Transitional World Champions

[Ruthless-RKO]

In other words, 'Paper' world champions.

Boxers who we know held a world title, where it was just to eventually lose to a better boxer.

It usually happens whern a weight class is going through a period of change.

Charles Martin

Bermane Stiverne

Jeff Horn

Some recent ones that come to mind.

I'm sure there's plenty.

[stujones]

Depends if you count the WBA regular belt

Then you would have the likes of Fielding, Brian Magee and the WBA Heavyweight champions.

I guess in the truest sense of the word you would have fighters who were "upgraded" to full status - the likes of Hasim Rahman in his second reign. The guy who beat him Oleg Maskaev and the guy who beat him Samuel Peter were clearly also not in the top of the division.

Indeed - there have been a field full of heavyweights over the last twenty years who would fit that bill really......

Byrd, Ruiz, Peters, Liakhovich, Briggs, Ibragimov, Maskaev, Valuev, Holyfield (final reign), Chagaev, Parker - might even be a tad cruel and say Haye and Jones Jnr also - but never truly tested themselves against the upper echolons consistently at heavyweight.

I wouldn't necessarily call a fighter who upset the number 1 in the division, who then comes again to regain the title a transitional champion - so whilst they weren't great I wouldn't call Horn or Ruiz Jnr a transitional champion, just a tad lucky.

From the UK side of things - obviously fighters that spring to mind are - Paul Weir, Eamonn Loughran, Paul Silky Jones, Clinton Woods, Glenn McCory, Terry Flanaghan, Anthony Crolla, Andy Lee.

[milpool]

Buster Douglas, he was always going to come up short against Evander Holyfield.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I wouldn't necessarily call a fighter who upset the number 1 in the division, who then comes again to regain the title a transitional champion - so whilst they weren't great I wouldn't call Horn or Ruiz Jnr a transitional champion, just a tad lucky.

I think the reason I said Horn, is that we knew Crawford was moving up anytime soon and with WBO's ruling..

Maybe Horn was given the gift, so he could be fed to TC instead of Pac.

[lefthook82]

Gavin Rees.

[Foggy]

Carlos Maussa

Eric Aiken

[Teddy's Toupee]

Frank Maloney.

[margaret thatcher]

Frank Maloney.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Buster Douglas, he was always going to come up short against Evander Holyfield.

Basically won the belt to hand it to Holyfield. Without Tyson-Holyfield having to fight.

[margaret thatcher]

i dont think he was supposed to win the belt at all

[Ruthless-RKO]

i dont think he was supposed to win the belt at all

There was a lot of people in that category.

[mickey1975]

i dont think he was supposed to win the belt at all

There was a lot of people in that category.

Yes, everyone!

[margaret thatcher]

i dont think he was supposed to win the belt at all

There was a lot of people in that category.

ya, for sure. but do you mean fighters who won belts just so they could be set up to lose them? cuz in that case, there was obviously no set up, since no one thought douglas would beat tyson

but not doubt that dougals's reign was just a transition from one superstar to the next

[Ruthless-RKO]

i dont think he was supposed to win the belt at all

There was a lot of people in that category.

ya, for sure. but do you mean fighters who won belts just so they could be set up to lose them? cuz in that case, there was obviously no set up, since no one thought douglas would beat tyson

but not doubt that dougals's reign was just a transition from one superstar to the next

This.

I guess it’s how you see it.

[bennie]

Ken Norton was a transitional world heavyweight champion in that he was awarded the WBC belt when Leon Spinks signed to defend against Muhammad Ali. Norton then lost the belt in his first defence after 15 thrilling rounds with Larry Holmes.

[DrDuke]

Recently there are a lot of them. The HW situation of the mid 2000s illustrates this well.

In the past there were Marvin Hart, Ernie Terrell, guys of the 80s (when Holmes was the man).

[lefthook82]

Luis Collazo

[margaret thatcher]

speaking of transition, whats the most that a title has changed hands consecutively

the super wba title at 154 has now gone:

lara.....hurd.....williams.....rosario....charlo all in a row

[mickey1975]

speaking of transition, whats the most that a title has changed hands consecutively

the super wba title at 154 has now gone:

lara.....hurd.....williams.....rosario....charlo all in a row

British super feather was cursed. Bennie will fill you in on the details!

[bennie]

speaking of transition, whats the most that a title has changed hands consecutively

the super wba title at 154 has now gone:

lara.....hurd.....williams.....rosario....charlo all in a row

British super feather was cursed. Bennie will fill you in on the details!

The WBC flyweight title was jinxed for a while in the early 1980s. Prudencio Cardona, Freddy Castillo, Eleoncio Mercedes, Charlie Magri, Frank Cedeno and Koji Kobayashi all won the title successively and then lost it in their first defence. The British super-featherweight title was jinxed in exactly the same way for eight long years. Southpaw Welshman Neil Haddock finally brought the jinx to an end in July 1993 when he made a successful first defence against Manchester's Steve Walker. I was convinced that the talented Walker would keep the run going.

[margaret thatcher]

6 in a row... i think that's a record so far!

[Boxing Prospect]

speaking of transition, whats the most that a title has changed hands consecutively

the super wba title at 154 has now gone:

lara.....hurd.....williams.....rosario....charlo all in a row

One that's pretty bad is the IBF 122. It's has had 13 champions (14 reigns) since 2006 with: (listed next to defense)
Vazquez - 2
Molitor (twice) -4/1
Caballero -2
Ndlovu -1
Mathebula - 0
Donaire - 0
Romero -0
Martinez - 2
Frampton -3
Guzman-0
Oguni -0
Iwasa - 1
Doheny -1
Akhmadaliev -1*

At a domestic level the Japanese 105 had 5 straight champions fail to defend (though some vacated)

[Foggy]

The IBF super featherweight title was like a hot potato 10 or so years ago with Fana, Klassan, st Clair and Baloyi passing the strap around