In July 1987 the then Editor-In-Chief of The Ring magazine Nigel Collins had finally seen enough of the proliferation of boxing weight classes and multiple sanctioning bodies. He penned a cover article titled A Return to Sanity and it was followed by affirmative action.
In it he decreed the magazine would return to only recognising the eight traditional weight classes, from flyweight through to heavyweight. He was supported by his colleagues and many of its readers and observers of the sport.
Over the following months they produced a photo gallery of what they considered to be the real champions.
These included only five champions of the eight classes (divisions) who were considered legitimate and in today’s climate deemed undisputed. One irony was that Michael Spinks at the time was recognised as The Ring heavyweight king even though Mike Tyson was the WBC champion and spectacularly taking all the headlines and plaudits. They were yet to meet.
Tyson’s victory in June 1988 in Atlantic City Convention Centre, bankrolled by then businessman and current US presidential candidate Donald Trump, was ultimately emphatic in a 91 second blowout of Spinks. Tyson was promptly crowned undisputed and The Ring champion.
The other divisional kings and that publication’s champions were ‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler at middleweight (160lbs/11st 6lbs), Lloyd Honeyghan at welterweight (147lbs/10st 7lbs), Antonio Esparragoza at featherweight (126lbs/9st) and Sot Chitalada at flyweight (112lbs/8st). The other four weight divisions had a #1 stated but The Ring title was declared vacant.
Project forward to today.
The Ring recognises 17 weight classes. Of those for the first time for many years – probably since 1987 – seven are undisputed and have a champion. The heaviest four weight classes from heavyweight (no limit) to super middleweight (168lbs/12st) all have a champion. This is a good sign for both hardcore and casual fans alike.
Even elite junior middleweight Terence Crawford, a four-weight beltholder/world champion, arguably the pound-for-pound #1 is not a Ring magazine champion at 154lbs. That’s how hard it is to get that honour !
Crawford has an impressive record of 41-0 (31 KOs) and is still looking unbeatable.
The respective records of The Ring champions are:
Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) – heavyweight
Jai Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) – cruiserweight (200lbs/14st 4lbs)
Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) – light heavyweight
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) – super middleweight
Teofimo Lopez (21-0, 13 KOs) – junior welterweight (140lbs/10st)
Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs) – junior featherweight (122lbs/8st 10lbs)
Jesse Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KOs) – junior bantamweight (115lbs/8st 3lbs)
Other Ring Magazine pound-for-pound entrants include Dmitry Bivol, Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, Junto Nakatani and Devin Haney, who have a combined record of 133 wins with only 1 loss. Non however, currently hold the magazine’s title, which we consider remains the historical standard by which all world champions should ultimately be judged.
The seventeen weight divisions are another story, but they primarily serve to protect the fighters.
In today’s era of bigger human beings: with improved diets and many nourishment choices, it’s healthy to have a higher number of weight classes, with the differentials at lower limits more significant where % of total body weight is a crucial factor.
At the other end of the spectrum, no longer is a light heavyweight having to make the jump straight to an unlimited class. That would now be too dangerous, due simply to evolution of the human race.
To conclude, let’s celebrate the undisputed Ring Magazine champions but, the proliferation of weight classes are here to stay.
The Undisputed 