- Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquaio has the most boxing division titles, with eight.
- American-Mexican star Oscar De La Hoya is second on the list with six boxing division titles.
- Floyd Mayweather Jr., Thomas Hearns, and Sugar Ray Leonard are tied in third place with five boxing division titles each.
Winning a world title in boxing is already a massive achievement for professional fighters, but several stars captured multiple titles in different weight classes. They pulled off this fantastic feat by gradually moving up in division and successfully dethroning the champion.
This incredible achievement also made them constant boxing odds favourites before each bout. But who among the sport’s brightest stars has won the most number of division titles? Find out here.
Most Boxing Division Titles
The record holder for the most boxing division titles in history is Manny Pacquiao, who won eight world titles in eight different divisions. “Pacman” started as a flyweight, and after winning the title in the weight class, he moved up and captured a belt in the super bantamweight, featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight, and light middleweight.
Only fighter to win titles in 8 different divisions 🏆
Happy birthday to the legendary, @MannyPacquiao 🎂 pic.twitter.com/1dgIPZ7A2i
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) December 17, 2023
How Many Belts Are in Each Boxing Division?
Each division has five major belts: the WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBF world titles. Each belt represents the sanctioned and accredited boxing organization in professional boxing. A boxer can be considered a unified champion of the division if they have won all four major titles.
How Many Boxers Have Won All Four Belts?
The four-belt era in boxing officially began in 2004, and plenty of boxers won all four belts in their divisions. This elite list of boxers includes Bernard Hopkins, Jermain Taylor, Terence Crawford (in two different divisions), Oleksandr Usyk, Josh Taylor, Canelo Alvarez, Jermell Charlo, Devin Haney, and Naoya Inoue (in two different divisions).
In the women’s divisions, nine boxers have achieved this feat: Cecilia Braekhus, Claressa Shields (in three different divisions), Katie Taylor (in two different divisions), Jessica McCaskill, Franchon Crews-Dezurn, Chantelle Cameron, Amanda Serrano, Alycia Baumgardner, and Savannah Marshall.
Has There Ever Been a Five-Division Champion in Boxing?
Throughout the history of pro boxing, there have been only five boxers who became a five-division champion. They are spearheaded by Pacquiao with eight, and the other four were Oscar De La Hoya with six division titles, and Floyd Mayweather Jr., Thomas Hearns, and Sugar Ray with five boxing division titles each.
