With the end of the six year, ten month reign of former WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. on Saturday night, the longest currently reigning world champion in boxing is now WBA minimumweight Thammanoon Niyimtrong (also known as Knockout CP Freshmart), who has held his title for five years, seven months.
Other longest-reigning champions (at one weight) are:
Jerwin Ancajas – five years, four months
Leo Santa Cruz – five years
Errol Spence – four years, eight months
Dmitry Bivol – four years, two months
Artur Beterbiev – four years, two months
Leo Santa Cruz has been champion at featherweight for five years, but has not fought at the weight in three years and his next fight won’t be at featherweight either.
Not an impressive list. Very few title defenses against quality opposition. Not too long ago we had guys like Hopkins and Klitsco who defended their titles numerous times. Why is Tyson fury not on this list? It seems like he has been a champ for almost a decade.
Gotta hand it to Knockout CP Freshmart, it can’t be easy making weight in the smallest division for five years.
Shouldn’t have to-ridiculous that flyweights divided into three divisions.
I get your point and it does seem ridiculous to have 112 and then 108 and then 105 (and then 102 for women at atomweight), but I’ve seen some fighters who’re too small to fight at flyweight. Ricardo Lopez, for example, if he had to fight people like Arbachakov and Pacquiao, we probably never would have seen how good he could be and he was a genius. DeeJay Kriel is another one, who is fighting now – probably too small to compete at 108 against world class fighters.
Beterbiev has been a world champion longer than Dmitry Bivol and I would argue should probably at the top of that list. It seems like he’s been IBF champion forever.
Where was Hagler?Tom Johnson?
Calazage?
If you count the interim world title, CP Freshmart has actually been a world champion for seven years and four months. Also, he’s one of the only boxers whose every fight to date has been for a title.
He had a really good career as a muay thai fighter before he came over as well. One of the best ever, already, to make that transition.