Undisputed champion he was still described as "undisputed champion" by some reports. After Joe Calzaghe's super middleweight victory over Mikkel Kessler in November 2007, he was frequently described as "undisputed champion". Others disputed this, because although he held the WBA, WBC, and WBO belts, he vacated his IBF title in November 2006 rather than face a mandatory challenger, and immediately vacated other titles as well. The unified champion is defined as a boxer that holds at least two world championships of major sanctioning bodies (WBA, WBC, WBO or IBF) in their respective division. Around 2004, the World Boxing Association recognized three different
World boxing championship records and statistics World boxing championship records and statistics Since at least John L. Sullivan, in the late 19th century, there have been world champions in professional boxing. At the very beginnings, before any sanctioning body was established, many boxers proclaimed themselves as legitimate champions. Eventually, champions were recognized through public acclamation, succesively establishing a lineage. Important sets of weight classes were those specified in 1909 by the National Sporting Club of London, and those contained in the 1920 Walker Law which established the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC). NYSAC recognized champions from its foundation in 1920. The National Boxing Association (NBA)