Famous 21st Century Boxers

A former professional boxer who reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion for three years, Mike Tyson is considered a colossal figure in boxing. Claiming his first heavyweight title at the young age of 20, he went on to become one of the best heavyweights of all time. Also a controversial person, he was once imprisoned on rape charges.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, Muhammad Ali was a major figure of the 20th century. He was an inspirational figure for African-Americans during the civil rights movement. Because of his opposition to Vietnam War and his refusal to be drafted into military, Muhammad Ali became an icon for the larger counterculture generation.

One of the most remunerative pay-per-view (PPV) attractions of all time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has had a glorious boxing career. One of the most decorated boxers ever, Floyd is regarded as the best pound for pound boxer by many websites. During his career, he had his share of controversies and made brief appearances in shows like WWE and Dancing with the Stars.

A 2-time world heavyweight champion, British Tyson Fury has had an undefeated run in his 32 matches, with 31 wins and 1 unlucky draw in a match against Deontay Wilder. He has also released a bestselling memoir, Behind The Mask, and was named to the Forbes list of the World's Highest-Paid Athletes 2020.

Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian former boxer. Widely regarded as one of the best heavyweight champions ever, Wladimir Klitschko was renowned for his great footwork and extraordinary knockout power. He won a gold medal for his country in the super-heavyweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He has often been named among Ukraine's most influential people.

Evander Holyfield is an American retired boxer who reigned as the undisputed champion in the late 1980s under cruiserweight division and in the early 1990s under heavyweight division. The only four-time world heavyweight champion, Holyfield remains the only boxer in the history of boxing to reign as an undisputed champion in two weight classes.

Former American boxer Roy Jones Jr. was born to a boxer father. Despite his defeat in the gold medal match at the 1988 Seoul Olympics due to a faulty decision by the judges, he won the Val Barker Award. He was the second light heavyweight champion to earn a heavyweight title.

Oscar De La Hoya is an American retired boxer who won 11 world titles between 1992 and 2008 in six weight classes. Dubbed the Golden Boy of Boxing, Oscar De La Hoya won a gold medal for America at the 1992 Summer Olympics. In 1995, he was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine.

A professional WWE wrestler, Ronda Rousey was the first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion and also the first woman to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Earlier, she became the first US woman to win an Olympic medal in judo. Amongst the greatest female MMA fighter, Ronda has also appeared in films like The Expendables 3 and Furious 7.

Retired Panamanian boxer Roberto Durán had a 32-match winning streak before losing to Esteban De Jesús. Raised in the slums, he joined a gym as an 8-year-old. His punching style earned him the nickname Hands of Stone. He was a world champion in the lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight, and middleweight categories.

Holly Holm is a mixed martial artist. A former world champion in boxing, Holm currently competes in the UFC and holds the distinction of being the first fighter to hold a UFC title and a world boxing title. Her win against Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in the history of combat sports.

Before assuming office as a senator of the Phillippines, Manny Pacquiao was already known as a globally renowned boxer. Known to his fans as PacMan, he is the only boxer to have won world championships from the 1990s to the 2020s. BoxRec named him the world’s seventh-active boxer in 2020.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler was an American boxer and actor who reigned as the middleweight division's undisputed champion from 1980 to 1987, during which he had 12 successful title defenses. Regarded as one of the greatest middleweight boxers of all time, Hagler was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame as well as the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Bernard Hopkins is an American retired boxer who held several world championships between 2001 to 2012 in two weight classes. Nicknamed The Executioner, Hopkins is widely regarded as one of the modern era's greatest boxers. A highly strategic boxer, Bernard Hopkins was also renowned for his speed, power, and counterpunching skills.

Sugar Ray Leonard is a former boxer and motivational speaker. Having won world titles in five different weight divisions during his boxing career, Leonard is widely considered one of the greatest boxers ever. Leonard was part of a group of boxers dubbed The Fabulous Four, which is credited with popularizing the lower weight classes in the post-Muhammad Ali era.

Boxer and mixed martial artist, Claressa Shields, reigned as the undisputed female middleweight champion from 2019 to 2020. She has previously held multiple WBA, WBC, and IBF female middleweight titles. She is also the first American boxer to win consecutive Olympic medals. She was named the Female Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America in 2018.

Laila Ali is an American former professional boxer. The daughter of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, Laila Ali competed from 1999 to 2007, during which she remained undefeated. She is also credited with saving wrestling legend Hulk Hogan's life by calling him when he was suicidal and depressed. After retiring from professional boxing, Laila Ali became a television personality.

Vasyl Lomachenko is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He is widely regarded as the most popular Ukrainian boxer and one of the most successful amateur boxers ever with an impressive record of 396 wins and 1 loss. Known for his exceptional accuracy, creativity, hand speed, athleticism, footwork, and defense, Lomachenko won Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012.

Julio Cesar Chavez is a Mexican former boxer who won several world championships in three different weight divisions. He also holds several records, such as the most successful world title defenses and most title fights. He has been named in ESPN's 50 Greatest Boxers of All Time list and was made an inductee of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Juan Manuel Márquez is a Mexican former boxer who became only the third Mexican boxer to win world championship titles in four weight classes. Counted among the greatest boxers of all time, Márquez was renowned for his toughness, speed, and technical skills. In 2020, Juan Manuel Márquez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. 

Kostya Tszyu is a former boxer who held multiple light-welterweight championships. Renowned for his punching power, Tszyu is considered one of the hardest-punching boxers in the history of light-welterweight boxing. He represented the Soviet Union at the 1991 World Championships, where he won a gold medal. In 2010, Tszyu was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Israel Adesanya is a Nigerian-born New Zealand kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and former boxer. Considered one of the best strikers in MMA, Adesanya has won multiple championships and is the current UFC Middleweight Champion. In 2019, Israel Adesanya was named New Zealand Sportsman of the Year at the Halberg Awards.

Born in the U.S., boxer Gervonta Davis is of mixed heritage but identifies as African-American. He has held titles such as the IBF super featherweight title and the WBA (Super) super featherweight title. Mentored by Floyd Mayweather, he is best known for his knockout-to-win percentage.

Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk is not just a European and World Champion but also an Olympic gold medalist. Considered one of Ukraine’s best boxers in history, he is also the fourth male boxer to hold the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO titles at the same time.

Andre Ward is an American retired boxer who held several world titles in two weight divisions. When he was the light heavyweight champion, Andre Ward was adjudged the best active boxer, pound for pound, by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. Credited with winning an Olympic gold for America, Andre Ward was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2021.

One of the most consistent boxers of his time, Mexican boxer Érik Morales was the first from his country to earn world titles in 4 different weight categories. Nicknamed El Terrible, the boxing legend created a controversy after testing positive for a banned drug in 2012. He later stepped into politics.

Widely regarded as one of the best active boxers in the world, Anthony Joshua is the first British heavyweight to win both a major world title and an Olympic gold medal. Having avoided a life of crime, Joshua focused solely on boxing; his rags to riches story serves as an inspiration. He is one of the most influential Black Britons.

Bulgarian professional boxer Kubrat Pulev has so-far won several titles in super-heavyweight division. These include at the Men’s 2008 European Amateur Boxing Championships and at the Strandzha Cup in 2005, 2006 and 2008. He was one of the two boxers who represented Bulgaria at the 2008 Olympics. Pulev has challenged for the unified heavyweight title in 2014 and in 2020.

Mikey Garcia is a boxer who has held several world championships in four different weight divisions. From 2013 to 2014, he held the WBO junior lightweight title. From 2018 to 2020, he held the lineal junior welterweight title. He has also held the WBO featherweight title. In 2020, he was ranked the sixth-best active welterweight in the world by BoxRec.

Nicaraguan professional boxer Alexis Arguello had once held the world featherweight, lightweight, and junior lightweight titles. He fought for the Contras against the Sandinista regime, and then continued his boxing career in the US, before returning to politics and becoming the mayor of Managua. He eventually died by suicide.