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.
World Boxing Organization
World Light Heavyweight Title (as of 2026-04-28)
* Bolded letters in the competitor's name, if any, indicate the surname/family name.
Michael Moorer
1988-12-03
Brook Park, OH, USA
Defeats Ramzi Hassan; vacates in 91 to move up to the heavyweight class.
Leeonzer Barber
1991-05-09
Leeds, ENG, GBR
Defeats Tom Collins.
Dariusz Michalczewski
1994-09-10
Hamburg, GER
Julio César González
2003-10-10
Hamburg, GER
Zsolt Erdei
2004-01-17
Karlsruhe, GER
Vacates on 09-11-13 to move up to the cruiserweight class.
Jürgen Brähmer
2009-11-13
Interim champion since defeating Aleksy Kuziemski on 09-08-11 in Budapest, HUN; status promoted on 09-11-13; stripped of the title on 11-05-19 after withdrawing from a title match against Nathan Cleverly due to eye injury.
Nathan Cleverly
2011-05-19
Interim champion since defeating Nadjib Mohammedi on 10-12-11 in Liverpool, Merseyside, ENG, GBR; status promoted on 11-05-19.
Sergey Kovalev
2013-08-18
Cardiff, WEL, GBR
Andre Ward
2016-11-19
Las Vegas, NV, USA
Vacates on 17-09-21 upon retirement.
Sergey Kovalev
2017-11-25
New York, NY, USA
Defeats Vyacheslav Shabranskyy.
Eleider Álvarez
2018-08-04
Atlantic City, NJ, USA
Sergey Kovalev
2019-02-02
Frisco, TX, USA
Canelo Álvarez (Saúl Álvarez)
2019-11-02
Las Vegas, NV, USA
Vacates on 19-12-17 to move down to the super middleweight.
Joe Smith Jr.
2021-04-10
Tulsa, OK, USA
Defeats Maxim Vlasov.
Artur Beterbiev
2022-06-18
New York, NY, USA
Also holds WBC and IBF world titles; also wins WBA and IBO world titles on 24-10-12.
Dmitry Bivol
2025-02-22
Riyadh, KSA
Wins WBO, WBC, WBA, IBF, and IBO world titles but vacates the WBC title on 25-04-07.
