Fighters who dropped to a lower division successfully?

Yeah, but he actually started at welterweight, and moved up, winning a belt at light heavyweight before later winning a belt at heavyweight and moving back down. Also, even as a "heavyweight", he never weighed above the light-heavyweight limit. I don't think it meets the criteria here.

Same thing here. Armstrong did it by moving up and then moving back down, which is more common than moving down first. He would qualify if he started at welterweight, won a title, and then moved down to lightweight and won a title.

Hmm. On one hand, you're kinda right because technically Fitz had moved to light heavy for the first time after winning a heavyweight title. But he started at middleweight, and would have been a light heavyweight first had the division existed at the time (it wasn't created until 1903, about seven years after Fitz challenged for the heavyweight title).

Also, he never weighed more than 173 in his career, even as a heavyweight.

This fits the criteria exactly! Good stuff. I hadn't previously heard of him until now.

Has Mundine ever won a major title in any division? Can't recall.

A few people brought him up, but he only had 3-4 fights at light heavy before moving down to around the middleweight limit. He wasn't competing at a championship level there.

True, but I've actually seen that happen quite a bit. I was thinking specifically pro ranks.

Yeah, but he started at Jr. Bantam. That's also something I've seen, if not often, then at times.

Never won a title at light welter.

I think this is also a pretty valid example. I don't know that I would consider the WBC International Heavyweight Championship a major title, but I think he proved himself to be reasonably world level at heavyweight.

I don't think any of these guys achieved championship level at the higher weight classes before moving down for the first time. Paul Williams became successful at middleweight after he moved back up, though. Soliman also became successful his second time at super middle.

Yeah. With the old school guys, though, most of them weighed at around the light heavyweight limit even during heavyweight fights.

 

Good call.

 

So, Carlos Ortiz, Herbie Hide (ish), and Sun Kil Moon fit the criteria so far. Anybody else?

 

Yeah, I'm on the fence with Mundine. It's true that he did win a major world title at super middleweight, but once he dropped down, it's a little bit shaky as to whether he won any of the major world titles. He won a few "international" titles, and he scored an IBO belt at, I believe, middleweight. Whether that's enough to "count" is open to debate.

 

True, which highlights the sheer difficulty of accomplishing a feat like this. We talk a lot about fighters who move up to a new weight to dominate, but in many respects, it's a harder feat to move down to a new weight.

Which is why I don't believe GGG when he claims he can move to 154. He may *think* he can do it, but history is against him.