Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Contents
Boxing
In Professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above 154 lb (70 kg) and up to 160 lb (73 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
Interim champions
Current male champions
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.
Active Title Reign Reign has endedOlympic champions
Kickboxing
Mixed Martial Arts
In Ultimate Fighting Championship, the middleweight division is from 171 lbs (77.5 kg) to 185 lbs (84 kg).