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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Right now we have a new-look landscape with two-time undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk no longer in the title picture after giving all his belts up. Meanwhile Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are also without championship belts as they try to nail down their long-awaited superfight.
The titles are all up for grabs with a new generation of contenders and pretenders fighting it out for the biggest prizes in fight sports.
The current heavyweight boxing world champions
WBC champion: Agit Kabayel
The new king is undefeated German star Agit Kabayel (27-0) after he was handed the vacant title when Usyk gave up the hallowed green and gold strap.
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The 33-year-old Kabayel has been impressive in recent times with terrific wins over Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang. But now he will need to test himself against today’s heavyweight elite.
He is expected to make his first defence before the end of 2026 – with a date and opponent still to be officially announced.
IBF champion: Filip Hrgovic
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 new champion though is giant Croat Filip Hrgovic, who produced an incredible display of heart and guts to burst the Moses Itauma bubble in August 2026.
Hrgovic showed he has a granite chin by eating some fearsome Itauma shots and he arguably lost all of the completed rounds before stopping an exhausted Moses in Round 9.
It was stunning stuff, and showed why Hrgovic has been so avoided in recent years. He may not be pretty to watch but he has power, he has smarts and he has an unbelievable chin. A formidable recipe for success.
WBA champion: Murat Gassiev
Russian star Gassiev (34-2) is the current WBA champion and defended his title successfully with a win over Peter Kadiru in July.
Gassiev though has yet to be really tested at heavyweight after stepping up from cruiser, and it will be fascinating to see whether he can handle the elevation in class.
There is no date or opponent set yet for his next title defence.
WBO champion: Daniel Dubois
Daniel Dubois is now a two-time world heavyweight champion after stopping Fabio Wardley in a Manchester slugfest on May 9, 2026.
The powerful Londonder was back to his devastating best as he ended the fairytale rise of the Ipswich fighter in a gripping encounter.
Dubois was on the deck in the very first round but somehow survived and roared back to dominate a sensational fight. It was only Wardley’s incredible chin which carried the bout into the closing stages, but eventually ‘Dynamite’ lived up to his name by closing the show in Round 11.
The bout will next be on the line on October 17 in London when Dubois and Wardley rematch. Should be another beauty.
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 and overcoming Verhoeven in May 2026.
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 before returning to stop Verhoeven in Egypt.
We now wait to see who Usyk will face when the Ring belt goes up for grabs once again.
Undisputed world heavyweight champion
Boxing currently has no undisputed heavyweight champion – Usyk lost that moniker when he vacated the WBO title in 2026. He has though scaled this mountain twice in the last two years after nobody had achieved the previous feat in the quarter of a century before that.
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.
‘The Gypsy King’ is back in action and recently returned by outpointing Arslanbek Makhmudov in London and then easily defeating Mariusz Wach in Thailand. It is hoped his next bout will be that long-awaited Joshua blockbuster.
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.
AJ is expected to face Fury in the second half of 2026 but struggled early in his recent showdown with Albanian underdog Kristan Prenga in Saudi. Not the most auspicious of evenings for AJ.
With four sanctioning bodies plus Ring magazine, as ever it’s a complex picture. The simplest answer though is that Oleksandr Usyk is the widely recognised champion.
Joshua (now 30-4 with 27 knockouts) is a two-time world heavyweight champion but as of now he holds no titles. We have him ranked at number 8 in our current list.
Fury holds no world titles or belts right now – he lost his WBC and lineal title in his first meeting vs Usyk in May 2024.
Putting one era against another ignites the best of debates. Usyk absolutely would be in our top 10 of all-time heavyweight greats, and maybe even our top 5. But best ever? That’s quite a call.
