Who was the last undisputed heavyweight boxing champion? Full list as Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk aim to join Mike Tyson

Some of the greatest boxers of all time have been undisputed heavyweight champions during their careers.

Iconic fighters like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson have achieved the feat while Sonny Liston, George Foreman and Evander Holyfield have also held all the titles at once.

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Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will face off on Saturday in one of the biggest and most anticipated fights of the modern era, with the winner joining the exclusive roster.

WBC champion Fury will look to win the WBA, WBO and IBF titles away from Usyk to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999.

Who was the last undisputed heavyweight champion?

Fury’s fellow Brit Lennox Lewis last accomplished the feat more than two decades ago.

The world heavyweight title had been broken for seven years when Lewis faced Evander Holyfield in March 1999.

When the judges’ scores of 115-113 for Holyfield, 116-113 for Lewis and 115-115 were announced, one of boxing’s greatest miscarriages of justice was seen to have occurred.

A rematch was immediately sanctioned, with the second fight also going the distance eight months later, in November.

However, this time Lewis was victorious via unanimous decision after scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 117-111.

In less than a year, the Lion was stripped of his WBA title for choosing to fight Michael Grant over the organization’s number one contender, John Ruiz, and the belts have been scattered ever since.

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25 boxers have held all the heavyweight titles at one time and the first undisputed heavyweight champion was Jack Dempsey in 1922.

Dempsey’s reign lasted four years before Gene Tunney won the title and it changed hands several times over the next two decades.

Joe Louis is the longest-serving undisputed heavyweight champion boxer, having been at the top of the sport for 12 years.

Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazier, Buster Douglas, Liston, Foreman, Tyson and Ali are all big names who have also held every title available.

Here, talkSPORT.com gives you an overview of all the undisputed heavyweight boxing champions and how long they have held the belts…

Complete list of undisputed heavyweight boxing champions

Name – Belts – Duration of reign

• Jack Dempsey – NYSAC, NBA – July 1922 to September 1926
• Gene Tunney – NYSAC, NBA – September 1926 to July 1928
• Max Schmeling – NYSAC, NBA – June 1930 to January 1931
• Jack Sharkey – NYSAC, NBA – June 1932 to June 1933
• Primo Carnera – NYSAC, NBA – June 1933 to June 1934
• Max Baer – NYSAC, NBA – June 1934 to June 1935

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• James J. Braddock – NYSAC, NBA – June 1935 to June 1937
• Joe Louis – NYSAC, NBA – June 1937 to March 1949
• Ezzard Charles – NYSAC, NBA – September 1950 to July 1951
• Joe Wollacott jersey – NYSAC, NBA – July 1951 to September 1952
• Rocky Marciano – NYSAC, NBA – September 1952 to April 1956
• Floyd Patterson – NYSAC, NBA – June 1960 to September 1962

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• Sonny Liston – NYSAC, WBA – September 1962 to July 1963
• Sonny Liston – WBC, WBA – July 1963 to February 1964
• Muhammad Ali – WBC, WBA – February 1964 to September 1964
• Muhammad Ali – WBC, WBA – February 1967 to April 1967
• Joe Frazier – WBC, WBA – February 1970 to January 1973
• Georges Foreman – WBC, WBA – January 1973 to October 1974

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• Muhammad Ali – WBC, WBA – October 1974 to February 1978
• Leon Spinks – WBC, WBA – February 1978 to March 1978
• Mike Tyson – WBC, WBA, IBF – August 1987 to February 1990
• Buster Douglas – WBC, WBA, IBF – February 1990 to October 1990
• Evander Holyfield – WBC, WBA, IBF – October 1990 to November 1992
• Riddick Bowe – WBC, WBA, IBF – from November 1992 to December 1992
• Lennox Lewis – WBC, WBA, IBF – November 1999 to April 2000

What is an undisputed world champion?

In boxing, an undisputed world champion is someone who wins all four major world title belts in their division – WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO.

Fury currently owns the WBC while Usyk holds the WBA, IBF and WBO. Therefore, the winner will hold all four belts as the undisputed king.

The last man to hold all the belts in the division was Lennox Lewis when he defeated Evander Holyfield to add his WBA and IBF titles to the WBC belt before what is now known as the “four belt era” , the WBO being recognized from 2004. .