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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 126 pounds (57 kg). In the early days of the division, this limit fluctuated. The British have generally always recognized the limit at 126 pounds, but in America the weight limit was at first 114 pounds. An early champion, George Dixon, moved the limit to 120 and then 122 pounds. Finally, in 1920 the United States fixed the limit at 126 pounds.^[1]

The 1860 fight between Nobby Clark and Jim Elliott is sometimes called the first featherweight championship. However, the division only gained wide acceptance in 1889 after the Ike Weir-Frank Murphy fight.
Johnny Kilbane, considered one of the greatest featherweight champions of all time, held the championship for 11 years, starting when he won the title in 1912 from Abe Attell until he lost the title in 1923 to Eugène Criqui. To this day he remains the longest world title holder in boxing history.
Eusebio Pedroza holds the record, set in 1985, for most consecutive title defenses at this division, with 19 defenses of the WBA title.

Since the end of the 2000s and early 2010s the Featherweight division is one of the most active in boxing with fighters such as Orlando Salido, Chris John, Juan Manuel López, Celestino Caballero, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Elio Rojas, Israel Vazquez, Cristobal Cruz, Rafael Márquez, Rocky Juarez, Steven Luevano, Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao.

Professional champions

Current champions

Sanctioning Body	Reign Began	Champion	Record	Defenses
WBA (Super)	January 29, 2017	Léo Santa Cruz	35–1–1 (19 KO)	2
WBA (Regular)	July 4, 2018	Jesús Rojas	26–2–2 (19 KO)	0
WBC	March 28, 2015	Gary Russell, Jr.	29–1 (17 KO)	3
IBF	May 19, 2018	Josh Warrington	28–0 (6 KO)	1
WBO	July 23, 2016	Óscar Valdez	24–0 (19 KO)	4

Current interim champions

Sanctioning Body	Reign Began	Champion	Record	Defenses
WBO	April 21, 2018	Carl Frampton	26–1 (15 KO)	1

Longest reigning featherweight champions

Below is a list of longest reigning featherweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.

	Name	Title reign	Title recognition	Successful defenses
1.	Johnny Kilbane	11 years, 3 months, 24 days	World	4
2.	Chris John	10 years, 1 month, 5 days	WBA	18
3.	Abe Attell	10 years	World	18
4.	Eusebio Pedroza	7 years, 1 month, 23 days	WBA	19
5.	Sandy Saddler	7 years	World	4
6.	Naseem Hamed	4 years, 11 months, 20 days	WBO	15
7.	George Dixon	4 years, 5 months	World	3
8.	Antonio Esparragoza	4 years, 27 days	WBA	7
9.	Davey Moore	4 years, 3 days	World	5
10.	Tom Johnson	3 years, 11 months, 12 days	IBF	10

Amateur boxing

In amateur boxing, the weight limit is 54 to 57 kilograms (119 to 126 lb).

Notable featherweights

• 
  Alexis Argüello
  


• 
  Henry Armstrong
  


• 
  Abe Attell
  


• 
  Marco Antonio Barrera
  


• 
  Kid Chocolate
  


• 
  Luisito Espinosa
  


• 
  Wilfredo Gómez
  


• 
  Wilfredo Vázquez
  


• 
  Naseem Hamed
  


• 
  Paul Ingle
  


• 
  Chris 'The Dragon' John
  


• 
  Tom "Boom Boom" Johnson
  


• 
  Kevin Kelley
  


• 
  Derrick Gainer
  


• 
  Kina Malpartida
  


• 
  Juan Manuel Márquez
  


• 
  Barry McGuigan
  


• 
  Érik Morales
  


• 
  Azumah Nelson
  


• 
  Manny Pacquiao
  


• 
  Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire
  


• 
  Tommy Paul
  


• 
  Willie Pep
  


• 
  Sandy Saddler
  


• 
  Calvin Grove
  


• 
  Vicente Saldivar
  


• 
  Salvador Sánchez
  


• 
  Orlando Salido
  


• 
  Miguel Ángel García
  


• 
  Juan Manuel López
  


• 
  Yuriorkis Gamboa
  


• 
  Jeff Fenech
  

Kickboxing

In kickboxing, a featherweight fighter generally weighs between 55 and 59 kg (121 and 130 lb). However, some governing bodies have slightly different classes. For example, the International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) featherweight division (professional and amateur) is between 122.1–127 lb (55.4–57.6 kg).

In Glory promotion, a featherweight division is up to 65 kg (143 lb).^[2]

In Bellator Kickboxing promotion, a featherweight division is up to 66 kg (146 lb).

Mixed Martial Arts

In MMA, within the UFC company and most other MMA companies the featherweight range is from 61.7 to 65.8 kg (136 to 145 lb).

See also

• Boxing weight classes


• Reigning boxing champions

References