Open Boxing

WBO middleweight world title

Covers world title bouts since 1989. Vacant since 30th Oct 2026.

World title bouts
67
Champions
27
Longest reign (Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, 2022–2026)
3 years, 10 months
Most successful defences in one reign (Demetrius Andrade, 2018–2022)
5

Current champion

VacantSince 30th Oct 2026

Reigns and world title bouts

Dec 2021 – Dec 2026

WBO
Demetrius AndradeZhanibek AlimkhanulyBentley
2022AprJulOct2023AprJulOct2024AprJulOct2025AprJulOct2026AprJulOct
1990200020102020

World title bout

Reigns by length

  1. 1Zhanibek AlimkhanulyWBO2022–20263 years, 10 months · 4 successful defences
  2. 2Demetrius AndradeWBO2018–20223 years, 10 months · 5 successful defences
  3. 3Billy Joe SaundersWBO2015–20182 years, 9 months · 3 successful defences
  4. 4Kelly PavlikWBO2007–20102 years, 6 months · 3 successful defences
  5. 5Armand KrajncWBO1999–20022 years, 4 months · 3 successful defences
  6. 6Jermain TaylorWBO2005–20072 years, 2 months · 3 successful defences
  7. 7Dmitry PirogWBO2010–20122 years · 3 successful defences
  8. 8Peter QuillinWBO2012–20141 year, 10 months · 3 successful defences
  9. 9Lonnie BradleyWBO1995–19971 year, 7 months · 4 successful defences
  10. 10Doug DeWittWBO1989–19901 year · 1 successful defence
  11. 11Andy LeeWBO2014–20151 year · 0 successful defences
  12. 12Chris PyattWBO1993–199411 months · 2 successful defences
  13. 13Otis GrantWBO1997–199811 months · 1 successful defence
  14. 14Steve CollinsWBO1994–199510 months · 0 successful defences
  15. 15Chris EubankWBO1990–199110 months · 3 successful defences
  16. 16Bernard HopkinsWBO2004–20059 months · 1 successful defence
  17. 17Felix SturmWBO2003–20048 months · 1 successful defence
  18. 18Harry SimonWBO2002–20026 months · 0 successful defences
  19. 19Nigel BennWBO1990–19906 months · 1 successful defence
  20. 20Bert SchenkWBO1999–19994 months · 1 successful defence
  21. 21Oscar De La HoyaWBO2004–20043 months · 0 successful defences
  22. 22Denzel BentleyWBO2026–20263 months · 0 successful defences
  23. 23Gerald McClellanWBO1991–19923 months · 0 successful defences
  24. 24Hector Javier VelazcoWBO2003–20032 months · 0 successful defences
  25. 25Hassan N'Dam N'JikamWBO2012–20121 month · 0 successful defences
  26. 26Sergio MartinezWBO2010–20101 month · 0 successful defences
  27. 27Jason MatthewsWBO1999–199926 days · 0 successful defences

Timeline of world title events

  1. 1989

  2. Doug DeWitt beats Robbie Sims via split decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  1. 1990

  2. Doug DeWitt beats Matthew Hilton via corner retirement 11/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  3. Nigel Benn beats Doug DeWitt via knockout 8/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  4. Nigel Benn beats Iran Barkley via knockout 1/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  5. Chris Eubank beats Nigel Benn via knockout 9/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  6. 1991

  7. Chris Eubank beats Dan Sherry via technical decision 10/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  8. Chris Eubank beats Gary Stretch via knockout 6/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  9. Chris Eubank beats Michael Watson via majority decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  10. Chris Eubank’s reign as the WBO middleweight world champion ends

    Middleweight · WBO

  11. Gerald McClellan beats John Mugabi via knockout 1/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  12. 1992

  13. Gerald McClellan’s reign as the WBO middleweight world champion ends

    Middleweight · WBO

  14. 1993

  15. Chris Pyatt beats Sumbu Kalambay via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  16. Chris Pyatt beats Hugo Antonio Corti via knockout 6/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  17. 1994

  18. Chris Pyatt beats Mark Cameron via knockout 1/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  19. Steve Collins beats Chris Pyatt via knockout 5/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  20. 1995

  21. Steve Collins’s reign as the WBO middleweight world champion ends

    Middleweight · WBO

  22. Lonnie Bradley beats David Mendez via knockout 12/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  23. Lonnie Bradley beats Dario Victor Galindez via knockout 1/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  24. 1996

  25. Lonnie Bradley beats Randy Smith via knockout 2/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  26. Lonnie Bradley beats Lonny Beasley via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  27. Lonnie Bradley beats Simon Brown via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  28. 1997

  29. Lonnie Bradley’s reign as the WBO middleweight world champion ends

    Middleweight · WBO

  30. Lonnie Bradley and Otis Grant draw via split decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  31. Lonnie Bradley beats John Williams via knockout 8/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  32. Otis Grant beats Ryan Rhodes via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  33. 1998

  34. Otis Grant beats Ernesto Rafael Sena via technical decision 9/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  35. Otis Grant’s reign as the WBO middleweight world champion ends

    Middleweight · WBO

  36. 1999

  37. Bert Schenk beats Freeman Barr via knockout 4/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  38. Bert Schenk beats Juan Ramon Medina via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  39. Bert Schenk’s reign as the WBO middleweight world champion ends

    Middleweight · WBO

  40. Jason Matthews becomes the WBO middleweight world champion

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  41. Armand Krajnc beats Jason Matthews via knockout 8/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  1. 2000

  2. Armand Krajnc beats Jonathan Corn via knockout 2/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  3. Armand Krajnc beats Bert Schenk via knockout 6/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  4. 2001

  5. Armand Krajnc beats Paolo Roberto via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  6. 2002

  7. Harry Simon beats Armand Krajnc via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  8. Harry Simon’s reign as the WBO middleweight world champion ends

    Middleweight · WBO

  9. 2003

  10. Hector Javier Velazco becomes the WBO middleweight world champion

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  11. Felix Sturm beats Hector Javier Velazco via split decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  12. Felix Sturm beats Ruben Varon via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  13. 2004

  14. Oscar De La Hoya beats Felix Sturm via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  15. Bernard Hopkins beats Oscar De La Hoya via knockout 9/12

    Middleweight · WBA Super, WBC, IBF, WBO and The RingNew WBO champion

  16. 2005

  17. Bernard Hopkins beats Howard Eastman via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBA Super, WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring

  18. Jermain Taylor beats Bernard Hopkins via split decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBA Super, WBC, IBF, WBO and The RingNew WBO champion

  19. Jermain Taylor beats Bernard Hopkins via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBA Super, WBC, WBO and The Ring

  20. 2006

  21. Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright draw via split decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBC, WBO and The Ring

  22. Jermain Taylor beats Kassim Ouma via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBC, WBO and The Ring

  23. 2007

  24. Jermain Taylor beats Cory Spinks via split decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBC, WBO and The Ring

  25. Kelly Pavlik beats Jermain Taylor via knockout 7/12

    Middleweight · WBC, WBO and The RingNew WBO champion

  26. 2008

  27. Kelly Pavlik beats Gary Lockett via knockout 3/12

    Middleweight · WBC, WBO and The Ring

  28. 2009

  29. Kelly Pavlik beats Marco Antonio Rubio via corner retirement 9/12

    Middleweight · WBC, WBO and The Ring

  30. Kelly Pavlik beats Miguel Angel Espino via knockout 5/12

    Middleweight · WBC, WBO and The Ring

  1. 2010

  2. Sergio Martinez beats Kelly Pavlik via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBC, WBO and The RingNew WBO champion

  3. Sergio Martinez’s reign as the WBO middleweight world champion ends

    Middleweight · WBO

  4. Dmitry Pirog beats Daniel Jacobs via knockout 5/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  5. 2011

  6. Dmitry Pirog beats Javier Francisco Maciel via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  7. Dmitry Pirog beats Gennady Martirosyan via corner retirement 10/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  8. 2012

  9. Dmitry Pirog beats Nobuhiro Ishida via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  10. Dmitry Pirog’s reign as the WBO middleweight world champion ends

    Middleweight · WBO

    Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam becomes the WBO middleweight world champion

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  11. Peter Quillin beats Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  12. 2013

  13. Peter Quillin beats Fernando Guerrero via knockout 7/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  14. Peter Quillin beats Gabriel Rosado via knockout 10/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  15. 2014

  16. Peter Quillin beats Lukas Konecny via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  17. Peter Quillin’s reign as the WBO middleweight world champion ends

    Middleweight · WBO

  18. Andy Lee beats Matvey Korobov via knockout 6/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  19. 2015

  20. Billy Joe Saunders beats Andy Lee via majority decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  21. 2016

  22. Billy Joe Saunders beats Artur Akavov via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  23. 2017

  24. Billy Joe Saunders beats Willie Monroe Jr via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  25. Billy Joe Saunders beats David Lemieux via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  26. 2018

  27. Billy Joe Saunders’s reign as the WBO middleweight world champion ends

    Middleweight · WBO

  28. Demetrius Andrade beats Walter Kautondokwa via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

  29. 2019

  30. Demetrius Andrade beats Artur Akavov via knockout 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  31. Demetrius Andrade beats Maciej Sulecki via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  1. 2020

  2. Demetrius Andrade beats Luke Keeler via knockout 9/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  3. 2021

  4. Demetrius Andrade beats Liam Williams via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  5. Demetrius Andrade beats Jason Quigley via technical knockout 2/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  6. 2022

  7. Demetrius Andrade’s reign as the WBO middleweight world champion ends

    Middleweight · WBO

    Zhanibek Alimkhanuly becomes the WBO middleweight world champion

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

    Source: Demetrius Andrade vacates WBO title; interim titlist Janibek Alimkhanuly elevated to champion(opens in a new tab), ESPN, Mike Coppinger,

    1 more reference

  8. Zhanibek Alimkhanuly beats Denzel Bentley via unanimous decision 12/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  9. 2023

  10. Zhanibek Alimkhanuly beats Steven Butler via knockout 2/12

    Middleweight · WBO

  11. Zhanibek Alimkhanuly beats Vincenzo Gualtieri via technical knockout 6/12

    Middleweight · IBF and WBO

  12. 2025

  13. Zhanibek Alimkhanuly beats Anauel Ngamissengue via technical knockout 5/12

    Middleweight · IBF and WBO

  14. 2026

  15. Zhanibek Alimkhanuly vacates the WBO middleweight world title

    Middleweight · WBO

    Source: Bentley elevated to full WBO champion as Janibek relinquishes 160-pound title(opens in a new tab), Fight Mag, Parviz Iskenderov,

    Denzel Bentley becomes the WBO middleweight world champion

    Middleweight · WBONew champion

    Source: GB's Bentley elevated to WBO middleweight champion(opens in a new tab), BBC Sport,

  16. Denzel Bentley is stripped of the WBO middleweight world title

    Middleweight · WBO

    Source: WBO officially strips Denzel Bentley of middleweight title(opens in a new tab), The Ring, Hans Themistode,