Middleweight
Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In Boxing, the middleweight division is above 154 lbs (69.9 kg) and up to 160 lbs (72.5 kg).
Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897. Chandler won, becoming known as the American middleweight champion.
The first middleweight fight with gloves may have been between George Fulljames and Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey (no relation to the more famous heavyweight Jack Dempsey)
Bernard Hopkins holds the record for most consecutive title defenses at this division, with 20 defenses of the IBF title.
Professional champions
Current male champions
| Sanctioning Body | Reign Began | Champion | Record | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WBA (Super) | October 14, 2010 |  Gennady Golovkin |
36-0 (33 KO) | 16 |
| WBA (Regular) | August 06, 2014 |  Daniel Jacobs |
32-1 (29 KO) | 4 |
| WBC | May 18, 2016 | Gennady Golovkin |
36-0 (33 KO) | 1 |
| IBF | October 17, 2015 | Gennady Golovkin |
36-0 (33 KO) | 2 |
| WBO | December 20, 2015 |  Billy Joe Saunders |
24-0-0 (12 KO) | 1 |
Interim champions
Current male champions
| Sanctioning Body | Reign Began | Champion | Record | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WBA | October 10, 2015 |  Alfonso Blanco |
12-0 (5 KO) | 0 |
Longest reigning middleweight champions
Below is a list of longest reigning middleweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.
| Rank | Name | Title Reign | Title Recognition | Successful Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Bernard Hopkins | 10 years, 2 months, 18 days | IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO | 20 |
| 2. |  Tommy Ryan | 8 years, 7 months, 4 days | World | 4 |
| 3. | Tony Zale | 6 years, 11 months, 24 days | NBA (current WBA) | 4 |
| 4. |  Carlos Monzon | 6 years, 9 months, 9 days | WBA, WBC | 14 |
| 5. | Marvin Hagler | 6 years, 7 months, 10 days | WBC, WBA, IBF | 12 |
| 6. |  Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey | 6 years, 6 months, 15 days | World | 3 |
| 7. | Gennady Golovkin | 6 years, 3 months, 2 weeks and 6 days | WBC, WBA (Super), IBF, IBO | 17 |
| 8. |  Felix Sturm | 5 years, 4 months, 4 days | WBA (Super) | 12 |
| 9. | Bob Fitzsimmons | 3 years, 8 months, 12 days | World | 1 |
| 10. | Arthur Abraham | 3 years, 7months, 2 days | IBF | 11 |
- Active Title Reign
- Reign has ended
Olympic champions
- 1904:
Charles Mayer (USA) - 1908: John Douglas (GBR)
- 1920: Harry Mallin (GBR)
- 1924: Harry Mallin (GBR)
- 1928:
.svg.png)
Piero Toscani (ITA) - 1932:
Carmen Barth (USA) - 1936:
Jean Despeaux (FRA) - 1948:
.svg.png)
László Papp (HUN) - 1952: Floyd Patterson (USA)
- 1956:
.svg.png)
Gennadiy Shatkov (URS) - 1960: Eddie Crook, Jr. (USA)
- 1964: Valeriy Popenchenko (URS)
- 1968: Chris Finnegan (GBR)
- 1972: Vyacheslav Lemeshev (URS)
- 1976: Michael Spinks (USA)
- 1980:
José Gómez (CUB) - 1984:
Shin Joon-Sup (KOR) - 1988:
Henry Maske (GDR) - 1992: Ariel Hernández (CUB)
- 1996: Ariel Hernández (CUB)
- 2000: Jorge Gutiérrez (CUB)
- 2004:
Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov (RUS) - 2008: James DeGale (GBR)
- 2012:
Ryota Murata (JPN) - 2016: Arlen López (CUB)
Kickboxing
- International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) Middleweight (Pro & Amateur) 159.1–165 lb. or 72.4–75 kg
- In Glory promotion, a middleweight division is up to 85 kg (187 lb).[1]
Mixed Martial Arts
In Ultimate Fighting Championship, the middleweight division is from 171 lbs (77.5 kg) to 185 lbs (84 kg).
Taekwondo
| Category | Men's | Women's | Competitions | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middleweight | 78–84 kg | 67–72 kg | World Championships, Continental Championships, Asian Games | since 1999 |
| Middleweight | 76–83 kg | 65–70 kg | World Championships, Continental Championships, Asian Games | until 1998 |
| Middleweight | 68–80 kg | 57–67 kg | Olympic Games, Pan Am Games, All-Africa Games | |