Best Light Heavyweight
Jon Jones is a prominent mixed martial artist competing in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. He achieved significant success as a champion, known for his unique fighting style combining powerful wrestling and striking techniques. His career has been impactful within USA-based MMA. This athlete p...
Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev is an undisputed light heavyweight championship matchup between two Russian boxers aiming to unify all four major world titles.
The intense rivalry between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier represents a defining chapter of modern mixed martial arts. Their multiple fights for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship were characterized by deeply personal animosity and exceptional skill displayed by both athletes. This matchup is part...
Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz became defining UFC rivals in the 2000s, with Liddell stopping Ortiz twice before Ortiz won their third bout in 2018.
The October 2019 boxing match between Artur Beterbiev and Oleksandr Gvozdyk was a significant light heavyweight unification bout held in Philadelphia. Beterbiev, holding the IBF title, stopped the previously undefeated WBC champion Gvozdyk via technical knockout in the tenth round. The bout featured...
In October 2024, Artur Beterbiev faced Dmitry Bivol in a highly anticipated light heavyweight unification bout held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Beterbiev won the contest by split decision, retaining his IBF, WBC, and WBO titles while capturing Bivol's WBA belt. The victory made Beterbiev the first undi...
Beterbiev vs Bivol II was a February 22, 2025 light heavyweight rematch held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Dmitry Bivol defeated Artur Beterbiev by majority decision, with scorecards of 116-112 and 115-113 for Bivol and a 114-114 draw, reversing Beterbiev's October 2024 undisputed championship win. The b...
Dmitry Bivol defended his WBA light heavyweight title against Saul Canelo Alvarez on May 7, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bivol used disciplined footwork, a consistent jab, and compact combinations to limit Alvarez's offense and won a unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 115 to 113. The...
Canelo Alvarez challenged Dmitry Bivol for the WBA light heavyweight title on May 7, 2022, in Las Vegas. Bivol maintained distance with his jab, defended in a compact guard, and answered Alvarez's attacks with measured combinations throughout the twelve-round bout. All three judges scored the contes...
Bernard Hopkins vs. Antonio Tarver was a light heavyweight boxing match held on June 10, 2006, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Hopkins moved up from middleweight and defeated Tarver by unanimous decision after 12 rounds, winning the IBO and The Ring light heavyweight titles. The bout...
This November 2016 boxing match featured undefeated former super middleweight champion Andre Ward challenging unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Kovalev scored a knockdown in the second round, but Ward rallied in the later rounds to win a highly con...
This 1998 light heavyweight title fight matched pound-for-pound star Roy Jones Jr. against long-reigning WBA champion Virgil Hill. Jones delivered a technically precise performance, culminating in a devastating right body shot to the ribs that forced Hill to quit. Jones won by technical knockout in...
The Jon Jones-Daniel Cormier rivalry was a prominent and highly publicized feud in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight division. The two fighters first clashed at UFC 182 in 2015, where Jones successfully defended his title via unanimous decision. Their 2017 rematch at UFC 214...
The November 2014 boxing match between Sergey Kovalev and Bernard Hopkins was a major light heavyweight unification bout. Kovalev faced the then-49-year-old Hopkins, successfully defeating the veteran by unanimous decision. The victory allowed Kovalev to claim the IBF, WBA, and WBO light heavyweight...
Roy Jones Jr. and Montell Griffin fought a light heavyweight boxing rematch in August 1997 at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. The bout was organized after Jones lost his first professional match to Griffin via disqualification five months earlier. Jones aggressively pursued the rematch, u...
Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev contested a major light heavyweight boxing rivalry in 2016 and 2017, noted for a highly controversial decision and Ward's ultimate stoppage win.
Dmitry Bivol defended his WBA light heavyweight title against the previously undefeated Gilberto Ramirez in November 2022. The boxing match was held at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Bivol used his longer reach and consistent jab to control the pace of the fight. He won by a cl...
Bernard Hopkins vs. Jean Pascal I was a light-heavyweight championship bout held in Quebec City on December 18, 2010. Pascal retained the WBC and lineal titles when the contest ended in a majority draw, with one judge scoring for Hopkins and two scoring it even. Hopkins recovered from two officially...
Bernard Hopkins versus Joe Calzaghe was a light-heavyweight boxing match held at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on 19 April 2008. Hopkins scored a first-round knockdown, but Calzaghe increased his activity as the fight progressed and won a split decision after twelve rounds. The bout was Ca...
Canelo Alvarez vs Sergey Kovalev was a 2019 light heavyweight boxing match where Alvarez knocked out Kovalev in the 11th round to win the WBO title.
The Jones-Cormier rivalry was a feud in the UFC light heavyweight division between champions Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. Jones defeated Cormier by unanimous decision at UFC 182 in January 2015 to retain his title. Their rematch at UFC 214 in July 2017 saw Jones win by third-round knockout, but the...
Sergey Kovalev versus Eleider Álvarez I was a WBO light heavyweight championship fight held on August 4, 2018, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Álvarez, a Colombian contender based in Montreal, knocked out the heavily favored Kovalev in the seventh round to claim the title in one of the year's most not...
The June 2022 boxing match between Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. was a three-belt light heavyweight unification bout. Beterbiev won by technical knockout in the second round, adding Smith's WBO title to his existing IBF and WBC belts. The event took place at Madison Square Garden's Hulu Theater...
Andre Ward vs Sergey Kovalev II was a unified light heavyweight championship rematch held in Las Vegas in June 2017. Ward retained the WBA, IBF, and WBO titles when the referee stopped the contest in the eighth round after Ward hurt Kovalev and followed with punches during a sustained attack. Debate...
Artur Beterbiev vs Callum Smith was a unified light heavyweight championship fight held in Quebec City in January 2024. Beterbiev retained the IBF, WBC, and WBO titles by stopping Smith in the seventh round after scoring two knockdowns, prompting Smith's corner to enter the ring. The bout matched an...
Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr. was a non-title light heavyweight bout held on November 8, 2008, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Jones knocked Calzaghe down in the opening round, but Calzaghe recovered and used sustained combination punching to dominate the remaining rounds. He won a unanimous...
Roy Jones Jr. suffered his first professional loss in this 1997 light heavyweight bout, disqualified for hitting a downed Montell Griffin in the ninth round.
Andre Ward vs. Edwin Rodriguez was a super middleweight boxing match held in November 2013 at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California. Ward, returning from a lengthy layoff following his Super Six tournament victory, defended his unified WBA and WBC titles against the Dominican chall...
A January 2019 IBF and WBC light heavyweight title defense in which Beterbiev stopped Browne in round 2, maintaining his record of finishing every professional opponent.
