List of Australian middleweight boxing champions

In 1886 a boxing match between Jack Donohue and Alf Pickering at Foley's Gymnasium in Sydney was promoted as being for the middleweight champion of Australia,^[2] however the winner was not referred to as the middleweight champion after the fight and neither boxer was ever promoted as defending the title.^[3][4] Billy McCarthy was being referred to as middleweight champion of Australia as of 1886.^[5] However, his matches were not promoted as though it was an official title which was on the line.^[6]

In January 1889 a bout between Bob Fitzsimmons and Jim Hall at Foley's Gymnasium in Sydney was promoted as being for the middleweight championship,^[7] however again no champion was announced after the fight which was won by Fitzsimmons.^[8] In October 1889 another match involving Jim Hall, this time against Jim Fogarty, was promoted as a match for the middleweight championship again,^[9] and it was also referred to as a championship match after the result, although because it was a draw there was still no champion named.^[10]

Despite not winning a 'championship match' Jim Hall had adopted the title of champion middleweight of New South Wales as of 1890 due to a string of strong performances and contenders declining to fight him. In January 1890 Peter Boland, who claimed to be champion middleweight of Victoria, challenged him to a fight^[11] and they fought that month with Hall winning,^[12] which resulted in him being acknowledged as middleweight champion of Australia by the press.^[13] Hall's next match was also referred to as a match for the middleweight championship of Australia,^[14] and promotion described Jim Hall as the countries best middleweight, reflecting that it was a title defence.^[15] Promotion for a boxing match between Dan Creedon and Mick Dunn in 1892 described it as being for the middle-weight championship for Australia, due to Creedon being the best middle-weight in Victoria and Dunn being the best middle-weight in New South Wales, and argued that the title had never been clearly defined prior.^[16]

In 1924 the company Stadiums Limited attempted to assume responsibility for the title, organizing a match for the championship after Alf Stewart refused to box for six months, however the decision was not universally acknowledged and the media still regarded Stewart as reigning champion when he returned to the ring.^[17]

Recognition of the champion became contentious in the early 1940s when champion Hockey Bennell lost a welterweight championship fight to Vic Patrick. Leichhardt Stadium management argued that the title reverted to previous title-holder Tommy Colteaux,^[18] and he was generally accepted as champion in Sydney,^[19] however Stadiums Limited grew frustrated with Colteaux refusing to accept matches and decided to reject his claim and hold a tournament to determine their own champion^[20] putting forward Alan Westbury in January 1945.^[21] By February Westbury was generally regarded as the legitimate champion by fans,^[22] and when Hockey Bennell beat the Leichhardt 'champion' in March 1945 he was aiming to earn a fight against Westbury to become the middleweight champion, reflecting that Stadiums Limited had assumed responsibility for the title.^[23]

The title has been formally administered by the Australian National Boxing Federation (previously the Australian Boxing Federation) since 1965.^[24]

^r – Champion relinquished title.
^s – Champion stripped of title.
Italics date – Reign disputed.

No.	Champion	Nat.	Reign Began	Reign Ended	Title defenses	Notes	Source(s)
1	Jim Hall def. Peter Boland		18 January 1890	19 January 1891	def. Bob Fitzsimmons on 11 February 1890 def. Eddie Welsh on 11 April 1890 def. Edward Rollins on 13 December 1890	-	[25][26][27][28][29]
2	Billy McCarthy def. Jim Hall		19 January 1891	May 1891r	def. Jim Burge on 6 April 1891	Moved to America in May 1891	[30][31][32]
3	Dan Creedon def. Edward Rollins		17 October 1891	November 1892r	def. Jim Ryan on 3 November 1891 drw. Martin Costello on 5 March 1892 def. Jim Ryan on 11 October 1892 def. Mick Dunn on 15 November 1892	Moved to America in November 1892	[33][34][35][36][37][38]
4	Tom Duggan def. Mick McInerney		7 April 1894	November 1895r	def. Bill Doherty on 3 November 1894 drw. Mick McInerney on 15 April 1895	Moved to South Africa in November 1895	[39][40][41][42]
5	Billy Edwards def. Bill Jennings		14 March 1896	March 1898r	def. Bill Jennings on 23 May 1896 def. Bill Jennings on 11 July 1896	Moved to England in March 1898	[43][44][45][46]
6	Bill Jennings def. Tim Murphy		4 September 1898	14 October 1899	-	Temporarily retired due to blood poisoning in December 1898	[47][48]
7	Tim Murphy def. Bill Jennings		14 October 1899	March 1900r	def. Jack Dunne on 9 December 1899 def. Jack Dunne on 10 January 1900 def. Jim Archer on 20 January 1900	Moved to America in March 1900	[49][50][51][52][53]
8	Mick Dunn def. Jack Conlon		March 1900	1 October 1900	-	Was recognized as champion in N.S.W. for beating Jack Conlon in October 1899 Did not box for the title in March 1900, but was recognized as champion after Murphy left the country	[54]
9	Otto Cribb def. Mick Dunn		1 October 1900	22 July 1901	-	-	[55][56]
10	Mick Dunn def. Otto Cribb		22 July 1901	December 1901r	-	Retired in December 1901 due to hand injury	[57][58]
11	Frank Sturgeon def. Harry Dawson		13 January 1902	31 December 1902	-	-	[59]
12	Jack Thompson def. Frank Sturgeon		31 December 1902	21 April 1903	def. Jim Richardson on 24 February 1903	-	[60][61]
13	Arthur Cripps def. Jack Thompson		21 April 1903	7 February 1905	def. Jack Thompson on 7 July 1903 def. Jack Thompson on 8 August 1904 def. Al Neill on 2 November 1904	Moved to South Africa in July 1903 Championship was contested but not won by any contenders during Cripps absence	[62][63][64][65][66]
14	Tim Murphy def. Arthur Cripps		7 February 1905	March 1905r	-	Moved to South Africa in March 1905	[67][68]
15	Arthur Cripps def. Ted Nelson		6 February 1906	July 1907r	def. Jack Blackmore on 3 April 1906 def. Ed Williams on 9 July 1906 def. Tim Murphy on 6 October 1906 def. Ed Williams on 15 October 1906 def. Tim Murphy on 5 February 1907 def. Ed Williams on 18 February 1907 def. Ted Nelson on 11 March 1907 def. Jack Blackmore on 7 May 1907	Temporarily retired in July 1907	[69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78]
16	Ted Nelson def. Ed Williams		15 July 1907	August 1907	-	Dropped to welterweight and lost in August 1907	[79][80][81]
17	Ed Williams def. Arthur Cripps		8 October 1907	8 June 1908	def. Ted Nelson on 24 February 1908	-	[82][83]
18	Jim Griffin def. Ed Williams		8 June 1908	July 1908r	-	Moved up to heavyweight and lost in July 1908	[84][85]
19	Ed Williams def. Pat O'Keefe		10 October 1908	August 1908s	-	Was not booked to fight Griffin when he returned to middleweight in August 1908	[86][87]
20	Arthur Cripps def. Jim Griffin		23 December 1908	26 April 1909	-	-	[88]
21	Ed Williams def. Arthur Cripps		26 April 1909	11 March 1910	def. Arthur Cripps on 11 August 1909	-	[89][90]
22	Arthur Cripps def. Ed Williams		11 March 1910	12 October 1910	def. Jerry Jerome on 10 August 1910	-	[91][92]
23	Dave Smith def. Arthur Cripps		12 October 1910	December 1910s	def. Ted Whiting on 12 November 1910	Fought over middleweight limit in December 1910	[93][94][95]
24	Ted Whiting def. Paddy Lynch		22 April 1911	12 August 1911	def. Tim Land on 27 May 1911 nc. Gus Devitt on 19 July 1911	-	[96][97][98]
25	Arthur Cripps def. Ted Whiting		12 August 1911	18 November 1911	drw. Gus Devitt on 11 October 1911	-	[99][100]
26	Jimmy Clabby def. Arthur Cripps		18 November 1911	November 1911r	-	Fought at welterweight in late November 1911	[101][102]
27	Ed Williams def. Roy Kenny		24 June 1912	August 1912s	-	Sydney promoter refused to book Williams in August 1912, and he was no longer referred to as champion	[103][104][105]
28	Jerry Jerome def. Charlie Godfrey		7 September 1912	February 1913r	def. Bill Rudd on 21 September 1912 def. Ted Whiting on 12 October 1912 def. Arthur Cripps on 1 February 1913	Had moved up to heavyweight by mid February 1913	[106][107][108][109][110]
29	Ted Whiting def. Gus Devitt		28 April 1913	August 1913s	-	As of August 1913, the middleweight title was considered vacant	[111][112]
30	Tim Land def. Gus Devitt		11 October 1913	6 December 1913	def. Bill Sonter on 25 October 1913	-	[113][114]
31	Jerry Jerome def. Tim Land		6 December 1913	January 1914r	def. Tim Land on 26 December 1913	Retired temporarily on medical advice in January 1914	[115][116][117]
32	Arthur Cripps def. Tim Land		4 April 1914	August 1914s	-	Lost title in August 1914, for not defending title for over six months	[118]
33	Mick King def. Arthur Evernden		8 August 1914	November 1914r	-	Boxed for world middleweight title in November 1914	[119][120]
34	Ed Williams def. George Brewer		12 December 1914	January 1915s	-	Fought below middleweight limit in January 1915	[121][122]
35	Les Darcy def. Mick King		12 June 1915	June 1915r	-	Was in the military by mid June 1915	[123][124][125]
36	Fritz Holland def. Mick King		22 January 1916	April 1916r	-	Dropped to welterweight in April 1916	[126][127]
37	Fred Kay def. Mick King		24 June 1916	6 January 1917	def. Tommy Uren on 16 December 1916	-	[128][129]
38	Tommy Uren def. Fred Kay		6 January 1917	28 April 1917	def. Jimmy Clabby on 17 February 1917	-	[130][131]
39	Jimmy Clabby def. Tommy Uren		28 April 1917	14 July 1917	-	-	[132]
40	Tommy Uren def. Jimmy Clabby		14 July 1917	May 1920s	def. Fred Kay on 13 October 1917 def. Fernand Quendreux on 11 October 1919	Fought at welterweight in January 1919 Lost title in May 1920, due to extended stay in New Zealand	[133][134][135][136][137][138]
41	Jim Baillie def. Tim O'Malley		18 June 1920	17 July 1920	-	-	[139]
42	Hubie Hinton def. Jim Baillie		17 July 1920	24 July 1920	-	-	[140]
43	Billy Shade def. Hubie Hinton		24 July 1920	November 1920r	def. Tommy Uren on 11 September 1920 def. Fred Kay on 9 October 1920	Returned to America in November 1920	[141][142][143][144]
44	Tom O'Malley def. Max Gornik		27 December 1920	June 1921r	-	Fought at light-heavyweight in May 1921 Announced relinquishment of title in October 1921, but Uren had already come to be regarded as champion in June	[145][146][147]
45	Tommy Uren def. Jim Borland		10 June 1921	9 July 1921	-	-	[148]
46	Frank Burns def. Tommy Uren		9 July 1921	December 1921r	def. Hubie Hinton on 30 July 1921 def. Jimmy Clabby on 10 September 1921 def. Tommy Uren on 29 October 1921 def. Harry Stone on 26 November 1921	Moved to England in December 1921	[149][150][151][152][153]
47	Tommy Uren def. Bill Butler		2 June 1922	19 August 1922	def. Jack Cole on 17 June 1922	-	[154][155]
48	Charlie Ring def. Tommy Uren		19 August 1922	7 October 1922	-	-	[156]
49	Alf Stewart def. Charlie Ring		7 October 1922	27 October 1924	def. Charlie Ring on 25 November 1922 def. Merv Williams on 3 March 1923 drw. Jack Cole on 2 April 1923 def. Les Kemp on 15 December 1923 def. Algie Daniels on 12 January 1924	Status as champion disputed in July 1924, due to not boxing for six months	[157][158][159]
50	Tommy Uren def. Merv Williams		23 August 1924	6 June 1925	-	Status as champion disputed when Alf Stewart returned to boxing in October 1924	[160][161]
51	Ted Monson def. Alf Stewart		27 October 1924	10 August 1925	def. Pud Segar on April 27, 1925 def. Tommy Uren on 20 July 1925	Status as champion disputed due to not boxing Tommy Uren for the title	[162][163][164][165]
52	Harry Collins def. Tommy Uren		6 June 1925	July 1925s	-	Championship disputed, Collins did not fight in match in which title was determined in July 1925	[166]
53	Alf Stewart def. Ted Monson		10 August 1925	September, 1925s	-	Was stripped of title in September, 1925, for declining to fight in the next six months, but claimed he was still champion	[167][168]
54	Billy Edwards def. Tommy Uren		18 September 1926	2 April 1927	-	-	[169]
55	Hughie Dwyer def. Billy Edwards		2 April 1927	November 1927r	def. Frank Burns on 3 September 1927	Retired in November 1927	[170][171][172]
56	Gordon Kiely def. Merv Williams		16 December 1927	13 January 1928	-	-	[173]
57	Ted Monson def. Gordon Kiely		13 January 1928	20 April 1928	def. Tommy Uren on 3 February 1928	-	[174][175]
58	Lachie McDonald def. Ted Monson		20 April 1928	6 July 1928	def. Gordon Kiely on 18 May 1928	-	[176][177]
59	Ted Monson def. Lachie McDonald		6 July 1928	23 November 1929	nc. Merv Williams on 1 February 1929 def. Billy Harms on 5 June 1929 def. Billy Harms on 30 August 1929	-	[178][179][180][181]
60	Jack Haines def. Ted Monson		23 November 1929	27 December 1930	def. Ted Monson on 8 March 1930 drw. Ambrose Palmer on 1 November 1930	-	[182][183][184]
61	Ambrose Palmer def. Jack Haines		27 December 1930	25 July 1931	-	-	[185]
62	Bob Thornton def. Ambrose Palmer		25 July 1931	19 September 1931	-	-	[186]
63	Ambrose Palmer def. Bob Thornton		19 September 1931	21 March 1931	def. Fred Henneberry on 3 October 1931	-	[187][188]
64	Fred Henneberry def. Ambrose Palmer		21 March 1932	20 March 1933	def. Bob Thornton on 9 May 1932	-	[189]
65	Ron Richards def. Fred Henneberry		20 March 1933	5 June 1933	-	-	[190]
66	Fred Henneberry def. Ron Richards		5 June 1933	21 December 1936	def. Tommy Jones on 14 September 1936	-	[191][192]
67	Ron Richards def. Fred Henneberry		21 December 1936	February 1941r	def. Jack McNamee on 23 November 1939 def. Fred Henneberry on 26 February 1940 def. Fred Henneberry on 16 December 1940	Retired in February 1941	[193][194]
68	Al Basten def. Ern Clingan		25 June 1941	4 October 1941	def. Richie Sands on 31 August 1941	-	[195][196]
69	Ron Richards def. Al Basten		4 October 1941	May 1942s	def. Fred Henneberry on 27 November 1941	Stripped of title due to hiatus from boxing in May 1942	[197][198][199]
70	Tommy Colteaux def. Bobby Clarke		28 May 1942	1 July 1943	def. Al Walker on 6 August 1942	-	[citation needed]
71	Hockey Bennell def. Tommy Colteaux		1 July 1943	October 1943s	drw. Tommy Colteaux on 12 August 1943	Title stripped after loss at welterweight and broken hand preventing matches from being booked in October 1943	[200][201]
72	Tommy Colteaux def. George Elliott		23 March 1944	21 December 1944	def. Cliff Bowen on July 20, 1944	Recognized as champion in Sydney, claim disputed by Stadiums Ltd.	[202]
73	Cliff Bowen def. Tommy Colteaux		21 December 1944	February 1945s	-	Recognized as champion by Leichhardt Stadium management Not regarded as champion by the public by February 1945	[203]
74	Alan Westbury def. Jack McNamee		20 January 1945	16 February 1946	-	Recognized as champion by Stadiums Ltd. Popularly regarded as champion by February 1945	[204]
75	Jack Kirkham def. Alan Westbury		16 February 1946	11 May 1946	def. Alan Westbury on 30 March 1946	-	[205]
76	Dave Sands def. Jack Kirkham		11 May 1946	11 August 1952r	def. Jack Kirkham on 7 June 1946 def. Al Bourke on 9 May 1952	Died in truck accident on 11 August 1952	[206]
77	Al Bourke def. Ron Toohey		12 December 1952	December 1953r	def. Alfie Sands on 17 April 1953 def. Carlo Marchini on 17 July 1953 def. Graham Higham on 20 November 1953 def. Bronco Johnson on 18 December 1953	Retired in December 1953	[207]
78	Pran Mikus def. Bill Larrigo		5 July 1954	14 February 1955	-	-	[citation needed]
79	Carlo Marchini def. Pran Mikus		14 February 1955	10 June 1955	-	-	[citation needed]
80	Pran Mikus def. Carlo Marchini		10 June 1955	5 December 1955	-	-	[citation needed]
81	Billy McDonnell def. Pran Mikus		5 December 1955	19 October 1956	-	-	[citation needed]
82	Luigi Coluzzi def. Billy McDonnell		19 October 1956	19 January 1957	-	-	[citation needed]
83	Billy McDonnell def. Luigi Coluzzi		19 January 1957	28 February 1958	-	-	[citation needed]
84	Clive Stewart def. Billy McDonnell		28 February 1958	4 November 1960	def. Peter Read on 26 February 1960	-	[citation needed]
85	Peter Read def. Clive Stewart		4 November 1960	July 1962r	def. Reg Hayes on 3 July 1961	Retired in July 1962	[208]
86	Reg Hayes def. Sam Wheeler		22 April 1963	September, 1965r	-	Retired in September, 1965	[209]
87	Dimitri Michael def. Tony Barber		22 August 1966	10 July 1967	-	-	-
88	Tony Barber def. Dimitri Michael		10 July 1967	September, 1967r	-	Retired in September, 1967	[210]
89	Dick Blair def. Bob Murdoch		16 October 1968	19 September 1969	-	-	-
90	Billy Choules def. Dick Blair		19 September 1969	23 April 1970	-	-	-
91	Tony Mundine def. Billy Choules		23 April 1970	June 1975r	-	Moved up to light heavyweight in 1975	[211]
92	Semi Bula def. Greg McNamara		25 June 1975	January 1977r	-	Retired in January 1977	[212]
93	Al Korovou def. Jimmy Gillon		14 September 1977	26 July 1978	def. Wally Carr on 14 December 1977 def. Ray Ryan on 16 February 1978	-	-
94	Wally Carr def. Al Korovou		26 July 1978	November 1980r	def. Benny Holt on 7 December 1978 def. John Krishna on 18 February 1979	Moved up to light heavyweight by November 1980	[213]
95	Steve Dennis def. Billy Johnstone		11 December 1981	15 June 1983	def. Ricky Patterson on 1 May 1983	-	-
96	Ritchie Roberts def. Steve Dennis		15 June 1983	9 July 1984	def. Billy Johnstone on 12 February 1984	-	-
97	Emmanuel Otti def. Ritchie Roberts		9 July 1984	21 September 1985	-	-
98	Lou Cafaro def. Emmanuel Otti		21 September 1985	March 1986r	def. Chad Hill on 21 March 1986	Went on hiatus from boxing after March 1986	[214]
99	Mark Janssen def. Paul James		4 August 1986	December 1986r	def. Paul James on 8 December 1986	Went on hiatus from boxing after December 1986	[215]
100	Lou Cafaro def. Graeme Looker		16 July 1989	16 October 1989	-	-
101	Craig Trotter def. Lou Cafaro		16 October 1989	20 April 1990	-	-
102	Lou Cafaro def. Craig Trotter		20 April 1990	20 November 1991	-	-
103	Vito Gaudiosi def. Lou Cafaro		20 November 1991	March 1992	-	Retired in March 1992	[216]
104	Ernie Artango def. Craig Trotter		22 September 1993	????	def. Darren Obah on 26 March 1994 drw. Craig Trotter on 7 October 1994 def. Craig Trotter on 10 February 1995	-
105	Marc Bargero def. Ian McLeod		21 March 1997	????	def. Arama Tabuai on 12 September 1997 def. Abel Parker on 29 May 1998	-
106	Sam Soliman def. Brad Mayo		9 July 1999	????	-	-
107	Marc Bargero def. Brad Mayo		7 October 1999	11 February 2000	drw. Ian McLeod on 10 December 1999	-
108	Josh Clenshaw def. Marc Bargero		11 February 2000	28 April 2000	-	-
109	Nader Hamdan def. Josh Clenshaw		28 April 2000	????	-	-
110	Ian McLeod def. Brandon Wood		26 May 2000	September, 2000r	-	Competed for PABA Middle Title in September, 2000	[217]
111	Darren Obah def. Andriy Khamula		11 December 2000	June 2001r	-	Competed for IBF Pan Pacific Middle Title in June 2001	[218]
112	John Wayne Parr def. Andriy Khamula		8 July 2001	24 October 2001	-	-
113	Ian McLeod def. John Wayne Parr		24 October 2001	????	def. Nick Lundh on 13 September 2002	-
114	Sakio Bika def. Arama Tabuai		11 April 2003	????	def. John Wayne Parr on 13 June 2003 def. Joel Bourke on 2 April 2004	-
115	Daniel Dawson def. Josh Clenshaw		12 December 2004	????	-	-
116	Adam Vella def. Matt Shaw		22 October 2005	????	def. Sonni Michael Angelo on 18 June 2006 def. Sean Connell on 24 November 2006	-
117	Junior Talipeau def. George Livaditis		14 September 2007	February 2010s	def. Peter Mitrevski Jr on 23 November 2007 def. William Hadlow on 4 April 2008 def. Robert Toomey on 31 October 2008 def. Jason Hartmann on 1 May 2009 def. Ben Crampton on 19 June 2009	Moved to super middleweight in late 2009, title considered vacant as of February 2010	[219]
118	Johannes Mwetupunga def. Jason Hartmann		26 March 2010	24 February 2012	def. William Hadlow on 14 May 2010 def. Kurt Bahram on 15 September 2010 def. Peter Mitrevski Jr on 8 December 2010 def. Omar Shaick on 15 April 2011	-
119	Jarrod Fletcher def. Johannes Mwetupunga		24 February 2012	????	def. Les Piper on 20 April 2012	-
120	Nathan Carroll def. Kurt Bahram		16 March 2013	11 July 2013	-	-
121	Dennis Hogan def. Nathan Carroll		11 July 2013	????	def. Robbie Bryant on 7 December 2013 def. Leroy Brown on 16 March 2014	-
122	Dwight Ritchie def. Ryan Waters		21 November 2015	????	def. Ryan Waters on 21 November 2015	-
123	Wes Capper def. Wade Ryan		26 August 2016	????	-	-
124	David Toussaint def. Liam Hutchinson		8 September 2017	March 2018r	-	Retired in March 2018, due to neurological condition	[220]
125	Tej Pratap Singh def. Jason Leuken		14 December 2018	4 December 2020	def. Viktor Agateljan on 5 April 2019	-
126	Issac Hardman def. Tej Pratap Singh		4 December 2020	Present	-	-	[221]