The WBC’s introduction of the bridgerweight division has been met with mixed reviews ever since it was announced in 2020.
Boxing executives, media, fans, and organizations alike have given little credence to the addition of boxing’s 18th weight class, which is sandwiched in between the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.
But in December, the WBA joined the trend when an executive committee unanimously approved the formation of a super cruiserweight division.
The WBC’s bridgerweight class is designed to give smaller heavyweights a chance to compete between 191 to 224 pounds, while the WBA’s super cruiserweight division gives boxers a chance to compete from 200 to 224 pounds.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán views the WBA following in its footsteps as a welcome addition to the sport.
“It’s very good. It’s very positive,” Sulaimán told BoxingScene.com in an interview. “The bridgerweight division has proven to be a necessity for boxing because there are many small heavyweights that give up too much of a weight advantage. The fights that we’ve sanctioned at bridgerweight have all been very competitive and very exciting … Most of the WBC’s initiatives in history have led to the boxing world adopting them.”
The WBO and IBF have not followed the trend yet.
“That’s their decision and their prerogative. We have no problem with that,” said Sulaimán.
Outside of former titlist Deontay Wilder, who weighed 213 pounds in his last fight, and unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, a former cruiserweight who weighed 221 pounds in his last fight, other top heavyweights have weighed 240 pounds and upward in their previous bouts: Joseph Parker (245 pounds), Anthony Joshua (251 pounds), Andy Ruiz (268 pounds), Tyson Fury (277 pounds), and Zhilei Zhang (287 pounds).
Daniel Dubois recently scored a stoppage win against Jerrell Miller, even though Dubois gave up a 94-pound weight advantage against the 333-pound Miller.
“The creation of this new weight will mainly help to avoid bouts in which the fighters enter the ring with excessive weight differences, as tends to happen at heavyweight occasionally, where there can be differences of 20 pounds or more,” the WBA stated during its announcement. “Fighters considered ‘small heavyweights’ will have the option to move down to super cruiserweight and seek opportunities against more balanced weight opponents, in the quest to make the sport increasingly fairer.”
In recent months, notable fighters like former super middleweight, light heavyweight, and cruiserweight champion Badou Jack have expressed interest in joining the bridgerweight division.
In April, Lukasz Rozanski became the second-ever WBC bridgerweight titlist when he scored a first-round TKO win against Alen Babic. Oscar Rivas first won the belt in 2021 but vacated the title due to an injury without ever defending it.
On Dec. 12, Evgeny Tishchenko (13-1, 8 KOs) became the WBA’s first super cruiserweight champion by defeating Leon Harth (22-6-1, 13 KOs) via sixth-round knockout.
Boxrec.com, the official recordkeeper of boxing, does not recognize bridgerweight or the super cruiserweight class and its champions.
In November, the WBC announced during its annual convention in Uzbekistan that it would suspend cooperation with Boxrec.com.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.