Weight class (boxing)
Encyclopedia
In boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

, a weight class is a standardized weight range for boxers. The upper weight limit for each class is the lower limit of the next higher class. The top class, with no upper limit, is called heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

in professional boxing
Professional Boxing
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...

 and super heavyweight
Super heavyweight
In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms . Introduced for the 1984 Summer Olympics, the division, despite its grandiose name, is merely the amateur equivalent of the professional heavyweight division...

in amateur boxing
Amateur boxing
Amateur boxing is practised at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, and in many other venues sponsored by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration and fighters wear head protection, so this type of competition prizes point-scoring rather...

. A boxing match is usually scheduled for a fixed weight class, and each boxer's weight must not exceed the upper limit. An amateur boxer's weight must in addition not fall below the lower limit, although pro boxers may fight above their weight class. A nonstandard weight limit is called a catch weight
Catch weight
A catch weight is a term used in combat sports such as boxing and mixed martial arts to describe a weight limit for a fight that does not fall in line with the traditional limits for weight classes...

. A catch weight may be agreed for an individual bout—sometimes even for a championship bout—but championships are awarded only at the standard weight classes.

The weigh-in

A professional boxer typically weighs more between fights than at the time of a fight. Part of the process of training for a bout is "getting down to fighting weight". The weigh-in takes place the day before the fight. Boxers typically stand on the scales barefoot and without gloves. The weigh-in is often a photo opportunity and boxers or their entourage may trash talk each other. This element is such a valued part of the build-up that heavyweight boxers go through the ritual of being weighed even though there is no limit to be measured against.

A boxer who is over the weight limit may strip naked to make the weight if the excess is minimal; otherwise, in a professional bout, one can try again later, typically after losing weight in the interim through dehydration
Dehydration
In physiology and medicine, dehydration is defined as the excessive loss of body fluid. It is literally the removal of water from an object; however, in physiological terms, it entails a deficiency of fluid within an organism...

 by vigorous exercise in a steam room
Steam room
A steam room is an enclosed space with large amounts of high temperature steam, creating a high humidity environment. People sit in this room in a similar way to a sauna , for relaxation and purported benefits to health and well being. They can be commonly found in gyms, sanitariums and health...

. If the excess weight is too great, the effort expended trying to "make weight" will make the boxer unfit for the fight itself. In such cases, the fight may be cancelled, with the over weight boxer sanctioned; or the fight may proceed as a catch weight
Catch weight
A catch weight is a term used in combat sports such as boxing and mixed martial arts to describe a weight limit for a fight that does not fall in line with the traditional limits for weight classes...

 non-title fight.

An amateur boxer must make the weight at the initial weigh-in; there is no opportunity to try again later. There is a "general weigh-in" before the start of the tournament and a "daily weigh-in" on the morning of each of a fighter's bouts. At the general weigh-in, the fighter must be between the weight class's upper and lower limits; at the daily weigh-in only the upper limit is enforced. A fighter outside the limit at the initial weigh-in may be allowed to fight in a different class if there is space in the tournament. At major events such as Boxing at the Olympics
Boxing at the Summer Olympics
Boxing has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since its introduction to the program at the 1904 Summer Olympics, except for the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, because Swedish law banned the sport at the time. The 2008 Summer Olympics was the final games with boxing as a male only event...

, there is a limit of one boxer per country per weight class.

Culture

A boxer may fight different bouts at different weight classes. The trend for professionals is to move up to a higher class as they age. Winning titles at multiple weight classes to become a "multiple champion" is considered a major achievement. In amateur boxing, bouts are much shorter and much more frequent, and boxers fight at their "natural" weight.

One boxer is said to be better "pound for pound
Pound for pound
Pound for pound is a term to describe how any two things compare when bearing in mind their varying quantities; for example, a tin of tomatoes weighing 250 g and costing $2.50 is more expensive, pound for pound, than one weighing 500 g and costing $4 .It is used in combat sports such as boxing or...

" than another if he is considered superior with due regard for their difference in weight. Theoretical comparisons of the merits of boxers in different weight classes are a popular topic for boxing fans, with a similar speculative appeal to comparing sports figures from different eras; in both cases, the competitors could never face each other in reality.

History

In the early nineteenth century, there were no standard weight classes. In 1823, the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue said the limit for a "light weight" was 12 stone
Stone (weight)
The stone is a units of measurement that was used in many North European countries until the advent of metrication. It value, which ranged from 3 kg to 12 kg, varied from city to city and also often from commodity to commodity...

 (168 lb) while Sportsman's Slang the same year gave 11 stone (154 lb) as the limit. Size mismatches were dangerous for the smaller boxer and unsatisfying for the spectators. National and world titles could only become recognised if standard weight classes were agreed upon. Important sets of weight classes were those specified in 1909 by the National Sporting Club
National Sporting Club
The National Sporting Club was a club founded in London in 1891, which did more to establish the sport of boxing in Great Britain than any other organisation.-Origins:...

 of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, and those contained in the 1920 Walker Law
Walker Law
The Walker Law passed in 1920 was an early New York state law regulating boxing. The law reestablished legal boxing in the state following the three-year ban created by the repeal of the Frawley Law. The law instituted rules that better ensured the safety of combatants and reduced the roughness...

 which established the New York State Athletic Commission
New York State Athletic Commission
The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, professional wrestlers, seconds, ring officials,...

 (NYSAC).

After the split in the 1960s between the WBC and the WBA, the divisions were narrowed, creating more champions simultaneously, and making it easier for fighters to move between different weight divisions. Among the professional bodies, the names of the new divisions are not standardized between different sanctioning bodies, although the cutoff weights are. These weights are specified in pound
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...

s, reflecting the historic dominance of America (and, earlier, Britain) in the sport.

Professional boxing

This table gives names and limits recognised by the four widely-regarded sanctioning bodies (WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

, WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

, IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...

, WBO
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...

) and the label used in Boxrec.com
Boxrec.com
BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to keep updated records of professional boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a mediawiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing: ....

's data.

The date is that since which a continuous world title has been recognised by a major sanctioning body; some classes had earlier champions recognised intermittently or by minor bodies. One current weight class with only minor recognition is "super-cruiserweight
Super-cruiserweight
A Super Cruiserweight is a professional boxer who is too heavy for the Cruiserweight division but not big, or tall, enough to compete well in the Heavyweight Division. It should not be confused with the Light Heavyweight division....

"; widely used as an informal descriptor, it is a formal weight class of the lightly regarded (professional) International Boxing Association at a limit of 210 lb; the IBA's cruiserweight limit is 190 lb.
Weight limit
(lb / kg)
Continuous
since
WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

 
WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

 
IBF
IBF
IBF may refer to:*International Boxing Federation is one of several boxing organisations* International Bandy Federation former name of Federation of International Bandy , an international governing body for bandy...

 
WBO  Boxrec
unlimited
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

 
1885  Heavyweight Heavyweight Heavyweight Heavyweight Heavyweight
200 / 90.7  1980Original limit 190 lb; raised to 200 lb in 2003 Cruiserweight Cruiserweight Cruiserweight Junior heavyweight Cruiserweight
175 / 79.4
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...

 
1913  Light heavyweight Light heavyweight Light heavyweight Light heavyweight Light heavyweight
168 / 76.2
Super middleweight
Super Middleweight is a boxing and Muay Thai weight division that has a weight limit of 168 pounds .- 1960s–1983 :There was interest in a division between Middleweight and Light Heavyweight in the late 1960s, the mid-1970s, and the early 1980s...

 
1984  Super middleweight Super middleweight Super middleweight Super middleweight Super middleweight
160 / 72.6
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...

 
1884  Middleweight Middleweight Middleweight Middleweight Middleweight
154 / 69.9
Light middleweight
Light Middleweight , is a weight division in professional boxing, above 147 pounds and up to 154 pounds ....

 
1962  Super welterweight Super welterweight Junior middleweight Junior middleweight Light middleweight
147 / 66.7
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...

 
1914  Welterweight Welterweight Welterweight Welterweight Welterweight
140 / 63.5  1959  Super lightweight Super lightweight Junior welterweight Junior welterweight Light welterweight
135 / 61.2
Lightweight
Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....

 
1886  Lightweight Lightweight Lightweight Lightweight Lightweight
130 / 59.0
Super Featherweight
Super featherweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 130 pounds or 59 kilograms....

 
1959  Super featherweight Super featherweight Junior lightweight Junior lightweight Super featherweight
126 / 57.2
Featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...

 
1889  Featherweight Featherweight Featherweight Featherweight Featherweight
122 / 55.3
Super Bantamweight
Super bantamweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 122 pounds, or roughly 55.34 kilograms....

 
1976  Super bantamweight Super bantamweight Junior featherweight Junior featherweight Super bantamweight
118 / 53.5
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...

 
1894  Bantamweight Bantamweight Bantamweight Bantamweight Bantamweight
115 / 52.2
Super flyweight
Super flyweight is a weight division in professional boxing. It is alternatively referred to as junior bantamweight and light bantamweight...

 
1980  Super flyweight Super flyweight Junior bantamweight Junior bantamweight Super flyweight
112 / 50.8
Flyweight
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing less than 112 lb but above 108 lb .-Professional boxing:...

 
1911  Flyweight Flyweight Flyweight Flyweight Flyweight
108 / 49.0
Light flyweight
- Professional boxing :The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds . When New York legalized boxing in 1920, the law stipulated a "junior flyweight" class, with a weight limit of 99 pounds. When the National Boxing Association was formed in 1921, it also recognized this...

 
1975  Light flyweight Light flyweight Junior flyweight Junior flyweight Light flyweight
105 / 47.6
Minimumweight
Minimumweight is a weight class division in combat sports. The most notable of which is in professional boxing where boxers may weigh no more than . This is a relatively new weight category for professionals, first inaugurated by the major boxing sanctioning bodies between 1987 and 1990...

 
1987  Minimumweight Strawweight Mini flyweight Mini flyweight Minimumweight

Notes:

Amateur boxing

When the (amateur) International Boxing Association
International Boxing Association
The International Boxing Association is a for-profit organization that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.- Origins :...

 (AIBA) was founded in 1946 to govern amateur boxing, it metrified
Metrication
Metrication refers to the introduction and use of the SI metric system, the international standard for physical measurements. This has involved a long process of independent and systematic conversions of countries from various local systems of weights and measures. Metrication began in France in...

 the weight class limits by rounding
Rounding
Rounding a numerical value means replacing it by another value that is approximately equal but has a shorter, simpler, or more explicit representation; for example, replacing $23.4476 with $23.45, or the fraction 312/937 with 1/3, or the expression √2 with 1.414.Rounding is often done on purpose to...

 them to the nearest kilogram
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...

. Subsequent alterations as outlined in the boxing at the Summer Olympics
Boxing at the Summer Olympics
Boxing has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since its introduction to the program at the 1904 Summer Olympics, except for the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, because Swedish law banned the sport at the time. The 2008 Summer Olympics was the final games with boxing as a male only event...

 article; these have introduced further discrepancies between amateur and professional class limits and names. The lower weight classes are to be adjusted in September 2010, to establish an absolute minimum weight for adult boxers.

Amateur weight classes also specify the minimum weight (which the same as the maximum weight of the next highest class). For safety reasons, fighters cannot fight at a higher weight. This also meant that even the heaviest weight class has a limit, albeit a lower bound. The lower limit for "heavyweight" was established in 1948 at 81 kg. When a new limit of 91+kg was established in 1984, the name "heavyweight" was kept by the 81+kg class, and the 91+kg class was named "super heavyweight", a name not currently used in professional boxing.

Classes are as follows:
Class name |Weight class limit (kg)
Men (old) Men (new) Women (old) Women (new) Junior
Super heavyweight
Super heavyweight
In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms . Introduced for the 1984 Summer Olympics, the division, despite its grandiose name, is merely the amateur equivalent of the professional heavyweight division...

 
Unlimited Unlimited
Heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

 
81–91 81–91 Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...

 
75–81 75–81 75–81 75–81 75–80
Middleweight
Middleweight
Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...

 
69–75 69–75 69–75 69–75 70–75
Light Middleweight
Light middleweight
Light Middleweight , is a weight division in professional boxing, above 147 pounds and up to 154 pounds ....

 
66–70
Welterweight
Welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...

 
64–69 64–69 64–69 64–69 63–66
Light welterweight
Light welterweight
-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...

 
60–64 60–64 60–64 60–64 60–63
Lightweight
Lightweight
Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....

 
57–60 56–60 57–60 57–60 57–60
Featherweight
Featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...

 
54–57 54–57 54–57 54–57
Bantamweight
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...

 
51–54 52–56 51–54 51–54 52–54
Light Bantamweight  50–52
Flyweight
Flyweight
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing less than 112 lb but above 108 lb .-Professional boxing:...

 
48–51 49–52 48–51 48–51 48–50
Light flyweight
Light flyweight
- Professional boxing :The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds . When New York legalized boxing in 1920, the law stipulated a "junior flyweight" class, with a weight limit of 99 pounds. When the National Boxing Association was formed in 1921, it also recognized this...

46–48 46–49 46-48 45-48 46-48
Pinweight
Pinweight
In women's and junior amateur boxing pinweight is, or has been, a weight class for boxers weighing in under 46kg .In September 2010 the women's class was partly merged into an extended 45-48kg light flyweight division, with women weighing less than 45kg excluded from competition...

 
44–46 44–46


At the Olympics, each weight-class is a separate single-elimination tournament
Single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...

. The competition begins with the first round of the lightest weight class and proceeds with the first round of each higher weight class; then the next round of the lightest class, and so on, with the finals of each class held over the final two days, and the super-heavyweight final last of all.
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