Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, 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 ...

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanctioning organizations or state athletic commissions would recognize it. Jack Wolf won recognition as champion when he beat Joe Lynch at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

on September 21, 1922, but afterwards the weight division fell into disuse. The division was revived in the 1970s and the first title fight in 54 years in the division took place in 1976 when the

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federatio ...

recognized Rigoberto Riasco as its champion when he defeated Waruinge Nakayama in eight rounds. The

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Box ...

crowned its first champion in 1977 when

Soo Hwan Hong Hong Soo-hwan (Hangul: 홍수환, born May 26, 1950) is a South Korean former professional boxer who competed between 1969 and 1980. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA and ''The Ring'' bantamweight titles from ...

knocked out Hector Carasquilla in three rounds to win the inaugural WBA championship. In 1983 the

International Boxing Federation The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

sanctioned the bout between Bobby Berna and Seung-In Suh for its first title. Berna won in the eleventh round. Notable fighters to hold championship titles at this weight have been Wayne McCullough,

Guillermo Rigondeaux Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz (; born 30 September 1980) is a Cuban professional boxer. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the unified WBA (Super), WBO and '' Ring'' magazine super bantamweight titles between 2013 ...

, Scott Quigg,

Wilfredo Gómez Wilfredo Gómez RiveraLupe Pintor José Guadalupe Pintor Guzmán (born 13 April 1955), better known as Lupe Pintor, is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1974 to 1995. He won the WBC bantamweight title in 1979 after defeating Carlos Zárate Serna, and made ...

Jeff Fenech Jeff Fenech (born 28 May 1964) is an Australian former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2008. He won world titles in three weight divisions, having held the IBF bantamweight title from 1985 to 1987, the WBC super-bantamweight t ...

, Fabrice Benichou, Daniel Zaragoza, Kennedy McKinney, Érik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera,

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 ...

Rafael Márquez Rafael Márquez Álvarez (; born 13 February 1979) is a Mexican former professional footballer and current head coach of Spanish team Barcelona Atlètic. Nicknamed '' El Káiser'', he is regarded as the best defender in Mexico's history and on ...

Toshiaki Nishioka is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2012. He held the WBC super-bantamweight title from 2008 to 2012, and challenged for the WBO and ''The Ring super-bantamweight titles in his final-fight. Nishioka is known for h ...

, Carl Frampton, Leo Santa Cruz, Isaac Dogboe and Israel Vázquez. Gómez holds the record for longest title reign, at five years and ten months.

Current world champions

Current champions

Current ''The Ring'' world rankings

As of , . Keys: : Current '' The Ring'' world champion

References

{{Boxing weight classes

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 ...