| 1882 - 92 |  John L. Sullivan |
| 1892 - 97 | James J. Corbett |
| 1897 - 99 | Bob Fitzsimmons |
| 1899 - 1905 | James J. Jeffries |
| 1905 - 06 | Marvin Hart |
| 1906 - 08 | Tommy Burns |
| 1908 - 15 | Jack Johnson |
| 1915 - 19 | Jess Willard |
| 1919 - 26 | Jack Dempsey |
| 1926 - 28 | Gene Tunney |
| 1928 - 30 | None |
| 1930 - 32 | Max Schmeling |
| 1932 - 33 | Jack Sharkey |
| 1933 - 34 | Primo Carnera |
| 1934 - 35 | Max Baer |
| 1935 - 37 | James J. Braddock |
| 1937 - 49 | Joe Louis |
| 1949 - 51 | Ezzard Charles |
| 1951 - 52 | Joe Walcott |
| 1952 - 56 | Rocky Marciano |
| 1956 - 59 | Floyd Patterson |
| 1959 - 60 | Ingemar Johansson |
| 1960 - 62 | Floyd Patterson |
| 1962 - 64 | Sonny Liston |
| 1964 - 67 | Muhammad Ali |
| 1965 - 67 | Ernie Terrell * |
| 1968 - 70 | Jimmy Ellis * |
| 1968 - 73 | Joe Frazier |
| 1973 - 74 | George Foreman |
| 1974 - 78 | Muhammad Ali |
| 1978 | Leon Spinks * |
| 1978 | Ken Norton  |
| 1978 - 79 | Muhammad Ali * |
| 1978 - 85 | Larry Holmes |
| 1985 - 86 | Michael Spinks |
| 1986 - 90 | Mike Tyson |
| 1990 | Buster Douglas |
| 1990 - 92 | Evander Holyfield |
| 1992 - 93 | Riddick Bowe |
| 1993 - 94 | Evander Holyfield |
| 1994 | Michael Moorer |
| 1994 - 95 | George Foreman |
| 1996 | Mike Tyson * |
| 1996 - 99 | Evander Holyfield * |
| 1999 - 2001 | Lennox Lewis |
| 2001 | Hasim Rahman |
| 2002 | Lennox Lewis |
| 2003 - 05 | Chris Byrd |
NOTE: Champions not universally recognized are designated * (World Boxing Association title) or (World Boxing Council - WBC - title). First, Holmes was WBC champion, then (1983) International Boxing Federation champion. From 1979 to the mid-1980s there were various titleholders, but Holmes, Spinks, and Tyson were considered by most experts to have the most legitimate claims to the championship.
- Subjects:Sports
