In professional boxing, the cruiserweight division, also known as junior heavyweight, sits between the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. Before the creation of the current cruiserweight class, the terms "light heavyweight" and "cruiserweight" were occasionally used in the UK interchangeably.
It took many years for the "tweener divisions," or newer weight categories, to be fully accepted as legitimate weight categories in boxing. These categories are typically identified with the words "super," "light," or "junior" in front of their names.
In four of the tweener divisions - super bantamweight, super featherweight, light welterweight, and light middleweight - Manny Pacquiao has won world titles.
Boxing Cruiserweight Overview
The division's weight restriction is 200 pounds (90.7 kg; 14 st 4.0 lb), though 190 pounds was the initial weight restriction (86.2 kg; 13 st 8.0 lb). Smaller heavyweight boxers who couldn't compete with the division's expanding size were given space in the division when it was created.
While many legendary heavyweight champions, including Rocky Marciano and Joe Louis, competed at around 190 pounds, by the 1970s, it had become fairly common for healthy heavyweight boxers to weigh at least 210 pounds (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb).
Many boxing officials believed it was unfair to put men between the weights of 176 pounds (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb) and 190 pounds (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) in the ring with these bigger opponents.
History of the Cruiserweight Class in Pro Boxing
When the World Boxing Council (WBC) sanctioned a match between Marvin Camel and Mate Parlov for their version of the cruiserweight title on December 8, 1979, it became the first boxing organization to recognize the division. The first cruiserweight champion, Camel, won the rematch in March 1980 after the first fight ended in a draw.
When Ossie Ocasio defeated South African Robbie Williams in 1982, the World Boxing Association (WBA) recognized him as their first cruiserweight champion, even though the WBA at the time referred to the weight class as "junior heavyweight."
In 1983, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) adopted a similar strategy when it pitted Rick Sekorski against Marvin Camel, an ex-WBC champion, for their first championship. As the first IBF cruiserweight champion, Camel triumphed.
After winning world championships at cruiserweight, several boxers moved up to heavyweight. The first boxer to unify the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles to become the undisputed champion was Evander Holyfield, who in 1988 advanced to the heavyweight division.
List of current Pro Boxing Cruiserweight Champions
| Division/ Weight | WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | IBO |
| Cruiserweight | Gilberto Ramirez | Noel Mikaelian | Jai Opetaia | Chris Billam-Smith | Yves Ngabu |
Latest Results from Cruiserweight Pro Boxing
Jai Opetaia defeated Mairis Briedis via a unanimous decision on August 10, 2024.
Chris Billam-Smith beat Richard Riakporhe via a unanimous decision on June 15, 2024.
Pro Boxing Cruiserweight Rankings 2024
| Rank | BoxRec | TBRB | The Ring | WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO |
| C | — | Jai Opetaia | Jai Opetaia | Gilberto Ramírez | Noel Mikaelian | Jai Opetaia | Chris Billam-Smith |
| 1 | Gilberto Ramírez | Mairis Briedis | Lawrence Okolie | Yuniel Dorticos | Ryan Rozicki | Huseyin Cinkara | Chris Billam-Smith |
| 2 | Chris Billam-Smith | Lawrence Okolie | Mairis Briedis | Aleksei Egorov | Yamil Peralta | vacant | Richard Riakporhe |
| 3 | Jai Opetaia | Badou Jack | Yuniel Dorticos | Cheavon Clarke | Michał Cieślak | Michał Cieślak | Yuniel Dorticos |
| 4 | Norair Mikaeljan | Richard Riakporhe | Badou Jack | Huseyin Cinkara | Arsen Goulamirian | Mairis Briedis | Michał Cieślak |
| 5 | Richard Riakporhe | Alexei Papin | Ilunga Makabu | Arsen Goulamirian | Ilunga Makabu | Mateusz Masternak | Mateusz Masternak |
| 6 | Lawrence Okolie | Chris Billam-Smith | Richard Riakporhe | Joe Smith Jr. | Thabiso Mchunu | Yves Ngabu | David Light |
| 7 | Yves Ngabu | Yuniel Dorticos | Alexei Papin | Mairis Briedis | Marcus Browne | Cheavon Clarke | Richard Rivera |
| 8 | Ryan Rozicki | Ilunga Makabu | Arsen Goulamirian | Ryan Rozicki | Yves Ngabu | Issac Chamberlain | Sergey Kovalev |
| 9 | Joe Smith Jr. | Mateusz Masternak | Mateusz Masterna | Issac Chamberlain | Brandon Glanton | Krzystof Wlodarczyk | Andrew Tabiti |
| 10 | Ilunga Makabu | Arsen Goulamirian | Chris Billam-Smith | Brandon Glanton | Joe Smith Jr. | Marcus Browne | Mairis Briedis |
Pro-Boxing Weight Divisions
- Light heavyweight
- Super middleweight
- Middleweight
- Super Welterweight
- Welterweight
- Super Lightweight
- Lightweight
FAQs On Pro-Boxing Cruiserweight
A. The cruiserweight division (200 lbs - 90.72 kg) is a weight class that sits between the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.
A. The cruiserweight division was created to provide a space for smaller heavyweight boxers.
A. As of August 2024, Jai Opetaia is ranked the best cruiserweight by three different organizations.
A. Jai Opetaia is of Australian nationality.
