The Four-Belt Undisputed Era

Although the four major sanctioning bodies have been recognised as equivalent since 2007, the first male four-belt undisputed champion was Terence Crawford at super lightweight in August 2017 (TKO 3 over Julius Indongo). Since then, the four-belt undisputed era has accelerated: Oleksandr Usyk became the first four-belt undisputed cruiserweight (July 2018) and later the first four-belt undisputed heavyweight (May 2024, defeating Tyson Fury by split decision). Josh Taylor was the first four-belt undisputed at 140 (May 2021); Jermell Charlo at 154 (May 2022); Devin Haney at 135 (May 2023); Naoya Inoue at bantamweight (December 2022) and super bantamweight (December 2023); Crawford for a second time at welterweight (July 2023, TKO 9 over Errol Spence Jr.); Canelo Álvarez at 168 (November 2021); Artur Beterbiev at 175 (October 2024, briefly held before Bivol's revenge); Dmitry Bivol at 175 (October 2024, the most recent ascendance). The four-belt era of the 2020s has produced more 'undisputed' champions in five years than the previous 70 years combined — a sign that boxing's sanctioning-body fragmentation is finally being undone by elite fighters demanding the cleanest possible titles.