigning IBF champion. If that wasn't enough, in 1996, The Ring rated Maske #1 and Hill #2. Hill won and should have been granted linear champion status. He then fought Michalczewski, the undefeated WBO titleholder. Michalczewski won and despite being victimized by the WBA's and IBF's petty politics should have been seen as the rightful successor to the legitimate light heavyweight throne. Years later the linear title briefly passed to Gonzalez. Had the title been vacant an argument could have been made that Jones, by virtue of his earlier win over Gonzalez, became the linear champion. However, the title should not have been perceived as vacant and, if Jones wanted it, he would have had to beat Gonzalez again. Zsolt Erdei beat him to it (in fairness to Jones, I doubt he was interested in fighting Gonzalez again when there was a big money rematch with Tarver awaiting him).

It should be noted that The Ring briefly stopped publishing in 1989. When they resumed business, they chose not to recognize champions. That policy changed in 2001. Instead of tracing the lineage of the various divisions, The Ring chose to ignore more than a decade's worth of results and recognize their champions based on results from late 2000 onward.

So, despite his lack of Ring Magazine recognition, it's the least known of the current titlists, Erdei, who is the division's actual champion. He's not the division's #1 fighter but he doesn't have to be. He's "the man who beat the man who beat the man who beat the man." # 1? That's Calzaghe on the strength of his win over Hopkins. He's the man to beat for recognition as the best light heavyweight around. He's just not the lineal champion, no matter what The Ring prints.

From a boxing history buff's perspective, its unfortunate Erdei doesn't seem to be in Calzaghe's plans. Joe's next opponent may just be Jones.

"Firebird" (that's Erdei's nickname) is fighting a virtual unknown, WBO #4 ranked DeAndrey Abron, Saturday in what will be his 10th title defense.

Let me go off an a brief tangent- While, in my opinion, 4 of Erdei's first 6 defenses, were against legitimate, deserving contenders (and another was against a recycled Michalczewsi-era title challenger), his next 3 came against questionably ranked fighters. However, it should be pointed out that one of those fighters, Danny Santiago later challenged Tarver for the IBO belt and another, Tito Mendoza, was ranked by other organizations as well. He came into his bout with Erdei off a win over former two-time WBC middleweight champion Keith Holmes at the WBA's August 2007 KO Drugs Festival. The WBA showed its appreciation for the winning boxers' participation in various ways. For instance, Michael Moorer is now the WBA's #5 heavyweight contender.

Anyway, should Erdei be upset Saturday, Abron will be, as absurd as that may sound, the new world light heavyweight champion. He'll deserve it if he's victorious but I seriously doubt he will be.


Ken "Kstat" Pollitt
Last edited by KSTAT124 on Wed Feb 25, 2009 8:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
KSTAT124
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Post by KSTAT124 »

Here's an update on the ongoing light heavyweight title saga:

On April 26, Erdei retained his WBO and lineal titles with a one-sided unanimous decision over Abron.

The vacant WBA championship was filled on July 3 when Garay won a unanimous decision over Yuri Barashian.

Rather than defend his WBC title against interim champion Diaconu, Dawson vacated the title on July 11. He opted to sign for a bout with IBO-IBF champion Tarver rather than make his mandatory defense. Dawson and Tarver are scheduled to fight on October 11.

Diaconu has been upgraded by the WBC to "full" world champion.

Calzaghe is going to defend his Ring Magazine title against Jones as expected. They are slated to fight on November 8.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

Keeping tabs on the light heavyweights:

10/11/08- Chad Dawson won the IBF and IBO titles from Antonio Tarver. Dawson won by unanimous decision, 118-109, 117-110, and 117-110.

11/8/08- Joe Calzaghe retained The Ring's light heavyweight belt by unanimously outpointing Roy Jones, Jr. The all 3 judges scored the bout 118-109.

A defense by WBC champion Adrian Diaconu against former WBA champion Silvio Branco scheduled for November 2008 has been postponed indefinitely.

WBA champion Hugo Hernan Garay is scheduled to defend his title against German challenger Juergen Braehmer on November 22.*

WBO and lineal champion Zsolt Erdei was tentatively scheduled to defend against British champion Dean Francis on January 10, 2009. Apparently, negotiations with those who represent Francis stalled. Yuri Barashian is now listed as Erdei's challenger for that January 10 date.**


*- 11/22/08- Garay successfully defended the WBA title, winning by unanimous decision over Braehmer. The scores were 118-110, 117-112, and 116-115.

**- 1/13/09- Erdei won his 1/10 bout against Barashian by unanimous decision- 116-111, 117-110, 116-111. Barashian weighed in over the light heavyweight limit. Erdei retained his title at that point. The bout went on as scheduled but win or lose, Erdei would have remained the champion. He made that a moot point by outpointing his Ukrainian challenger.

Note: Joe Calzaghe announced his retirement on February 5, 2009, thus relinquishing The Ring's light heavyweight title.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

Continuing to keep our look at the light heavyweights current:

Chad Dawson retained the IBF and IBO titles with a 12-round, unanimous decision over former champion Antonio Tarver on May 9. The scores were 117-111, 117-111, and 116-112.

Adrian Diaconu, who won a unanimous decision over David Whittom in an 8-round, non-title bout April 4, is scheduled to defend his WBC title against Jean Pascal on June 19.

WBA champion Hugo Garay is slated to defend his belt against David Gogiya on June 21.

Lineal and WBO champ Zsolt Erdei is tentatively scheduled to defend his titles in August against a yet-to-be named opponent.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

Again continuing to keep our look at the light heavyweights current:

Dawson vacated the IBF title on May 27, 2009. He did not believe a bout with mandatory challenger Tavoris Cloud was in his best financial interests. Dawson was no longer listed as the champion as of the IBF's rankings posted June 16, 2009. It should be noted that Dawson remained the IBO's titlist.

Pascal outpointed WBC champion Diaconu, 116-112, 116-111, and 115-112, on June 19. Pascal is scheduled to make his first defense on September 25 against Silvio Branco.

Gogiya fell out of his proposed bout with Garay. Garay instead defended his WBA belt against Gabriel Campillo of Spain on June 20 and lost a majority decision. Campillo will be making his first defense on August 15 against Beibut Shumenov.

There has been no announcement ragarding a bout involving Erdei but the WBO has sanctioned a bout between Aleksy Kuziemski and Juergen Braehmer, slated for August 22, to be contested for the vacant WBO interim title.

Cloud and Clinton Woods will meet for the vacant IBF title on August 28.

Dawson will be defending his IBO title against Glen Johnson on November 7.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

More light heavyweight division updates:

On August 15, Campillo successfully deended the WBA title against Shumenov, winning by majority decision.

Braehmer stopped Kuziemski in the 11th round on August 22 to win the vacant WBO interim title. The interim champ is rumored to be Erdei's next opponent.

Cloud outpointed Woods on August 28 to win the vacant IBF title.

The November 7 Dawson-Johnson IBO title bout will also be for the vacant WBC interim title.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

Updates:

To keep our history of the light heavyweight division since December 17, 1952 current, here's what's been going on in the division.

Chad Dawson won a 12-round, unanimous decision over Glen Johnson on November 7 to retain the IBO title and win the vacant WBC interim title.

On November 21, Zsolt Erdei moved up to the cruiserweight division and won the WBC title from defending champion Giaccobe Fragomeni via a 12-round majority decision. Erdei had voluntarily relinquished the WBO and lineal light heavyweight titles earlier in the month. At that time, WBO interim champion Juergen Braehmer was upgraded to world champion. (It should be noted that, in January 2010, Erdei voluntarily relinquished the WBC cruiserweight title and announced he intends to return to the light heavyweight division.)

On December 11, Jean Pascal made his second successful defense of the WBC title by scoring a 12-round, unanimous decision over former WBC champion Adrian Diaconu.

Braehmer put his title on the line for the first time on December 19 and scored a 12-round, unanimous decision over Dmitry Sukhotsky.


Upcoming light heavyweight title bouts:

Gabriel Campillo will be defending the WBA title in a rematch with Beibut Shumenov on January 29, 2010.

Former WBA champion Hugo Hernan Garay will be fighting Chris Henry on February 27 with the vacant WBA interim title at stake.

IBF champion Tavoris Cloud is slated to make his first title defense on March 26 against a challenger yet to be named.

Chad Dawson is tentatively scheduled to defend his WBC interim and IBO titles on June 19. If WBC champion Jean Pascal is fully recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered in his successful defense against Diaconu, he may be Dawson's opponent in a WBC-IBO title unification bout.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

Keeping up with what's been going on in the light heavyweight division:

On January 29, Beibut Shumenov won the WBA title (and retained his IBA belt) with a controversial, 12-round split decision over Gabriel Campillo. The bout was held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Hugo Garay-Chris Henry bout was postponed from February 27 to March 27 and was sanctioned as a WBA title eliminator rather than being for the vacant WBA interim title. Fighting in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Henry shockingly stopped Garay in the first round.

Tavoris Cloud, citing an injury, pulled out of his March 26 title defense before an opponent was named. Contractual reasons may also have played a role in the cancellation.

On April 24, in Alsterdorf, Hamburg, Germany, Juergen Braehmer retained the WBO title by halting Mariano Nicolas Plotinsky of Argentina in the 5th round.

Upcoming light heavyweight title bout:

WBC champion Jean Pascal and WBC Interim and IBO titlist Chad Dawson are now slated to fight on August 14 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in a WBC-IBO title unification bout.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

Keeping the thread up-to-date:

7/23/10- Lemoore, California- Beibut Shumenov retained the WBA and IBA titles with a 12-round, unanimous decision over WBA Official (mandatory) Challenger Yyacheslav Uzelkov.

8/7/10- St. Louis, Missouri- Tavoris Cloud retained the IBF title with a 12-round, unanimous decision over IBF mandatory challenger Glen Johnson.

8/14/10- Montreal, Quebec- Jean Pascal retained the WBC title and won the IBO and vacant Ring Magazine titles with an 11-round, unanimous technical decision over defending IBO titleholder Chad Dawson. Dawson also lost recognition as the WBC interim champion as the result of the bout.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

Update:

12/11/10- Liverpool, Merseyside, England- Nathan Cleverly won the vacant WBO interim title with a 12-round, unanimous decision over late substitute Nadjib Mohammedi. Clevelry was originally scheduled to fight Alejando Lakatus.

12/17/10- Miami, Florida- Tavoris Cloud retained the IBF title with a 12-round, unanimous decision over Fulgencio Zuniga.

12/18/10- Montreal, Quebec, Canada- Jean Pascal retained the WBC, IBO, and Ring Magazine titles with a 12-round, majority decision draw against WBC Emeritus champion Bernard Hopkins.

1/8/11- Shymkent, Kazakhstan- Beibut Shumenov retained the WBA and IBA titles by knocking out late substitute, 3-time former WBA middleweight champion William Joppy in the sixth round. Shumenov was originally slated to face WBO champion Juergen Braehmer in a title unification bout.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

Update:

5/21/11- Nathan Cleverly stopped Aleksy Kuziemski in the 4th round to retain the WBO title; Greenwich, London, England.
- Cleverly, then the WBO interim champion, was scheduled to fight WBO champion Juergen Braehmer. Braehmer withdrew because a cut he suffered in training re-opened.
- This was the third straight fight from which Braehmer withdrew. A July 2010 defense against Alejandro Lakatus in Germany was canceled after Braehmer claimed to have suffered a back injury. This past January, Braehmer abruptly withdrew from a title unification bout with WBA champ Beibut Shumenov in Kazakhstan, claiming a gastrointestinal illness. Shumenov ended up fighting late substitute William Joppy instead.
- The WBO then stripped Braehmer and upgraded Cleverly to world champion. Instead of fighting Braehmer, Cleverly was to defend the WBO title against Commonwealth champion Tony Bellew.
- Bellew failed to make the check weight and was replaced by Kuziemski.

5/21/11- WBC Emeritus champion Bernard Hopkins won the WBC, IBO, and Ring Magazine light heavyweight titles from defending champion Jean Pascal via a 12-round, unanimous decision; Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- Hopkins, 46, became the oldest fighter ever to win a legitimate world title.
- The IBO title became vacant because Hopkins did not claim it.


Schedule:

6/25/11- Tavoris Cloud is slated to defend the IBF title against IBF mandatory challenger Yusaf Mack in St. Charles, Missouri.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

Update:

Results:

6/25/11- Tavoris Cloud retained the IBF title by TKO'ing mandatory challenger Yusaf Mack in the 8th round; Saint Charles, Missouri, USA.

7/29/11- Beibut Shumenov retained the WBA and IBA titles by stopping Danny Santiago in the 9th round; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Schedule:

10/15/11- Nathan Cleverly will defend the WBO title against Tony Bellew; Liverpool, Merseyside, England.

10/15/11- Bernard Hopkins will defend the WBC and The Ring titles against Chad Dawson; Los Angeles, California, USA.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

Results:

10/15/11- Liverpool, Merseyside, England- Nathan Cleverly retained the WBO title with a 12-round, majority decision over Tony Bellew.

10/15/11- Los Angeles, California, USA- Chad Dawson was awarded a TKO-2 victory when WBC and Ring Magazine champion Bernard Hopkins could not continue after suffering an accidental injury.
- On 10/20/11, the WBC Board of Governors declared the bout a technical draw and continued to recognize Hopkins as the champion.
- On 12/13/11, the California State Athletic Commission officially changed the TKO ruling to a No Contest. Ring Magazine had continued to recognize Hopkins pending the CSAC meeting. On the basis of the NC verdict, The Ring will continue recognizing Hopkins as its champion.

Schedule:

2/25/12- Cardiff, Wales- Nathan Cleverly will defend the WBO title against an opponent to be announced.
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Re: THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

RESULTS:

2/18/12- Corpus Christi, Texas- Tavoris Cloud retained the IBF title with a highly controversial, 12-round, split decision over Gabriel Campillo.

2/25/12- Cardiff, Wales- Nathan Cleverly retained the WBO title with a 12-round, unanimous decision over Tommy Karpency.

4/28/12- Atlantic City, New Jersey- Chad Dawson won the WBC and Ring Magazine titles from defending champion Bernard Hopkins via a 12-round, majority decision.

6/2/12- Las Vegas, Nevada- Beibut Shumenov retained the WBA and IBA titles with a unanimous, 12-round decision over Enrique Ornelas.

LINEAL TITLE UPDATE:

The 8/14/10 Dawson-Pascal bout was also for the vacant lineal title being that Dawson and Pascal were the consensus top two light heavyweights at the time. Thus, the title vacated by Zsolt Erdei when he moved up to the cruiserweight division was won by Pascal who later lost it to Hopkins on 5/21/11. Hopkins has since been dethroned by Dawson on 4/28/12.
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Re: THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

RESULT:

11/10/12- Los Angeles, California- Nathan Cleverly retained the WBO title by stopping Shawn Hawk in the 8th round.

SCHEDULE:

3/9/13- Brooklyn, New York- IBF Champion Tavoris Cloud vs. Challenger Bernard Hopkins

3/16/13- unnamed site in the United Kingdom- WBO Champion Nathan Cleverly vs. Mandaory Challenger Robin Krasniqi
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Re: THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

RESULTS:

3/9/13- Brooklyn, New York, USA- challenger Bernard Hopkins UD 12 IBF Champion Tavoris Cloud

4/20/13- Wembley, London, England- WBO Champion Nathan Cleverly UD 12 mandatory challenger Robin Krasniqi


SCHEDULE:

6/8/13- Montreal, Quebec, Canada- Lineal, WBC, and Ring Magazine Champion Chad Dawson vs. challenger Adonis Stevenson

7/13/13- Brooklyn, NY, USA- IBF Champion Bernard Hopkins vs. mandatory challenger Karo Murat
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Re: THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

RESULT:

6/8/13- Montreal, Quebec, Canada- Challenger Adonis Stevenson KO-1 Lineal, WBC, and Ring Magazine Champion Chad Dawson

SCHEDULE:

8/17/13- Cardiff, Wales- WBO Champion Nathan Cleverly vs. Challenger Sergey Kovalev


NOTE:

The 7/13/13 IBF title bout between Champion Bernard Hopkins and Mandatory Challenger Karo Murat was canceled because of Murat's visa problems. The bout may be re-scheduled.
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Re: THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

RESULTS:

8/17/13- Cardiff, Wales- Challenger Sergey Kovalev TKO-4 WBO Champion Nathan Cleverly

9/28/13- Montreal, Quebec, Canada- Lineal, WBC, and Ring Magazine Champion Adonis Stevenson TKO-7 Challenger Tavoris Cloud

10/26/13- Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA- IBF Champion Bernard Hopkins UD 12 Mandatory Challenger Karo Murat

SCHEDULE:

11/30/13- Quebec City, Quebec, Canada- Lineal, WBC, and Ring Magazine Champion Adonis Stevenson vs. Mandatory Challenger Tony Bellew

11/30/13- Quebec City, Quebec, Canada- WBO Champion Sergey Kovalev vs. Challenger Ismayl Sillakh

12/14/13- Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany- Vacant WBA Title- Challenger Marcus Oliveira vs. Challenger Juergen Braehmer

12/14/13- San Antonio, Texas, USA- WBA Super Champion/IBA Champion Beibut Shumenov vs. Challenger Tamas Kovacs
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Re: THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

RESULTS:

11/30/13- Quebec City, Quebec, Canada- WBO champion Sergey Kovalev KO-2 challenger Ismayl Sillakh

11/30/13- Quebec City, Quebec, Canada- Lineal, WBC, and Ring Magazine champion Adonis Stevenson TKO-6 mandatory challenger Tony Bellew

12/14/13- Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany- challenger Juergen Braehmer UD 12 challenger Marcus Oliveira to win vacant WBA title.

12/14/13- San Antonio, Texas, USA- WBA Super champion/IBA champion Beibut Shumenov TKO-3 Tamas Kovacs

SCHEDULE:

March or April/2014- Brooklyn, NY, USA- IBF champion Bernard Hopkins vs. WBA Super champion/IBA champion Beibut Shumenov

4/5/14- Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany- WBA champion Juergen Braehmer vs. challenger yet to be announced

5/24/14- Montreal, Quebec, Canada- Lineal, WBC, and Ring Magazine champion Adonis Stevenson vs. challenger Andrzej Fonfara
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Re: THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

RESULTS:

3/29/14- Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA- WBO champion Sergey Kovalev KO-7 challenger Cedric Agnew

4/5/14- Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany- WBA champion Juergen Braehmer TKO-5 challenger Enzo Maccarinelli

4/19/14- Washington, D.C., USA- IBF champion Bernard Hopkins SD 12 WBA Super champion/IBA champion Beibut Shumenov
(Note: Hopkins unified the IBF title and the WBA Super championship; he did not claim the IBA title which then became vacant)

5/24/14- Montreal, Quebec, Canada- Lineal, WBC, and Ring Magazine champion Adonis Stevenson UD 12 challenger Andrzej Fonfara

SCHEDULE:

6/7/14- Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany- WBA champion Juergen Braehmer vs. challenger Roberto Feliciano Bolonti
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Re: THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

RESULTS:

6/7/14- Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany- WBA champion Juergen Braehmer UD 12 challenger Roberto Feliciano Bolonti

8/2/14- Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA- WBO champion Sergey Kovalev TKO-2 challenger Blake Caparello


SCHEDULE:

11/8/14- Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA- WBA Unified champion/IBF champion Bernard Hopkins vs. WBO champion Sergey Kovalev
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Re: THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

RESULTS:

11/8/14- Atlantic City, New Jersey- WBO champion Sergey Kovalev UD 12 WBA Unified and IBF champion Bernard Hopkins

12/6/14- Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany- WBA champion Juergen Braehmer KO-1 challenger Pawel Glazewski

12/19/14- Quebec City, Quebec, Canada- Lineal, WBC, and Ring Magazine champion Adonis Stevenson KO-5 challenger Dmitry Sukhotsky

SCHEDULE:

3/14/15- Montreal, Quebec, Canada- WBO, IBF, and WBA Unified champion Sergey Kovalev vs. challenger Jean Pascal

3/21/15- Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany- WBA champion Juergen Braehmer vs. TBA

3/21/15- Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa- Vacant IBO Title- challenger Thomas Oosthuizen vs. challenger Ryno Liebenberg

- The previous IBO World light heavyweight champions were Lenny LaPaglia (1993), Drake Thadzi (1997-1998), Roy Jones, Jr. (2000-2003), Antonio Tarver (2004), Glen Johnson (2004-2005), Antonio Tarver (2005-2006), Antonio Tarver (2007-2008), Chad Dawson (2008-2010), Jean Pascal (2010-2011), Andrzej Fonfara (2012-2013), and Blake Caparello (2013-2014). Bernard Hopkins dethroned Antonio Tarver in 2006 and Jean Pascal in 2011 but did not claim the IBO title on either occasion.
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Re: THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

RESULTS:

3/14/15- Montreal, Quebec, Canada- WBO, WBA Undisputed, and IBF champion Sergey Kovalev TKO-8 WBO mandatory challenger Jean Pascal

3/14/15- Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa- for vacant IBO title- challenger Thomas Oosthuizen SD 12 challenger Ryno Liebenberg

3/21/15- Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany- WBA champion Juergen Braehmer TKO-10 WBA mandatory challenger Robin Krasniqi (Krasniqi did not answer the bell for the 10th round)

4/4/15- Quebec City, Quebec, Canada- Lineal, WBC, and Ring Magazine champion Adonis Stevenson UD 12 challenger Sakio Bika

SCHEDULE:

6/6/15- Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa- IBO champion Thomas Oosthuizen vs. challenger Robert Berridge

7/18/15- Las Vegas, Nevada, USA- WBO, WBA Undisputed, and IBF champion Sergey Kovalev vs. IBF mandatory challenger Nadjib Mohammedi

9/5/15- Dresden, Sachsen, Germany- WBA champion Juergen Braehmer vs. challenger Konni Konrad
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Re: THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

RESULTS:

6/6/15- Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa- Thomas Oosthuizen UD 12 challenger Robert Berridge
- Champion Oosthuizen failed to make weight and forfeited the IBO title on the scales; with Oosthuizen winning, the IBO title remained vacant

7/25/15- Las Vegas, Nevada, USA- WBO, WBA Undisputed, and IBF champion Sergey Kovalev KO-3 IBF mandatory challenger Nadjib Mohammedi

8/23/15- Yalta, Crimea, Russia- challenger Felix Valera SD 12 challenger Stanislav Kashtanov.....Valera won vacant WBA Interim title

SCHEDULE:

9/5/15- Dresden, Sachsen, Germany- WBA champion Juergen Braehmer vs. challenger Konni Konrad

9/11/15- Toronto, Quebec, Canada- Lineal, WBC, and Ring Magazine champion Adonis Stevenson vs. challenger Tommy Karpency
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Re: THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS SINCE MOORE DETHRONED MAXIM

Post by KSTAT124 »

UPDATE:

RESULTS:

9/5/15- Dresden, Sachsen, Germany- WBA champion Juergen Braehmer TKO-7 challenger Konni Konrad

9/11/15- Toronto, Quebec, Canada- Lineal, WBC, and Ring Magazine champion Adonis Stevenson TKO-3 challenger Tommy Karpency

SCHEDULE:

1/30/16- Montreal, Quebec, Canada- WBO, WBA Undisputed, and IBF champion Sergey Kovalev vs. challenger Jean Pascal

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