The fight game’s complex political landscape means even some fight fans struggle to name the current world heavyweight boxing champions.
There are four accepted major governing bodies which each has a world heavyweight champion – the World Boxing Council (WBC), the World Boxing Association (WBA), the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and the World Boxing Organization (WBO).
Add to that the Ring magazine championship – awarded by publication which is widely perceived to be ‘the bible of boxing’ – and the beltless but still important ‘lineal’ championship, and it’s easy to see why people might become confused.
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There is no doubt about who reigns supreme as the best heavyweight on the planet thought. That would be Oleksandr Usyk after those two brilliant wins over Tyson Fury in 2024 and a dominant demolition of Daniel Dubois at Wembley on July 19.
That latest win also saw Usyk become undisputed heavyweight champion for a second time.
The current heavyweight boxing world champions
WBC champion: Oleksandr Usyk
Oleksandr Usyk (24-0) claimed the hallowed green WBC title from Tyson Fury with an epic victory over ‘The Gypsy King’ in their massive unification showdown in Riyadh on May 18, 2024. He then retained it with a brilliant success in their rematch on December 21.
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If we thought Usyk was great in those two epic tussles, he might have been even better still in his latest outing – that fifth-round KO of Daniel Dubois at Wembley on July 19.
That not only saw the 38-year-old Ukrainian retain his WBC title, he also became undisputed heavyweight king for a second time in 14 months. It’s his world, we are just living in it.
The hallowed WBC title will be on the line when Usyk makes his next defence. Trilogy fights vs Fury or Anthony Joshua are both potential matchups for that.
IBF champion: Oleksandr Usyk
The International Boxing Federation was founded in 1983 and is based in New Jersey. It provided Anthony Joshua with his first world heavyweight title back in 2016. AJ stopped American Charles Martin inside two rounds at London’s O2 Arena. It was only his 16th professional fight.
The current champion is Oleksandr Usyk, who deposed Daniel Dubois with an epic beatdown in front of 90,000 fans at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium on Saturday July 19, 2025.
British veteran Dereck Chisora is currently the mandatory contender for the belt, but the IBF has also now ordered an eliminator pitting Filip Hrgovic vs Frank Sanchez.
The IBF belt will next be on the line when Usyk makes his first title defence.
WBA champion: Oleksandr Usyk
The current WBA world heavyweight champion is Usyk, who claimed the belt from Joshua in 2021 and has since made five successful defences – culminating in the win over Dubois in July 2025.
The new mandatory contender for the WBA title is Britain’s Fabio Wardley, who unleashed a punch from the heavens to knock out Justis Huni in Round 10 of their showdown in Ipswich.
Wardley appeared to be on the way to a convincing defeat before that one beautiful right hand closed the show, and the former white collar fighter is now on the brink of a fairytale world title shot.
WBO champion: Oleksandr Usyk
Usyk won the WBO title in September 2021 with that terrific performance to dethrone Joshua in front of a crowd of more than 67,000 fans in London. And since then he has made five successful defences.
The WBO belt will be on the line next when Usyk returns to action again, likely in late 2025 or early 2026.
Lineal champion: Oleksandr Usyk
The title of lineal heavyweight champion is the one most respected by hardcore fight fans.
The lineal champion in boxing is “the man who beat the man”. This avoids the confusion caused by fighters vacating some or all of their belts, or being stripped of them.
The current lineal world heavyweight champion is Oleksandr Usyk, who dethroned Fury with that brilliant victory in Riyadh in May 2024. He retained it by prevailing in the December rematch and then again by dominating Dubois in July 2025.
The lineal title will be on the line again for Usyk’s next fight.
Ring magazine champion: Oleksandr Usyk
The Ring magazine world heavyweight title is worthy of mention due to the standing the belt. It is a form of lineal title – and the publication itself is still revered in boxing circles.
The current title holder is Oleksandr Usyk, who claimed the title with that victory over Joshua in their Saudi Arabia rematch in August 2022. That fight came just days after previous champion Fury had confirmed he was vacating the title. Usyk then successfully defended the strap against Dubois and then Fury twice. He then smashed up Dubois for a second time to remain Ring king.
We now wait to see who Usyk will face when the Ring belt goes up for grabs once again.
Undisputed world heavyweight champion
For the second time in just over a year, Oleksandr Usyk is boxing’s undisputed world heavyweight champion. This after a 25-year wait since Lennox Lewis annexed all the belts way back in 1999.
It remains to be seen how long Usyk will remain undisputed with boxing’s politics playing a big part in the title picture.
What belts does Tyson Fury have?
Fury has no world title belts – he lost his WBC belt and the moniker of lineal champion in the defeat by Usyk. Tyson is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having topped the mountain in 2015 with a win over Wladimir Klitschko and then that demolition of Deontay Wilder in 2020.
What belts does Anthony Joshua have?
Right now, Joshua has no belts. He is a two-time heavyweight champion – and on both occasions he held the IBF, WBA and WBO versions. He lost the titles to Andy Ruiz in 2019 before regaining them in a rematch in December of that year. Then he lost them a second time to Usyk in September 2021.
He failed in his bid to become a three-time world heavyweight champion when he was knocked out by Dubois in September 2024.
