Many times in boxing, the scale is the toughest enemy for the fighters. The pressure of losing or gaining lbs can destroy careers. Once a boxer has defeated theweight in, he still has to overcome his rival. It is a difficult journey to win a fight; even harder to get a World title; almost impossible to do it in several weight classes.
That’s why the greatness, the glory, the inmortalityis granted for warriors capable of beingbelt holders in different weights. Thespeed, the stamina, thedamage absortionand, obviously, the power changes from one category to another.
In fact, only 5 top boxershave been capableof holding a World title in 5 different divisions. Thesemenwere touched by the destiny, because in order to achieve that goal, it is needed, besides the talent and discipline, to have a priviledged body and start in light classesto go up to heavier ones: the superb Muhammad Ali or the mighty Mike Tyson are all time greats buthad no other divisions to move.
The 5 boxers that havewon World titles on 5 different weight classes
Thomas Hearns: theMotor City Cobrawas the first boxer to enter to this list. He finished his career with a record of 61-5-1 (48 KOs) after winning the World titles in the following divisions:
-Welterweight(1980)
-Light middleweight(1982)
-Middleweight(1987)
-Supermiddleweight (1988)
-Light heavyweight(1987, 1991)
Thomas Hearns, Five division World Boxing Champion. (Holly Stein /Allsport/Getty Images)
Ray CharlesLeonard: better known as Sugar Ray, sharedera and even the ring with Hearns. They fought each other two times; for sure partof the best clashes in the history of boxing. Leonardsaidgoodbye to theSweet Sciencewith 36-3-1 (25 KOs) and this belts conquered:
-Welterweight(1979)
-Light middleweight(1981)
-Middleweight(1987)
-Supermiddleweight (1988)
-Light heavyweight(1988)
Sugar Ray Leonard, Five Division World Champion. (Allsport /Allsport/Getty Images)
Oscar de la Hoya:many years passedbefore another warrior could join Sugar Ray and The Hitman on this list. The Golden Boy touched the skywith his39-6-0 (30 KOs) and several legendarychampions defeated, such as Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker and Felix Trinidad. But even more,De la Hoya surpassedHearns and Leonard, because he dominated on 6 different divisions:
-Super featherweight(1994)
-Lightweight(1995)
-Junior welterweight(1996)
-Welterweight(1997)
-Light middleweight(2001)
-Middleweight (2004)
Oscar de la Hoya, Six Division World Champion. (Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport/Getty Images)
Floyd MayweatherJr: the Pretty Boyput his name on the golden list of boxing thanks to his masterful defense. He decided to end his professional activity after defeating the UFC fighter Connor McGregor on 2017, being the only one in this list who is undefeated: 50-0-0 (27 KOs):
-Super featherweight(1998)
-Lightweight(2002)
-Junior welterweight(2004)
-Welterweight(2006)
-Light middleweight(2007)
Floyd Mayweather Jr, Five Division World Champion. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Manny Pacquiao: the Pacman (62-8-2 (39 KOs) was the last to touch the achievement of being a five weight class World Champion, but, as the saying says: last but not least. The Philippines titan totally overrun his other 4 colleagues of this list. He is the only boxer to win World titles on 7 different divisions. His absolutely brilliant career just ended on 2021:
-Flyweight (1998)
-Super bantamweight (2001)
-Super featherweight (2008)
-Lightweight (2008)
-Junior welterweight (2009) (International Boxing Organization)
-Welterweight (2009)
-Light middleweight (2010)
Manny Pacquiao, Seven Division World Champion. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
see also
Memorable bouts: The 25 best boxing fights of all time
