By John Hill – Unless it was your birthday, December 14th, 2006 is a pretty unremarkable date to most people. In fact, even internet search engines are unable to provide a single event or anecdote worthy of reporting.
In the boxing world however, that date is quite significant as it marks the last time the sport had a genuine Undisputed World Champion among its ranks and the 6 years since, one of the longest periods in the modern era without one.
Although founded in 1988, the criteria for the undisputed crown did not include the WBO title until 2009 and since then no one fighter has been in possession of all four titles simultaneously. Bernard Hopkins (52-6-2-2) was the first man to ever hold all 4 titles together, the only other man to achieve that accolade was Jermaine Taylor (31-4-1) who took possession of them after defeating Hopkins in 2005. Taylor was later stripped of his IBF strap for choosing a re-match with Hopkins over his mandatory challenger.
