Curious question about stepping up in weight...

[Tom_Tocca]

...here it is:

Is there a man in boxing history who won a championship in his traditional weight class, stepped up to the next weight class but couldn't win the championship, stepped up another weight class and won the championship...

For example: fighter A won the title at 160, lost to the champ at 175 and moved up to heavyweight, where he won the world championship...

[Stoppage]

I did some research and found only one boxer that matched the criteria. He's Vinny Pazienza.

He was the IBF lightweight champion of the world from 1987-1988. He had three attempts at winning a light welterweight title but lost all of them. Once in 1988 and twice in 1990. In 1991, he won the WBA World light middleweight title and remained champion until sometime in 1992.

[BattlingNelson]

Not quite the criterias in question, but Bob Fitzsimmons won the middlerweight title and then jumped to heavyweight and won that title. After losing to James Jeffries he won the LHW title in 1903.

It sounds stranger than it was considering Fitz rarely if ever weighed more than 175 lbs.

[Bundana]

Thomas Hearns first beat Cuevas for the welterweight title...
Then took the junior-middle crown from Benitez...
Failed in an attempt to win the middleweight title against Hagler...
And then took the light-heavyweight crown from Dennis Andries.

[BennyST]

Yes, there have been many to try. Dingaan Thobela (sp?) won the lightweight title, then moved up to WW where he fought Baldomir and drew with him then moved up to MW where he lost a title shot and then won the SMW title and made a number of very good defenses.

Amazing.

[larry x]

thats an amazing catagorey to be included in