Open Boxing

WBO featherweight world title

Covers world title bouts since 1989. Current champion: Rafael Espinoza, since 9th Dec 2023.

World title bouts
88
Champions
22
Longest reign (Naseem Hamed, 1995–2000)
5 years
Most successful defences in one reign (Naseem Hamed, 1995–2000)
15

Current champion

Rafael EspinozaSince 9th Dec 2023 · 2 years, 11 months · 5 successful defences

Reigns and world title bouts

Jan 2022 – Jan 2027

WBO
Emanuel NavarreteRobeisy RamirezRafael Espinoza
AprJulOct2023AprJulOct2024AprJulOct2025AprJulOct2026AprJulOct2027
1990200020102020

World title bout

Reigns by length

  1. 1Naseem HamedWBO1995–20005 years · 15 successful defences
  2. 2Oscar ValdezWBO2016–20193 years · 6 successful defences
  3. 3Scott HarrisonWBO2003–20063 years · 5 successful defences
  4. 4Rafael EspinozaWBO2023–present2 years, 11 months · 5 successful defences
  5. 5Steve LuevanoWBO2007–20102 years, 6 months · 4 successful defences
  6. 6Steve RobinsonWBO1993–19952 years, 5 months · 7 successful defences
  7. 7Emanuel NavarreteWBO2020–20232 years, 4 months · 3 successful defences
  8. 8Vasyl LomachenkoWBO2014–20162 years, 1 month · 3 successful defences
  9. 9Orlando SalidoWBO2011–20131 year, 9 months · 2 successful defences
  10. 10Julio Pablo ChaconWBO2001–20021 year, 4 months · 2 successful defences
  11. 11Maurizio SteccaWBO1991–19921 year, 3 months · 2 successful defences
  12. 12Juan Manuel LopezWBO2010–20111 year, 2 months · 2 successful defences
  13. 13Jorge PaezWBO1990–19919 months · 0 successful defences
  14. 14Maurizio SteccaWBO1989–19899 months · 1 successful defence
  15. 15Scott HarrisonWBO2002–20038 months · 1 successful defence
  16. 16Shakur StevensonWBO2019–20208 months · 0 successful defences
  17. 17Robeisy RamirezWBO2023–20238 months · 1 successful defence
  18. 18Louie EspinozaWBO1989–19904 months · 0 successful defences
  19. 19Mikey GarciaWBO2013–20134 months · 0 successful defences
  20. 20Istvan KovacsWBO2001–20014 months · 0 successful defences
  21. 21Manuel MedinaWBO2003–20034 months · 0 successful defences
  22. 22Orlando SalidoWBO2013–20144 months · 0 successful defences
  23. 23Colin McMillanWBO1992–19924 months · 0 successful defences
  24. 24Juan Manuel MarquezWBO2006–20073 months · 0 successful defences
  25. 25Ruben Dario PalacioWBO1992–19933 months · 0 successful defences

Timeline of world title events

  1. 1989

  2. Maurizio Stecca beats Pedro Nolasco via corner retirement 6/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  3. Maurizio Stecca beats Angel Mayor via knockout 9/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  4. Louie Espinoza beats Maurizio Stecca via knockout 7/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  1. 1990

  2. Jorge Paez beats Louie Espinoza via split decision 12/12

    Featherweight · IBF and WBONew WBO champion

  3. Jorge Paez and Troy Dorsey draw via split decision 12/12

    Featherweight · IBF and WBO

  4. 1991

  5. Jorge Paez’s reign as the WBO featherweight world champion ends

    Featherweight · WBO

  6. Maurizio Stecca beats Armando Juan Reyes via knockout 5/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  7. Maurizio Stecca beats Fernando Ramos via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  8. Maurizio Stecca beats Tim Driscoll via corner retirement 9/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  9. 1992

  10. Colin McMillan beats Maurizio Stecca via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  11. Ruben Dario Palacio beats Colin McMillan via knockout 8/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  12. 1993

  13. Ruben Dario Palacio’s reign as the WBO featherweight world champion ends

    Featherweight · WBO

  14. Steve Robinson beats John Davison via split decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  15. Steve Robinson beats Sean Murphy via knockout 9/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  16. Steve Robinson beats Colin McMillan via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  17. 1994

  18. Steve Robinson beats Paul Hodkinson via knockout 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  19. Steve Robinson beats Freddy Cruz via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  20. Steve Robinson beats Duke McKenzie via knockout 9/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  21. 1995

  22. Steve Robinson beats Domingo Nicolas Damigella via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  23. Steve Robinson beats Pedro Ferradas via knockout 9/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  24. Naseem Hamed beats Steve Robinson via knockout 8/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  25. 1996

  26. Naseem Hamed beats Said Lawal via knockout 1/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  27. Naseem Hamed beats Daniel Alicea via knockout 2/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  28. Naseem Hamed beats Manuel Medina via knockout 11/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  29. Naseem Hamed beats Remigio Daniel Molina via knockout 2/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  30. 1997

  31. Naseem Hamed beats Tom Johnson via knockout 8/12

    Featherweight · IBF and WBO

  32. Naseem Hamed beats Billy Hardy via knockout 1/12

    Featherweight · IBF and WBO

  33. Naseem Hamed beats Juan Gerardo Cabrera via knockout 2/12

    Featherweight · IBF and WBO

  34. Naseem Hamed beats Jose Badillo via knockout 7/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  35. Naseem Hamed beats Kevin Kelley via knockout 4/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  36. 1998

  37. Naseem Hamed beats Wilfredo Vazquez via knockout 7/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  38. Naseem Hamed beats Wayne McCullough via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  39. 1999

  40. Naseem Hamed beats Paul Ingle via knockout 11/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  41. Naseem Hamed beats Cesar Soto via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBC and WBO

  1. 2000

  2. Naseem Hamed beats Vuyani Bungu via knockout 4/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  3. Naseem Hamed beats Augie Sanchez via knockout 4/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  4. Naseem Hamed’s reign as the WBO featherweight world champion ends

    Featherweight · WBO

  5. 2001

  6. Istvan Kovacs beats Antonio Diaz via knockout 12/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  7. Julio Pablo Chacon beats Istvan Kovacs via knockout 6/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  8. Julio Pablo Chacon beats Edward Barrios via knockout 5/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  9. 2002

  10. Julio Pablo Chacon beats Victor Polo via split decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  11. Scott Harrison beats Julio Pablo Chacon via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  12. 2003

  13. Scott Harrison beats Wayne McCullough via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  14. Manuel Medina beats Scott Harrison via split decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  15. Scott Harrison beats Manuel Medina via knockout 11/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  16. 2004

  17. Scott Harrison beats Walter Estrada via knockout 5/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  18. Scott Harrison beats William Abelyan via knockout 3/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  19. Scott Harrison beats Samuel Kebede via knockout 1/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  20. 2005

  21. Scott Harrison and Victor Polo draw via split decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  22. Scott Harrison beats Michael Brodie via knockout 4/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  23. Scott Harrison beats Nedal Hussein via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  24. 2006

  25. Scott Harrison’s reign as the WBO featherweight world champion ends

    Featherweight · WBO

    Juan Manuel Marquez becomes the WBO featherweight world champion

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  26. 2007

  27. Juan Manuel Marquez’s reign as the WBO featherweight world champion ends

    Featherweight · WBO

  28. Steve Luevano beats Nicky Cook via knockout 11/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  29. Steve Luevano beats Antonio Davis via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  30. 2008

  31. Steve Luevano beats Terdsak Jandaeng via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  32. Steve Luevano and Mario Santiago draw via split decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  33. Steve Luevano beats Billy Dib via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  34. 2009

  35. Steve Luevano beats Bernabe Concepcion via disqualification 7/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  1. 2010

  2. Juan Manuel Lopez beats Steve Luevano via knockout 7/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  3. Juan Manuel Lopez beats Bernabe Concepcion via knockout 2/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  4. Juan Manuel Lopez beats Rafael Marquez via corner retirement 8/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  5. 2011

  6. Orlando Salido beats Juan Manuel Lopez via knockout 8/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  7. Orlando Salido beats Kenichi Yamaguchi via knockout 11/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  8. 2012

  9. Orlando Salido beats Juan Manuel Lopez via knockout 10/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  10. 2013

  11. Mikey Garcia beats Orlando Salido via technical decision 8/12

    Featherweight · WBO and The RingNew WBO champion

  12. Mikey Garcia’s reign as the WBO featherweight world champion ends

    Featherweight · WBO

  13. Mikey Garcia beats Juan Manuel Lopez via knockout 4/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  14. Orlando Salido beats Orlando Cruz via knockout 7/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  15. 2014

  16. Orlando Salido’s reign as the WBO featherweight world champion ends

    Featherweight · WBO

  17. Orlando Salido beats Vasyl Lomachenko via split decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  18. Vasyl Lomachenko beats Gary Russell Jr via majority decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  19. Vasyl Lomachenko beats Suriya Tatakhun via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  20. 2015

  21. Vasyl Lomachenko beats Gamalier Rodriguez via knockout 9/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  22. Vasyl Lomachenko beats Romulo Koasicha via knockout 10/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  23. 2016

  24. Vasyl Lomachenko’s reign as the WBO featherweight world champion ends

    Featherweight · WBO

  25. Oscar Valdez beats Matias Carlos Adrian Rueda via knockout 2/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  26. Oscar Valdez beats Hiroshige Osawa via knockout 7/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  27. 2017

  28. Oscar Valdez beats Miguel Marriaga via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  29. Oscar Valdez beats Genesis Servania via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  30. 2018

  31. Oscar Valdez beats Scott Quigg via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  32. 2019

  33. Oscar Valdez beats Carmine Tommasone via knockout 7/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  34. Oscar Valdez beats Jason Sanchez via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  35. Oscar Valdez’s reign as the WBO featherweight world champion ends

    Featherweight · WBO

  36. Shakur Stevenson beats Joet Gonzalez via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  1. 2020

  2. Shakur Stevenson’s reign as the WBO featherweight world champion ends

    Featherweight · WBO

  3. Emanuel Navarrete beats Ruben Villa via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  4. 2021

  5. Emanuel Navarrete beats Christopher Diaz via knockout 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  6. Emanuel Navarrete beats Joet Gonzalez via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  7. 2022

  8. Emanuel Navarrete beats Eduardo Baez via knockout 6/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  9. 2023

  10. Emanuel Navarrete’s reign as the WBO featherweight world champion ends

    Featherweight · WBO

  11. Robeisy Ramirez beats Isaac Dogboe via unanimous decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  12. Robeisy Ramirez beats Satoshi Shimizu via technical knockout 5/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  13. Rafael Espinoza beats Robeisy Ramirez via majority decision 12/12

    Featherweight · WBONew champion

  14. 2024

  15. Rafael Espinoza beats Sergio Chirino Sanchez via technical knockout 4/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  16. Rafael Espinoza beats Robeisy Ramirez via technical knockout 6/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  17. 2025

  18. Rafael Espinoza beats Edward Vazquez via technical knockout 7/12

    Featherweight · WBO

  19. Rafael Espinoza beats Arnold Khegai via corner retirement 11/12

    Featherweight · WBO

    Source: Rafael “El Divino” Espinoza Dominates Arnold Khegai, Retains WBO Featherweight Title via TKO(opens in a new tab), World Boxing Organization,

    1 more reference

  20. 2026

  21. Rafael Espinoza beats Ricardo Blandon via technical knockout 3/12

    Featherweight · WBO

    Source: Canelo vs. Mbilli Results: Live updates of the undercard and main event(opens in a new tab), MMA Fighting, Bryan Tucker,