Cruiserweight, also referred to as junior heavyweight, is a weight class in professional boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight. Before the advent of the current cruiserweight class, "light heavyweight" and "cruiserweight" were sometimes used interchangeably in the United Kingdom.

Professional boxing The current weight limit for the division is . When originally established, the weight limit was . The division was established in order to accommodate smaller heavyweight boxers who could not compete with the growing size of boxers in that division. While many heavyweight champions (such as Rocky Marciano and Joe Louis) weighed around 190 pounds during their careers, during the 1970s it became fairly standard that fit heavyweight boxers weighed at least . Many boxing authorities felt that asking men weighing between and to fight these larger men was unfair.

The North American Boxing Federation (NABF) was the first sanctioning body to recognize the cruiserweight division when it sanctioned a bout between Marvin Camel and Bill Sharkey for its version of the title on June 5, 1979. Camel won the match, which led to the World Boxing Council (WBC) sanctioning its first cruiserweight title fight between Marvin Camel and Mate Parlov on December 8, 1979. That fight was a draw, but in the rematch in March 1980 Camel won and became the first cruiserweight champion. In 1982 the World Boxing Association (WBA) recognized Ossie Ocasio as its first cruiserweight champion when he defeated South African Robbie Williams (although at that time the WBA called the division "junior heavyweight"). The International Boxing Federation followed suit in 1983 when it matched former WBC champion Marvin Camel against Rick Sekorski for its inaugural title. Camel won and became the first IBF cruiserweight champion.

Several boxers moved up to heavyweight after winning world titles at cruiserweight. Evander Holyfield unified the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles to become undisputed champion, the first to do so, and then moved up to the heavyweight division in 1988. In 2006, the second man to become undisputed champion was O’Neil Bell, who was later stripped of the IBF title. Oleksandr Usyk became undisputed cruiserweight champion in 2018; he moved to heavyweight in 2019, becoming the undisputed champion in 2024.

Other notable champions in the division have been Bobby Czyz, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Tomasz Adamek, Virgil Hill, Al Cole, Orlin Norris, James Toney, David Haye, Tony Bellew, Gilberto Ramirez, Jai Opetaia, David Benavidez, Noel Mikaelian, Chris Billam-Smith, Badou Jack, and Lawrence Okolie.

Current world champions

Sanctioning BodyReign BeganChampionRecordDefensesWBA May 2, 2026David Benavidez32–0 (26 KO)0WBC December 13, 2025Noel Mikaelian28–4 (12 KO)0IBFWBOMay 2, 2026David Benavidez32–0 (26 KO)0

Current world rankings

The Ring

As of September 13, 2026.

Keys: Current The Ring world champion

RankNameRecord (W–L–D)Title(s)CJai Opetaia31–0 (24 KO)WBA (Regular)1David Benavidez32–0 (26 KO)WBA, WBO2Gilberto Ramírez48–2 (30 KO)3Chris Billam-Smith22–2 (14 KO)4Michał Cieślak28–2 (1) (22 KO)WBC (Interim)5Noel Mikaelian28–3 (12 KO)WBC6Badou Jack29–4–3 (17 KO)7Viddal Riley14–0 (7 KO)8Ryan Rozicki21–2–1 (20 KO)9Leonardo Mosquea18–0 (11 KO)10Robin Sirwan Safar20–0 (13 KO)

BoxRec As of July 2, 2026.

RankNameRecord (W–L–D)Title(s)1David Benavidez32–0 (26 KO)WBA, WBO2Jai Opetaia30–0 (23 KO)The Ring3Gilberto Ramirez48–2 (30 KO)4Chris Billam-Smith22–2 (14 KO)5Umar Salamov32–2 (24 KO)6Viddal Riley14–0 (7 KO)7Noel Mikaelian28–3 (12 KO)WBC8Mike Perez32–3–1 (1) (22 KO)9Robin Sirwan Safar20–0 (13 KO)10Cheavon Clarke14–2 (9 KO)

Longest reigning world cruiserweight champions Below is a list of longest reigning cruiserweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply. NameTitle reignTitle recognitionSuccessful defensesFights 1. Johnny Nelson 6 years, 5 months, 26 days WBO 13 2. Marco Huck 5 years, 11 months, 17 days WBO 13 3. Arsen Goulamirian 4 years, 9 month, 28 days WBA 4 4. Krzysztof Włodarczyk 4 years, 4 months, 12 days WBC 6 5. Denis Lebedev 4 years, 1 month, 3 days WBA, IBF 5 6. Guillermo Jones 4 years, 1 month, 3 days WBA 2 7. Juan Carlos Gómez 3 years, 11 months, 29 days WBC 10 8. Anaclet Wamba 3 years, 11 months, 17 days WBC 7 9. Yoan Pablo Hernández 3 years, 11 months, 2 weeks and 5 days IBF 4 10. Vassiliy Jirov 3 years, 10 months, 21 days IBF 5 11. Jean-Marc Mormeck 3 years, 10 months, 15 days WBA, WBC 4 12. Ilunga Makabu 3 years. 28 days WBC 2 13. Ossie Ocasio 2 years, 9 months, 18 days WBA 3 14. Oleksandr Usyk 2 years, 8 months, 29 days WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO 6 15. Lawrence Okolie 2 years, 2 months, 7 days WBO 3 16. Evander Holyfield 2 years WBA, WBC, IBF 5 Active reign Reign has ended Cruiserweight Boxing News Website Retrieved on 6 December 2013. Current Cruiserweight Ratings Retrieved on 27 December 2012. Cruiserweight Division Retrieved on 27 December 2012. IBF Cruiserweight Champions Retrieved on 27 December 2012. WBA Cruiserweight Champions Retrieved on 27 December 2012.

Kickboxing

In kickboxing, a cruiserweight fighter generally weighs between 82 kg (181 lb) and 88 kg (195 lb). However, some governing bodies have slightly different classes. The International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) Cruiserweight (professional and amateur) division is 186.1 lb–195 lb or 84.6 kg–88.6 kg.

Bare-knuckle boxing The limit of cruiserweight generally differs among promotions in bare-knuckle boxing: In Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, the cruiserweight division has an upper limit of . The cruiserweight division has an upper limit of .

References