Oleksandr Usyk is considered a small heavyweight in an era of behemoths.
The 6-foot-3 Ukrainian weighed in at a career-high 221¼ pounds for his fight against 240-pound Anthony Joshua this past September, when the former cruiserweight champ earned a unanimous-decision victory and three of the four major heavyweight titles.
Usyk’s official weight would’ve made him one of the bigger champions in the first 60 years of the 20th century, when fighters not much heavier than present day light heavyweights were competing for the heavyweight championship.
From James J. Corbett to Jack Dempsey to Rocky Marciano, men who weighed less than 200 pounds ruled the sport’s glamour division.
Who weighed the least among heavyweight champions?
Here are the 10 lightest fighters who have won the title since John L. Sullivan ruled the division more than a century ago. Their weights when they became champions are listed.
We go in reverse order.
10
Marvin Hart
Weight: 190 pounds
Opponent: Jack Root (171 pounds)
Date / location: July 3, 1905 / Reno, Nevada
Result: KO 12
Background: Retired champion James J. Jeffries believed that the winner of the Hart-Root fight deserved to be recognized as the new heavyweight champ. In fact, Jeffries served as referee. Hart stopped Root with a body shot. One of the more forgettable champions lost his title to diminutive Tommy Burns in his next fight.
9
Gene Tunney
Weight: 189½ pounds
Opponent: Jack Dempsey (192½)
Date: Sept. 22, 1927
Result: UD
Background: Tunney, the former light heavyweight champ, was known for his sublime skill set. He outboxed one of the greatest fighters of all time to win the title in front of 120,557 spectators at Sesquicentennial Stadium in Philadelphia. Tunney would beat Dempsey in the “long count” rematch and retire as champion after one more fight.
8
Max Schmeling
Weight: 188 pounds
Opponent: Jack Sharkey (197)
Date: June 12, 1930
Result: DQ 4
Background: Schmeling became the only fighter to win the heavyweight championship on a foul, the result of a low blow that put him down late in Round 4. He would lose his belt by decision in a rematch with Sharkey two fights later. The German would go on to upset a young Joe Louis and then get stopped by him in one round during the Nazi era.
7
Jack Dempsey
Weight: 187 pounds
Opponent: Jess Willard (245 pounds)
Date: July 4, 1919
Result: KO 3
Background: The 6-foot-6½ Willard, considered a giant in his day, outweighed Dempsey by a whopping 58 pounds. That meant nothing, though. Dempsey delivered one of the most brutal beatings in boxing history – putting Willard down seven times in the first round alone – to become heavyweight champion.
6
Rocky Marciano
Weight: 184½ pounds
Opponent: Jersey Joe Walcott (196½)
Date: Sept. 23, 1952
Result: KO 13
Background: One of the hardest-punching, most-durable heavyweights of all time was also one of the smallest. Of course, most of his opponents weren’t much bigger than he was, including rival Walcott. The champion had outboxed Marciano for 12-plus rounds when he was stopped by one of the most-vicious punches ever.
5
Floyd Patterson
Weight: 182¼ pounds
Opponent: Archie Moore (187¾)
Date: Nov. 30, 1956
Result: KO 5
Background: Patterson was a naturally small heavyweight even in his day. He won the middleweight gold medal in the 1952 Olympics and fought at 164½ in his pro debut. He could fight, though. The 21-year-old faced the ancient Moore for the vacant title after Rocky Marciano retired and stopped him, thus becoming the youngest to win heavyweight championship to that point.
4
Ezzard Charles
Weight: 181¾ pounds
Opponent: Jersey Joe Walcott (195¾)
Date: June 22, 1949
Result: UD
Background: The gifted Charles started his pro career as a middleweight and became arguably the greatest light heavyweight of all time. He was also a fine heavyweight, as he demonstrated by winning the title by a wide decision against fellow Hall of Famer Walcott. Walcott would take it from Charles less than two years later.
3
James J. Corbett
AP Photo
Weight: 178 pounds
Opponent: John L. Sullivan (212 pounds)
Date: Sept. 7, 1892
Result: KO 21
Background: Corbett was about the size of a present day light heavyweight when he took down the strong, but crude legend Sullivan. “Gentleman Jim” was one of the first to focus on the science part of the “Sweet Science,” using his mind and athleticism more than brawn to become heavyweight champion of the world.
2
Tommy Burns
Weight: 175 pounds
Opponent: Marvin Hart (192½)
Date: Feb. 23, 1906
Result: Dec.
Background: Burns, who was only 5-foot-7, weighed in at the light heavyweight limit of 175. And he had fattened himself up; he weighed only 163 in his previous fight. The Canadian used ability and pluck to outpoint his heavier opponent and win the title. He lost it almost three years later when Jack Johnson followed him to Australia and outclassed him.
1
Bob Fitzsimmons
Weight: 167 pounds
Opponent: James J. Corbett (184 pounds)
Date: March 17, 1897
Result: KO 14
Background: Fitzsimmons, a blacksmith who weighed 148 in his pro debut, had the broad shoulders of a heavyweight but the skinny legs of a welterweight. That added up to the lightest heavyweight champ of all time. Corbett was outboxing him when Fitz landed his famous solar plexus punch to end the fight, thus becoming first former middleweight champ to win the heavyweight crown. Roy Jones Jr. was the second.
