Flyweight is a
weight class
Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Alter ...
in
combat sport
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opp ...
s.
Boxing
Flyweight is a class in
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb).
Professional boxing
The flyweight division was the last of boxing's eight traditional weight classes to be established. Before 1909, anyone below
featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Boxing
Professional boxing
History
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...
was considered a
bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...
, regardless of how small the boxer. In 1911, the organization that eventually became the
British Boxing Board of Control
The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom.
History
The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardif ...
held a match that crowned Sid Smith as the first flyweight champion of the world.
Jimmy Wilde, who reigned from 1916 to 1923, was the first fighter recognized both in Britain and the United States as a flyweight champion.
Other notable flyweights include
Victor Perez,
Pancho Villa
Francisco "Pancho" Villa (, Orozco rebelled in March 1912, both for Madero's continuing failure to enact land reform and because he felt insufficiently rewarded for his role in bringing the new president to power. At the request of Madero's c ...
,
Walter McGowan,
Pascual Pérez,
Pone Kingpetch,
Fighting Harada,
Masao Ohba,
Chartchai Chionoi,
Efren Torres
Efren Torres born La Palma, Mexico,(November 29, 1943 – February 25, 2010) was a Mexican professional boxer, who was world champion in the flyweight division. Torres was born in La Palma, Mexico in 1943, and spent most of his early life in h ...
,
Erbito Salavarria,
Miguel Canto,
Dave McAuley,
Charlie Magri,
Gabriel Bernal,
Santos Laciar,
Sot Chitalada,
Yong-Kang Kim,
Yuri Arbachakov,
Danny Romero,
Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson,
Manny Pacquiao
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...
,
Jorge Arce
Jorge Armando Arce Armenta (; born July 27, 1979), best known as Jorge Arce, is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2014. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the second boxer from Mexico to win world titles in ...
,
Vic Darchinyan,
Nonito Donaire,
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam,
Amnat Ruenroeng
Amnat Ruenroeng ( th, อำนาจ รื่นเริง; IPA:; born December 18, 1979), also known as Amnat Kasetphatthana ( th, อำนาจ เกษตรพัฒนา) is a Thai professional boxer and kickboxer who held the IBF ...
,
Román González,
McWilliams Arroyo
McWilliams Arroyo Acevedo (born December 5, 1985) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who has held the WBC interim flyweight title since February 2021. He previously challenged for the IBF flyweight title in 2014, and the WBC and '' Ring'' ...
,
Donnie Nietes,
Nicola Adams
Nicola Virginia Adams (born 26 October 1982) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She retired List of undefeated boxing world champions, with an undefeated record and held the WBO female flyweight title in 201 ...
.
Current world champions
Current ''The Ring'' world rankings
As of November 12, 2022.
Keys:
: Current ''
The Ring'' world champion
Longest reigning world flyweight champions
Below is a list of longest reigning flyweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.
Amateur boxing
Olympic Champions
*
1904
Events
January
* January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''.
* January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system.
* ...
:
*
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own m ...
:
*
1924:
*
1928:
*
1932:
*
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
:
*
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
:
*
1952:
*
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
:
*
1960:
*
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
:
*
1968
The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...
:
*
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
:
*
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...
:
*
1980:
*
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...
:
*
1988:
*
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...
:
*
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...
:
*
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
:
*
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
:
*
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...
:
*
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
:
*
2016:
*
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...
:
Pan American Champions
*
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
:
Alberto Barenghi
Alberto Barenghi (2 May 1930 – 18 November 2002) was an Argentine boxer. He competed in the men's flyweight event at the 1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), o ...
(
ARG)
*
1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yiji ...
: Hilario Correa (
MEX
MEX or Mex may refer to:
Places
* Mexico, a country in the southern portion of North America
** State of Mexico
** Mexico City
** Mexico City International Airport, IATA airport code MEX
* Mex, Valais, Switzerland
* Mex, Vaud, Switzerland
* Mexbor ...
)
*
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
:
Miguel Angel Botta
-->
Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to:
Places
* Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands
* São Miguel (disam ...
(
ARG)
*
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
: Floreal García (
URU)
*
1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...
:
Francisco Rodríguez (
VEN)
*
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
:
Francisco Rodríguez (
VEN)
*
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
:
Ramón Duvalón
Ramón Duvalón (born August 31, 1954) is a retired boxer from Cuba, who represented his native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. There he won the silver medal in the flyweight division (– 51 kg) after be ...
(
CUB)
*
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
:
Alberto Mercado (
PUR
Pur or PUR may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Pur (band), a German band
* Pur, a song by the Cocteau Twins
People
* Necla Pur (born 1943), Turkish economist and professor
* Quraish Pur (1932–2013), Pakistani scholar, writer, and ...
)
*
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
:
Pedro Orlando Reyes
Pedro Orlando Reyes (born 23 February 1959) is a retired Cuban amateur boxer. He won gold medals at the 1983 Pan American Games and 1986 World Championships, placing second in 1989. He could not compete in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics due to their ...
(
CUB)
*
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...
: Adalberto Regalado (
CUB)
*
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...
: José Ramos (
CUB)
*
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...
:
Joan Guzmán
Joan Guzmán (born May 1, 1976) is a Dominican former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2014. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO super bantamweight title from 2002 to 2005, and the WBO junior light ...
(
DOM)
*
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...
:
Omar Andrés Narváez (
ARG)
*
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...
:
Yuriorkis Gamboa (
CUB)
*
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...
:
McWilliams Arroyo
McWilliams Arroyo Acevedo (born December 5, 1985) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who has held the WBC interim flyweight title since February 2021. He previously challenged for the IBF flyweight title in 2014, and the WBC and '' Ring'' ...
(
PUR
Pur or PUR may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Pur (band), a German band
* Pur, a song by the Cocteau Twins
People
* Necla Pur (born 1943), Turkish economist and professor
* Quraish Pur (1932–2013), Pakistani scholar, writer, and ...
)
*
2011:
Robeisy Ramírez (
CUB)
Kickboxing
In
kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, gen ...
, a flyweight fighter generally weighs 53 kg (116 lb) or under. The
International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) Flyweight division (professional and amateur) is 112.1 lb. – 117 lb. or 50.95 kg – 53.18 kg.
In
ONE Championship
ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixe ...
, the flyweight division is up to .
Mixed Martial Arts
The flyweight division in
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...
– as defined by the
Nevada State Athletic Commission combat sports
A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the oppon ...
doctrine and by the
Association of Boxing Commissions
The Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) is a North American not-for-profit professional boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) organization that organizes contests and record-keeping. It is governed by delegates of state, provincial, and tribal at ...
– groups together all competitors 125
lb (57
kg) and below. It sits between
Strawweight (106 lb-115 lb) and
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...
(126 lb-135lb).
The flyweight division in mixed martial arts refers to a number of different weight classes:
*The
UFC's flyweight division, which groups competitors within 116 to 125 lb (53 to 57 kg)
*The
Pancrase
Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki.
The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki ...
light flyweight division with an upper limit of 120 lb
*The
Shooto
Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the ''Shooto Association'' and the ''International Shooto Commission''. Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 198 ...
flyweight division with an upper limit of 115 lb
*The
ONE Championship
ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixe ...
's flyweight division, with upper limit at
*The
Road FC's flyweight division, with upper limit at 125 lb (57 kg)
Professional champions
These tables are not always up to date. Last updated on September 4th, 2022.
Men:
Women:
See also
*
List of current MMA Flyweight Champions
*
List of Road FC Flyweight Champions
*
List of current MMA Women's Flyweight Champions
References
External links
{{Boxing weight classes
Mixed martial arts weight classes
*
Boxing weight classes
Kickboxing weight classes
Taekwondo weight classes
Wrestling weight classes
*
*