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Boxing is one of the most popular and brutal sports in the world and becoming a world champion is a daunting task. It takes a very high level of dedication to win a world title. However, in recent times, a lot of organisations like IBO, IBA, WBF have emerged that crown their own champions and as a result, there are multiple world champions across weight classes.
Nonetheless, there are just four major organisations where winning a title means becoming a respected and recognised champion, namely WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF. Although it's much easier to become a world champion now than it was a few decades ago, it's an extremely rare feat to have siblings becoming world champions.
Here is a list of three sets of siblings who both became world champions.
#3 Jermell and Jermall Charlo
Jermell and Jermall Charlo are twins based out of Houston, Texas. Both brothers are widely regarded as the best boxers in their respective weight classes.
Jermell Charlo became the WBC super welterweight champion back in 2016 when he knocked out John Jackson in the 8th round. He has been a professional for 12 years now and has a professional record of 32-1-0, with his only loss coming to Tony Harrison last year when he lost his world title. He is scheduled to fight him again in a rematch on December 21 at the Toyota Arena in Ontario.
Jermall Charlo, who currently fights in the middleweight division, was also a world champion in the super-welterweight division. He held the IBF title which he had won back in 2015 with his knockout win over Cornelius Bundrage. Since then, he defended his title three times before ultimately dropping them in 2017 when he moved up to middleweight division. He made his professional debut back in 2008 and has since amassed a professional record of 29-0-0.
#2 Anthony and Andre Dirrell
The Flint, Michigan natives Anthony Dirrell and Andre Dirrell is another example of brothers who became world champions. Anthony is a two-time WBC super middleweight champion. He won the world title for the first time back in 2014 when he defeated Sakio Bika via unanimous decision at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in a highly-anticipated super-middleweight clash.
Anthony made his professional debut back in 2005 following a successful stint at the 2004 Athens Olympic games where he won a Bronze medal. He most recently fought against David Benavidez in September, where he was knocked out in the ninth round. He has a professional record of 33-2-1.
Like his brother, Andre Dirrell also held a world title in the super middleweight division. Having made his professional debut in 2005, he quickly rose through the ranks beating regional champions and ultimately got a shot at the world title in just his 18th fight. He fought WBC super-middleweight champion Carl Froch in 2009. In a highly entertaining back-and-forth action, Andre lost the fight via a razor-thin split decision.
He then again challenged for the world title in 2015 against the IBF champion James DeGale. This time also he was denied the chance of becoming a world champion as he lost to DeGale via unanimous decision. He ultimately became a champion in his third attempt when he fought Jose Uzcatehui for the vacant IBF super-middleweight title in 2017. He won the fight via DQ. He has a professional record of 26-3-0.
#1 Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko
The Ukrainian heavyweights Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko were the most dominant heavyweight boxers of the 21st century.
Vitali Klitschko made his professional debut in 1996 and it didn't take long for his presence to be felt in the heavyweight division. He won his first title in 1999 when he fought British heavyweight star Herbie Hide. He knocked out Hide in the second round to win the WBO world heavyweight title.
However, he lost his title in 2000 to American star Christopher Cornelius Byrd. Vitali was dominating the fight for most part but in the ninth round, he tore his rotator cuff and had to retire on the stool. He was ahead on all the judges' scorecards. His second loss came to British boxing superstar Lennox Lewis in 2003, which was the biggest fight of the year. The fight had to be stopped in between rounds six and seven after a cut on Klitschko's right eye. He then went on to dominate all his fights for the remainder of his career and retired in 2012 with a 45-2-0 (41 KOs).
Vitali's younger brother Wladimir was also an exceptionally talented heavyweight boxer. After winning a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in the super-heavyweight category, Wladimir turned professional almost immediately and quickly rose to the top of the ranks. He won his first world title on 14th October, 2000, when he defeated Chris Bryd via unanimous decision and also avenged his brother's loss to Bryd six months ago.
Klitschko retired in 2017 after losing to British superstar Anthony Joshua in a blockbuster mega event. In that fight, Klitschko was knocked out in the eleventh round. The fight broke British boxing PPV records and it sold a staggering 1.5 Million buys. Wladimir also holds the record for the longest cumulative heavyweight title reign. He remained champion for 4382 days and defeated 23 opponents in the process.
He retired with a record of 64-5-0 (53 KOs).
