Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a
weight division in
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 between and .
The super featherweight division was established by the New York
Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the
New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) in 1930. The first English champion was "Battling Kid" Nelson in 1914 who lost his title to Benny Berger in 1915. Artie O’Leary also won this title in 1917. This weight class appeared into two distinct historical periods, from 1921 to 1933 and 1960 to the present.
Some of the notable fighters to hold championship titles at this weight include
Brian Mitchell ,
Arturo Gatti
Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was an Italian-Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. A world champion in two weight classes, Gatti held the IBF junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the WBC su ...
,
Vasiliy Lomachenko
Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko ( uk, Василь Анатолійович Ломаченко, ; also spelled Vasiliy; born 17 February 1988) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes f ...
,
Flash Elorde
Gabriel "Flash" Elorde (March 25, 1935 – January 2, 1985) was a Filipino professional boxer. He won the lineal super featherweight title in 1960. In 1963, he won the inaugural WBC and WBA super featherweight titles. He holds the record at sup ...
,
Alexis Argüello
Alexis Argüello (April 19, 1952 – July 1, 2009) was a Nicaraguan professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 1995, and later became a politician. He was a List of boxing triple champions, three-weight world champion, having held the World Bo ...
,
Azumah Nelson,
Julio César Chávez,
Diego Corrales
Diego "Chico" Corrales Jr. (August 25, 1977 – May 7, 2007) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2007. He was a multiple-time world champion in two weight divisions, having held the IBF super featherweight title from 19 ...
,
Floyd Mayweather Jr.,
Érik Morales,
Marco Antonio Barrera,
Acelino Freitas,
Juan Manuel Márquez,
Oscar De La Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championsh ...
,
Rocky Lockridge
Rick "Rocky" Lockridge (January 10, 1959 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional boxer. He is perhaps best known for having handed Roger Mayweather his first defeat—a first-round knockout in just 98 seconds—earning him the WBA ...
, and
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 ...
. The first
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 ...
(previously known as the
National Boxing Association up until 1962) champion was
Johnny Dundee
Johnny Dundee (November 19, 1893 – April 22, 1965) was an American featherweight and the first world junior lightweight champion boxer who fought from 1910 until 1932. He was inducted into the Ring Magazine Hall of Fame in 1957 and the I ...
in 1922. The first
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 ...
champion was
Gabriel Elorde in 1963. The inaugural champion for 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 ...
was
Hwan-Kil Yuh in 1984. The first
World Boxing Organisation champion was
John John Molina in 1989.
Current world champions
Current world rankings
''The Ring''
As of , .
Keys:
: Current ''
The Ring'' world champion
BoxRec
As of 12 June 2022.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Super Featherweight
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 ...
*