In a hugely-anticipated fight on Saturday, two undefeated fighters entered the ring each with two world titles and an undefeated record in a winner-takes-all scenario.
And it was Josh Taylor who emerged with all the gold and boxing immortality, knocking down Jose Ramirez twice before taking the unanimous decision on three judges' scorecards.
Not many boxers have transcended the increasingly-fragile political environment in the sport to bring all four major titles in one division together. Here's a rundown of how it all works.
What does it mean to be a unified champion?
A unified champion is one who holds two or more of the major sanctioning titles in a division:
- IBF
- WBA
- WBC
- WBO
Current men's unified champions include:
- Heavyweight: Anthony Joshua — IBF, WBA (super), WBO
- Light heavyweight: Artur Beterbiev — IBF, WBC
- Super middleweight: Canelo Alvarez — WBA, WBC, WBO
- Junior middleweight: Jermell Charlo — IBF, WBA (super), WBC
- Welterweight: Errol Spence Jr. — IBF, WBC
- Junior welterweight: Josh Taylor — IBF, WBA (super), WBC, WBO
- Lightweight: Teofimo Lopez — IBF, WBA (super), WBO
- Super bantamweight: Murodjon Akhmadaliev — IFB, WBA (super)
- Bantamweight: Naoya Inoue — IBF, WBA (super)
What is an undisputed champion in boxing?
An undisputed champion is a fighter who holds all four major championship belts (IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO) in a division. You'll notice in the above list that Taylor now has four. He merged his IBF and WBA belts with Jose Ramirez's WBC and WBO titles in Las Vegas to become the undisputed light-welterweight champion of the world.
During the four-belt era, there have now been five undisputed champions in men's boxing: Oleksandr Usyk (cruiserweight), Bernard Hopkins (middleweight), Jermain Taylor (middleweight), Terence Crawford (junior welterweight) and Josh Taylor (also junior welter).
So, Taylor's achievement means he and Crawford are the first fighters to do the four-belt haul in the same weight. Though Crawford currently competes one division up at welterweight, he and Taylor's mutual achievements have led to a lot of interest in a huge showdown between the two. And both men have expressed an interest in doing exactly that, one day.
On the women's side, there have been five undisputed champions, with three currently holding all four belts:
- Lightweight: Katie Taylor
- Welterweight: Jessica McCaskill
- Light-middleweight: Claressa Shields
Previously, Cecilia Brækhus held all four 147-pound titles before losing them to McCaskill in August, and Shields has also achieved undisputed status at middleweight.
Has 'undisputed' always meant four belts? When did the four-belt era begin?
There was of course a time when weight classes had one world champion, and that was it. The sport eventually ended up with two recognised titles, then three, and now four.
Here's a brief timeline of the changes:
- 1922–1963, a boxer who held both the NYSAC and NBA (WBA) world titles simultaneously
- 1963–1983, a boxer who held both the WBA and WBC world titles simultaneously
- 1983–2007, a boxer who held the WBA, WBC, and IBF world titles simultaneously
- 2007–present, a boxer who holds the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO world titles simultaneously
So, the 'four-belt' era began in 2007, but fighters of yesteryear including Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Rocky Marciano, Roy Jones Jr. and more are nonetheless former undisputed champions of the world.
Who will be the next undisputed champion?
At one point, we looked set to have three men's fights for all four belts in a weight class. Taylor vs. Ramirez was one, and of course did indeed crown an undisputed champ. But, who may be next?
After a tumultuous week in the heavyweight boxing scene, it doesn't look like the next undisputed champ will land on August 14 after all. Tyson Fury says he will indeed give Deontay Wilder his trilogy fight after the American won arbitration over the rematch clause that appeared to fizzle out during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Anthony Joshua looks set to defend his belts against WBO mandatory Oleksandr Usyk in the meantime, and maybe the undisputed situation can be revisited at the end of 2021.
So, the overwhelming favourite to become boxing's next undisputed champion is Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, and the second favourite is Caleb Plant. Canelo now holds all the super-middleweight belts except one: Plant's IBF crown. The two are expected to agree to a full unification for September, in which pound-for-pound king Canelo will enter as the bookmakers' pick.
Does 'The Ring' championship count towards undisputed?
No. For now, The Ring magazine's version of the title, while a prestigious title, remains outside of the criteria. Because of its attempts to stick to the lineal timeline of titleholders (you have to beat the champion to be the champion) for the most part, it nonetheless remains a coveted belt by most fighters.
And, of course, the light-welterweight/super-lightweight version also belongs to Josh Taylor right now. If you count the belts in the image above, you'll see all five: WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF and The Ring.