Following the name of the champion(s): Indicates the number of times the competitor has held that title at that point.
[...]
Indicates a gap in the listing where title changes are not known.
<
Title was held or changed hands no later than this. In these cases, it is known that a competitor held the title at a certain time but not when he/she won it.
@
Order uncertain. Different titleholders may be known for the same year, for example, but it is not known who held the title before whom.
#
Unofficial or disputable claims. These are usually matches that certainly took place, but where there is doubt that the competitor shown should be recognized as a true title holder. These listings are also italicized.
* Bolded letters in the competitor's name, if any, indicate the surname/family name.
Joe Choynski #
1893-02-26<
Listed as the "United States" champion (Daily Inter Ocean, Chicago, IL, 93-02-26); most likely for the world title.
George Gardner
1902-08-18
Salt Lake City, UT
Defeats Jack Root for the world title and is also recogized as American champion (Chicago Tribune, 02-12-14; The Evening World, New York, NY, USA, 02-12-31).
Battling Levinsky
1916-10-24
Boston, MA
Defeats Dillon to claim American Title (Associated Press, 16-10-25) and is generally regarded as the lineal world champion; loses the world title to Georges Carpentier on 20-10-12 but continues to claim American Title; recognized by NBA in 21-01 upon its inception (The Decatur Herald, Decatur, IL, 21-02-07, plus several other papers).
Gene Tunney
1922-01-13
New York, NY
Harry Greb
1922-05-23
New York, NY
Gene Tunney [2]
1923-02-23
New York, NY
Still champion as of 23-12-10; still listed as champion as of 24-12-03 (Lansing State Journal, Lansing, MI) but competes as a heavyweight by then.
Joey Maxim
1949-05-23
Cincinnati, OH
Defeats Gus Lesnevich and recognized as the American champion by the NBA (The Cincinnati Enquirer, 49-05-24); wins the world title on 50-01-24.
