Winning a world title in boxing is an achievement in itself, but keeping hold of the belt following 20+ bouts is arguably more impressive.
We take a look at the boxers who had the most consecutive world title defences in boxing history.
Boxer | Weight class | Title defences |
Joe Louis | Heavyweight | 26 |
Dariusz Michalczewski | Light heavyweight | 23 |
Ricardo Lopez | Mini flyweight | 21 |
Joe Calzaghe | Super middleweight | 21 |
Gennady Golovkin | Middleweight | 20 |
Bernard Hopkins | Middleweight | 20 |
Leading the way with the most title defences in boxing history is Joe Louis, who successfully defended his world heavyweight belt on 26 occasions before losing by unanimous decision to Ezzard Charles in 1950.
Dariusz Michalczewski was primarily known for the power that he carried, and this served him well in his 23 triumphant title defences. The 'Tiger' boasted an impressive 48-2 record, with one of the losses putting an end to his WBO light heavyweight title reign.
Ricardo Lopez, the lightest on the list, and Joe Calzaghe are tied with 21 title defences. Neither fighter lost their belt due to being defeated, instead deciding to move up the weight classes, vacating their titles.
Gennady Golovkin and Bernard Hopkins, both middleweights, also share the same record, having both defended their respective title successfully 20 times. Golovkin was defeated by Canelo Alvarez to bring his streak to an end, while Hopkins lost to Jermain Taylor.