Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.

Boxing

Professional boxing

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

, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, in which boxers weigh above 61.2kg or 135 pounds and up to 63.5 kg or 140 pounds. The first champion of this weight class was

Pinky Mitchell Pinky Mitchell was an American boxer who became the first champion in the light welterweight division by receiving the most votes by ballot on November 15, 1922. He held the title until 1926. In his impressive career he fought Oakland Jimmy Duff ...

in 1946, though he was only awarded his championship by a vote of the readers of the ''Boxing Blade'' magazine. There was not widespread acceptance of this new weight division in its early years, and the New York State Athletic Commission withdrew recognition of it in 1930. The National Boxing Association continued to recognize it until its champion, Barney Ross relinquished the title in 1935 to concentrate on regaining the welterweight championship. A few commissions recognized bouts in the 1940s as being for the light welterweight title, but the modern beginnings of this championship date from 1959 when

Carlos Ortiz Carlos Ortíz may refer to: * Carlos Ortiz (boxer) (1936–2022), Puerto Rican boxer * Carlos Escobar Ortiz (born 1989), Chilean footballer * Carlos Ortiz (wrestler) (born 1974), retired wrestler from Cuba * Carlos Arias Ortiz, Mexican biochemist ...

won the vacant title with a victory over

Kenny Lane Kenny Lane (April 9, 1932 – August 5, 2008) was an American southpaw (left-handed) boxer. He fought for lightweight and light welterweight titles of the world, once against Joe Brown and twice against Carlos Ortiz. Early life Lane was rai ...

. Both the World Boxing Association (WBA) and the World Boxing Council (WBC) recognized the same champions until 1967, when the WBC stripped

Paul Fuji Takeshi Fuji (藤猛, born Paul Takeshi Fuji on July 6, 1940) is a Hawaiian-born Japanese former professional boxer. He is a former Lineal, WBA and WBC super lightweight ( light welterweight) champion. Biography Fuji was born a third generat ...

of the title and matched

Pedro Adigue Pedro Adigue Jr. (November 16, 1943 – November 20, 2003) was a world champion boxer. He came from the small town of Bontod in Palanas, Masbate, the Philippines. Early life Pedro was born on November 16, 1943 in Bontod, Masbate, Philippines. P ...

and Adolph Pruitt for their version of the championship. Adigue won a fifteen-round decision. 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 ...

(IBF) recognized Aaron Pryor as its first champion in 1984. Hector Camacho became the first World Boxing Organization (WBO) champion with his victory against

Ray Mancini Ray Mancini (born Raymond Michael Mancino; March 4, 1961), best known as "Boom Boom" Mancini, is an American former professional boxer who competed professionally from 1979 to 1992 and who has since worked as an actor and sports commentator. H ...

in 1989.

Current world champions

Current world rankings

=''The Ring''

= As of December 10, 2022. Keys: : Current '' The Ring'' world champion

=BoxRec

= .

Amateur boxing

amateur boxing Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration, comprising three rounds of three ...

, light welterweight is a weight class for fighters weighing up to 64

kilograms The kilogram (also kilogramme) is the unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), having the unit symbol kg. It is a widely used measure in science, engineering and commerce worldwide, and is often simply called a kilo colloquially ...

. For the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

, the division was created when the span from 54–67 kg was changed from three weight classes ( featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight) to four. Perhaps the most famous amateur light welterweight champion is Sugar Ray Leonard, who went on to an impressive professional career.

Olympic Champions

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

– *

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

– *

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

– *

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 Patriarch ...

– *

1968 The year was highlighted by 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 Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

– *

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 Phila ...

– *

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

– *

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 A ...

– *

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

– *

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

– *

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

– *

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 6 ...

– *

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 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

–

Notable fighters

Saensak Muangsurin Saensak Muangsurin (แสนศักดิ์ เมืองสุรินทร์) (13 August 1950 – 16 April 2009) was a professional boxer from Phetchabun, Thailand. He was a Muay Thai fighter and professional boxer. He was WBC light w ...

Saoul Mamby Saoul Paul Mamby (June 4, 1947 – December 19, 2019) was an American professional boxer who fought between 1969 and 2008. He held the WBC super lightweight title from 1980 to 1982. Personal Born in South Bronx, New York, Mamby, the child of ...

Tippy Larkin Tippy Larkin (November 11, 1917 – December 10, 1991), born Antonio Pilliteri, was an American boxer from New Jersey who took the world light-welterweight boxing championship on April 29, 1946 in a twelve-round unanimous decision against Willie J ...

* Aaron Pryor *

Carlos Morocho Hernández Carlos Enrique Hernández Ramos (April 21, 1940 – July 2, 2016) was a Venezuelan world champion professional boxer. Known professionally as Carlos Morocho Hernandez (Carlos "Dark Haired" Hernandez), he ended his career following a TKO by Scotti ...

* Antonio Cervantes *

Julio César Chávez Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was liste ...

* Oscar De La Hoya * Pernell Whitaker * Kostya Tszyu *

Duilio Loi Duilio Loi (19 April 1929 – 20 January 2008) was an Italian Boxing, boxer who held the Italian and European lightweight and welterweight titles, as well as the World Junior Welterweight Championship. Loi fought from 1948 to 1962, and retired w ...

Eddie Perkins Eddie Perkins (March 3, 1937 – May 10, 2012) was an American light welterweight boxer. He compiled an amateur boxing record of 26–10. Professional career Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Perkins turned professional in 1956. He was man ...

Erik Morales Erik Isaac Morales Elvira (; born September 1, 1976) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2012. He is the first Mexico-born boxer in history to win world titles in four different weight classes, having held the WBC ...

* Ricky Hatton * Manny Pacquiao *

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...

* Amir Khan * Juan Manuel Márquez * Nicolino Locche * Micky Ward *

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 super ...

Marijan Beneš Marijan Beneš (11 June 1951 – 4 September 2018) was a Yugoslav Boxing, boxer from Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is considered one of the best boxers in Yugoslav history. After a brilliant amateur career, culminating in the gold medal ...

Danny García Danny Óscar Garcia (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super), WBC, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal light welterweight titles betwe ...

Devon Alexander Devon Alexander (born February 10, 1987) is an American professional boxer. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the unified WBC and IBF light welterweight titles in 2010, and the IBF welterweight title from 2012 to ...

* Ruslan Provodnikov * Alexis Arguello * Timothy Bradley *

Viktor Postol Viktor Vasylovych Postol ( uk, Віктор Васильович Постол; born 16 January 1984) is a Ukrainian professional boxer who held the WBC light-welterweight title from 2015 to 2016 and challenged twice for the WBO light-welterwei ...

* Wilfred Benítez * Miguel Cotto * Terence Crawford *

Julius Indongo Julius Munyelele Indongo (born 12 February 1983) is a Namibian professional boxer. He is a former unified light-welterweight world champion, having held the WBA (Unified), IBF, and IBO titles between 2016 and 2017. As an amateur, Indongo rep ...

Paulie Malignaggi Paul "Paulie" Malignaggi (; ; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017 and has since worked as a boxing commentator and analyst. He held world championships in two weight classes, including ...

* Junior Witter * Regis Prograis *

Josh Taylor Josh or Joshua Taylor may refer to: * Josh Taylor (actor) (born 1943), American comedy and dramatic television actor * Josh Taylor (baseball) (born 1993), American professional baseball pitcher * Josh Taylor (boxer) (born 1991), Scottish profession ...

Kickboxing

* In the International Kickboxing Federation (IKF), Super lightweight is 132.1 - 137 lbs or 60.04 - 62.27 kg, & Light welterweight is 137.1 - 142 lbs or 62.31 - 64.54 kg.

Lethwei

The World Lethwei Championship recognizes the light welterweight division with an upper limit of . In World Lethwei Championship

Antonio Faria Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

is the Light welterweight Champion.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Light Welterweight Boxing weight classes Kickboxing weight classes *