MIDDLING MARVELS! THE WBC WORLD CHAMPIONS OF THE MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION

We’re just a few nail biting days away from celebrating a mega fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada,  between WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

These two have a lot to live up to, because the history of the WBC middleweight division has produced some spellbinding fights and an incredible array of  truly great world champions, who have set exceptionally  high standards for the next generations. Today we remember all our middleweight monarchs,  during the great green and gold bannered history of the World  Boxing Council.

1.             DICK TIGER (NIGERIA)                                                       1963

2.             JOEY GIARDELLO (US)                                                        1963 – 1965

3.             DICK TIGER (NIGERIA) *                                                    1965 – 1966

4.             EMILE GRIFFITH (VIRG. ISLAND)                                         1966 – 1967

5.             NINO BENVENUTI (ITALY)                                                   1967

6.             EMILE GRIFFITH (VIRG. ISLANDS) *                                    1967 – 1968

7.             NINO BENVENUTI (ITALY) *                                                1968 – 1970

8.             CARLOS MONZON (ARGENTINA)                                          1970 – 1974

9.             RODRIGO VALDEZ (COLOMBIA)                                           1974 – 1976

10.           CARLOS MONZON (ARGENTINA) *                                       1976 – 1977

11.           RODRIGO VALDEZ (COLOMBIA) *                                        1977 – 1978

12.           HUGO CORRO (ARGENTINA)                                                1978 – 1979

13.           VITO ANTUOFERMO (ITALY)                                                 1979 – 1980

14.           ALAN MINTER (GB)                                                             1980

15.           MARVIN HAGLER (US)                                                         1980 – 1987

16.           RAY LEONARD (US)                                                             1987

17.           THOMAS HEARNS (US)                                                        1987 – 1988

18.           IRAN BARKLEY (US)                                                            1988 – 1989

19.           ROBERTO DURAN (PANAMA)                                                1989

20.           JULIAN JACKSON (VIRG. ISLAND)                                        1990 – 1993

21.           GERALD MCCLELLAN (US)                                                   1993 – 1995

22.           JULIAN JACKSON (VIRG. ISLANDS) *                                   1995

23.           QUINCY TAYLOR (US)                                                         1995 – 1996

24.           KEITH HOLMES (US)                                                           1996 – 1998

25.           HASSINE CHERIFI (FRANCE)                                               1998 – 1999

26.           KEITH HOLMES (US) *                                                        1999 – 2001

27.           BERNARD HOPKINS (US)                                                    2001 – 2005

28.           JERMAIN TAYLOR (US)                                                       2005 -2007

29.           KELLY PAVLIK (US)                                                            2007 – 2010

30.           SEBASTIAN ZBIK (GERMANY) INTERIM                                2009 – 2011

31.           SERGIO GABRIEL MARTINEZ (ARGENTINA)                          2010

32.           JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR. (MEXICO)                                   2011 – 2012

33.           SERGIO GABRIEL MARTINEZ (ARGENTINA) *                       2012 – 2014

34.           MARCO ANTONIO RUBIO (MEXICO) INTERIM                       2014

35.           GENNADY GOLOVKIN (KAZAKHSTAN) INTERIM                    2014 – 2016

36.           MIGUEL COTTO (P. RICO)                                                  2014 – 2015

37.           SAUL ALVAREZ (MEXICO)                                                  2015 – 2016

38.           GENNADY GOLOVKIN (KAZAKHSTAN) *                              2016 –   *