The WBA has eliminated the bridgerweight division effective immediately. The weight class between cruiserweight and heavyweight no longer exists within the organization.
The World Boxing Association (WBA) has removed the Bridgerweight division from its world championship program effective immediately. The decision was made at the most recent WBA Convention in Orlando and is retroactive to June 30, 2026. According to the association, the decision is part of a long-term strategy to reduce the number of world championships and titleholders and to strengthen the individual weight classes. The WBA had announced on several occasions in recent years that it would streamline its title structure.
The current titleholders have already been assigned to new weight classes. WBA World Champion Muslim Gadzhimagomedov will now be listed in the cruiserweight division, while Interim World Champion Vartan Arutyunyan will move up to the heavyweight rankings. The WBA had introduced the bridgerweight division as recently as late 2023. The weight class, ranging from 90.7 to 101.6 kilograms, was intended primarily to offer smaller heavyweights better competitive opportunities. Unlike the WBC, which had already introduced the bridgerweight division in 2020 and continues to recognize it, the division never managed to establish itself permanently within the WBA. As a result, the bridgerweight division now remains only with the WBC among the four major world governing bodies.
Text by Robin Josten