Cruiserweight Lineal World Champions
[200lbs]
Reigning Lineal Cruiserweight Champion: Jai Opetaia (2022 - Present)
1. Marvin Camel (1980) USA
2. Carlos "Sugar" DeLeon (1980 - 1982) *** Puerto Rico
3. S.T. Gordon (1982 - 1983) USA
4. Carlos "Sugar" DeLeon (1983 - 1985) *** Puerto Rico
5. Alfonso Ratliff (1985) USA
6. Bernard Benton (1985 - 1986) USA
7. Carlos "Sugar" DeLeon (1986 - 1988) *** Puerto Rico
8. Evander Holyfield (1988) Vacated. USA
9. Jean Marc Mormeck (2005 - 2006) ** France
10. O'Neil Bell (2006 - 2007) Jamaica
11. Jean Marc Mormeck (2007) ** France
12. David Haye (2007 - 2008) Vacated. UK
13. Tomasz Adamek (2008 - 2010) Vacated. Poland
14. Oleksandr Usyk (2018 - 2019) Vacated. Ukraine
15. Mairis Briedis (2020 - 2022) Latvia
16. Jai Opetaia (2022 - Present) New Zealand
The Cruiserweight division, which initially had a limit of 190lbs, was formed by the WBC in 1979, to bridge the gap between the 175lbs Light Heavyweight limit, and the ever-growing giants, within the “no limit” Heavyweight division. Marvin Camel drew with Mate Parlov in 1979, but it was his victorious rematch on March 31, 1980, that won him the WBC belt, and crowned him as the division’s first World Champion.
In the mid-late 1980s, Evander Holyfield’s all-action style helped gain the Cruiserweights some much needed attention and respect - however, he soon moved up in weight to seek more lucrative and prestigious match-ups. The size of the average Heavyweight continued to increase, leading the WBC, in 2003, to raise the upper limit to 200lbs - an act the other sanctioning bodies soon followed.
The 2017-18 inaugural World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) tournament included a high calibre line up, which ultimately led to Oleksandr Usyk outclassing Murat Gassievover 12 rounds to win the vacant Lineal Championship. The tournament’s high quality match-ups improved the reputation of the whole division, perhaps more so than ever before.
In 2019 Usyk departed to Heavyweight, but fortunately, the second WBSS Cruiserweight tournament soon followed, and set up a finale between the division’s top contenders, Mairis Briedis and Yuniel Dorticos.
…
1980: Marvin Camel won a 15 round unanimous decision over Mate Parlov on March 31st, 1980, to become the inaugural Lineal World Cruiserweight Champion. Titles: WBC.
Camel “rallied in the late rounds of the bloody battle to avenge a controversial draw between the two fighters when they met Dec. 8 in Split, Yugoslavia, in the first title fight in the division’s history.” (10)
At the post-fight press-conference, Camel stated that the Cruiserweight division was starting to be taken seriously:
“When it (the new division) first started out, it was a big joke. One of the boys ranked in the top 20, he only weighed 135 pounds. I don’t know how they got his record. But now it’s starting to clear itself up and people realize it’s here to stay.” (10)
1982 – 1989: Ossie Ocasio won the vacant WBA title by defeating Robbie Williams on February 13th, 1982. Marvin Camel won the vacant IBF title by defeating Roddy MacDonald on December 13th, 1983. Boone Pultz won the vacant WBO “Junior Heavyweight” title by defeating Magne Havna on December 3rd, 1989.
1988: Prior to his fight with Lineal Champion, Carlos De Leon, Evander Holyfield declared that, assuming he won, he would then move up in weight to begin campaigning at Heavyweight. “I can dominate the cruiserweight division but what I really want is the heavyweight championship,” Holyfield said. “And either way you go, you’ve got to go through Mike Tyson.” (8)
After defeating De Leon on April 9th, 1988, Evander Holyfield reiterated his interest in moving up to Heavyweight:
“I’m pretty much ready for anything,” Holyfield declared. “Putting on the weight won’t be a problem.” (9)
Holyfield’s next fight was against James Tillis, at Heavyweight, on July 16th, after which the Cruiserweight Championship became vacant. 1988. He did not fight at Cruiserweight again.
2005: Jean Marc Mormeck outpointed Wayne Braithwaite via a 12-round decision, on April 2nd, 2005, to win the vacant Championship. Titles: WBA/WBC/Ring.
Prior to the bout, Braithwaite and Mormeck were rated at #1 and #2 respectively in The Ring’s Cruiserweight rankings. Boxing Monthly had Mormeck rated at #1 and Braithwaite rated at #3, behind #2 Johnny Nelson (February 2005 edition).
After his April 2005 loss to Mormeck, The Ring (Volume 5, 2005, Double Issue), still ranked Braithwaite above Nelson, as the top rival to Mormeck.
2008: On May 27th, 2008, David Haye formally announced that he was moving up to the Heavyweight division, making the Championship vacant. He stated he would be having several bouts before aiming to challenge title holder, Wladimir Klitschko.
Haye (7): “I’ll fight two top 10 Heavyweights and obliterate them. I’ll show the world what heavyweight boxing really can be. Right now, it’s a disgrace.”
On November 15th, 2008, Haye fought at Heavyweight against Monte Barrett – he never competed at Cruiserweight again.
2008: Tomasz Adamek defeated Steve Cunningham via 12 round split decision on December 11, 2008, to win the vacant Championship. Titles: IBF/Ring.
At the time of the bout, Cunningham and Adamek were the #1 and #2 rated Cruiserweights respectively, in The Ring’s (February 2009 edition) and Boxing Monthly’s (January 2009 edition) ratings.
2009: Adamek defeated Andrew Golota in his Heavyweight debut in October 2009. ESPN (6) explained that “Adamek was forced to give up his sanctioning organization belt in order to take the lucrative fight with Golota, but he remains the lineal and Ring Magazine cruiserweight champion, and he said he will fight again at cruiserweight if the right opportunity presents itself.”
Adamek (5): “I hope I proved to everybody that I can be 215 pounds and be effective as a heavyweight. But my foes in the cruiserweight division should not be too happy yet. If the major television outlets will offer great fights, I will be back and knock out those guys too.”
2010: On February 20th, 2010 (1), Adamek formally vacated his Ring belt, and declared his intentions to leave Cruiserweight – therefore the Championship became vacant.
2018: On July 21st, 2018, Oleksandr Usyk defeated Murat Gassiev via a 12 round unanimous decision to win the vacant Championship. Titles: WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO/Ring/TBRB.
Usyk and Gassiev were the #1 and #2 rated fighters in the division, as per The Ring, TBRB and Boxing Monthly (1) (2) (3). Their contest, held at the Olympic Stadium, in Moscow, Russia, was the final of the World Boxing Super Series.
2019: After defeating Chazz Witherspoon at Heavyweight on October 12th, 2019, Oleksandr Usyk declared his intention stay this new weight class (4) – therefore the Cruiserweight Championship became vacant.
2020/Current Lineage: Mairis Briedis defeated Yuniel Dorticos via a 12 round majority decision on September 26th, 2020, to win the vacant Championship. Titles: IBF/Ring/TBRB.
Heading into the fight, The Ring, TBRB and ESPN all had Briedis and Dorticos ranked as the top 2 fighters in the division. Boxing Scene (14) reported that “with Usyk now competing in the Heavyweight division, a new (lineal) world champion will be also crowned, and Left Hook Boxing (13) commented that the bout was “seen by pretty much everybody as a No.1 Vs No.2 fight in the division at this point.” The fight, held in Munich, Germany, was the final of the second World Boxing Super Series Cruiserweight tournament.
Briedis was ranked #1 by Ring/Boxing News/TBRB and #2 by ESPN. Dorticos was ranked #2 with Ring/TBRB, #1 with ESPN and #3 with Boxing News (behind Krzysztof Glowacki). (12)
Jai Opetaia defeated Briedis by unanimous decision on July 2nd, 2022.
References
(1) Gray T. (2018) The Ring. Oleksandr Usyk-Murat Gassiev and The Ring championship. July 19, 2018. Link: https://www.ringtv.com/539835-oleksandr-usyk-murat-gassiev-and-the-ring-cruiserweight-championship/
(2) TBRB (2018) Rankings. July 10, 2018. Link: https://www.tbrb.org/2018/07/10/10-july-2018/
(3) Boxing Monthly (2018) World Ratings. May 2018 edition.
(4) Donovan J. Oleksandr Usyk arrives at heavyweight, stops Witherspoon in seven. October 13, 2019. Link: https://www.boxingscene.com/oleksandr-usyk-arrives-heavyweight-witherspoon-results--143347
(5) Rafael D. (2009) ESPN. Adamek has options in two divisions after crushing Golota. October 25, 2009. Link: https://www.espn.com/blog/dan-rafael/post/_/id/263/tomasz-adamek-options-two-divisions-crushing-andrew-golota
(6) Rafael D. (2009) ESPN. Adamek to fight at heavyweight again. November 13, 2009. Link: https://www.espn.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=4651180
(7) Vester M. (2008) Boxing Scene. David Haye: Two fights, then I want Wladimir Klitschko. May 27, 2008. Link: https://www.boxingscene.com/david-haye-two-fights-then-i-want-wladimir-klitschko--14156
(8) The Atlanta Constitution (1988) Holyfield fights to be undisputed champion. April 9, 1988.
(9) Arizona Daily Star (1988) Holyfield unifies the title with victory. April 10, 1988.
(10) The Billings Gazette (1980) Title won’t change lifestyle for Camel. April 2, 1980.
(11) The Billings Gazette (1979) Camel confident of fight. December 8, 1979.
(12) Lineal Boxing Champion (2020) Yuniel Dorticos Vs Mairis Breidis – for the vacant line Lineal Cruiserweight Championship. September 21, 2020.
(13) Christ S. (2020) Left Hook Boxing. Yuniel Dorticos arrives in Germany, ready for Mairis Briedis in WBSS final. September 21, 2020.
(14) Donovan J. (2020) Briedis vs Dorticos WBSS final set, March 21 in Riga. January 10, 2020.
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