Boxing, a sport governed by strict rules, sees its fighters precisely categorized by weight. In order to make the sport as fair as possible between boxers, there are 17 categories in the boxing world.
In the field of boxing, what makes the difference between one boxer or another are the following criteria: technique and weight. To succeed in making boxing a fair sport, it is necessary to categorize boxers according to their weight.
Au fil de l’boxing history, the categorization has evolved a lot. Between the 19th and 20th centuries, boxing quickly became popular and many weight divisions were established. A large majority of the categories that appear over time originate in the United States or Great Britain, where boxing is growing rapidly.
At the beginning of the categorization of boxing, male boxers were divided into 8 divisions, then 17. The 17 categories allow boxers to face people of all sizes, and therefore to progress, without one being in too great physical inferiority.
Today and since 2015, the total number of categories registered by the professional boxing federation is 19.
Through this description of the boxing categories, we have classified them in ascending order, from lightest to heaviest. This categorization only concerns male boxers. The weights for the women's categories are different, but we will see that later in the article.
The straw weights go up to 47.128 kg, in professional boxing. One gram above and you are no longer in this category. This category does not exist in amateur boxing.
Cette catégorie est l’une des plus récentes, puisqu’elle a été introduite entre 1987 et 1990. En 1968, les Jeux Olympiques l’avaient introduit dans la catégorie des poids mouche légers. Cependant, ce n’est qu’en 1997 que Ring Magazine à finalement reconnu cette catégorie comme division à part entière.
La catégorie qui suit de près le poids paille, est les poids mi-mouches, qui s’étendent de 47,129 kg à 48,988 kg. Cet intervalle ne concerne que les combattants en boxe anglaise professionnels. Pour ce qui est de la boxe amateur masculine, les poids mi-mouches sont compris entre 46 kg et 49 kg.
Flyweight is one of the eight traditional weight classes. The British Boxing Board of Control, that is to say the federation of professional English boxing, recognized the first flyweight champion in 1911.
The maximum weight for the flyweight category is set at 50.802 kg, for boxing at a professional level. Fighters in men's amateur boxing, which are included in the flyweight division, are between 48 kg and 51 kg.
The super flyweights logically start at 50.803 kg and end at 52.163 kg. The super-flyweight category only concerns professional English boxing, since it simply does not exist in amateur boxing.
This weight category is one of the newest. It was born in 1980, during a fight for the World Boxing Council title. This division is created with the aim of filling the excessive gap between the flyweight and bantamweight categories.
Bantamweight brings together professional boxers, weighing between 52.164 kg and 53.525 kg. The first fight in this category took place in 1889. Limited to 50 kg at the time, in 1910, it rose to the level we know today.
The interval is different between professional and amateur boxing. Indeed, in amateur English boxing combat, the interval is set between 52 kg and 56 kg. Not all of these numbers were for women for the 2012 to 2016 Olympic Games.
Following bantamweight, we find super bantamweight or super bantamweight. Its maximum is limited to 55.338 kg. This limit only concerns the professional world, because this division does not exist in the amateur sector.
This can be explained by the fact that this category was created to serve as an intermediary between two prestigious categories: bantamweight and featherweight. The super bantamweight was recognized in the professional world only in 1976, by major authorities.
In professional English boxing, the maximum weight achievable in the featherweight category is 57.152 kg. Like all categories of English boxing, featherweights have evolved a lot since its appearance. If initially, in the United States, the maximum featherweights were 51.7 kg, it increased over the years, until in 1920 it settled at the number we know today. , or 57 kg.
The super featherweights are logically placed after the featherweights. In this sense, it is between 57.153 kg and 58.967 kg. It was in 1920 that New York's Walker Law established the super featherweight category. It was then ratified in 1930 by the New York State Athletic Commission.
From 1933, this division was removed from professional boxing competitions, then it was reinstated for good. Note that this category has never existed and does not exist as an amateur.
Lightweight is one of the traditional weight categories in professional boxing. The first boxer to become Olympic champion in this category took place during the 1904 Games. It was Harry Spanger. The maximum weight for this category is 61.237 kg and starts at 58.968 kg.
Contrary to what semantic logic might lead us to believe, super-lightweight corresponds to a weight greater than the lightweight category. Indeed, the light weight category is between 61.238 and 63.503 kg. As for boxing at the amateur level, the category is positioned between 60 and 64 kg.
The first champions to be recognized in this category were Pinky Mitchell in 1946 and Carlos Ortiz in 1959.
The welterweight category starts from 63.503 kg and closes at 66.678 kg. We can also see that the gap is greater in this category than in the previous ones.
The record for the oldest reigning champion in the welterweight category is Felix Trinidad. He is recognized as one of the best boxers in Puerto Rico.
The super-welterweight division or category has a maximum weight of 69.853 kg. It was during a fight for the world title between Teddy Wright and Emile Griffith, in 1962, that the Austrian Control Council established this category.
Among the big names in this division, in the contemporary era of boxing, we find Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya, as well as Manny Pacquiao.
One of the most historic divisions in professional boxing is middleweight. Between 69.854 and 72.574 kg, some of the records in this category date back to the 1840s. We even record a bare-knuckle championship in 1867. As for the first champion at the Olympic Games, it was Charles Mayer who won the title in 1904.
It was in the 1960s that, to bridge the gap between middleweight and light-heavyweight, the super-middleweight category was created. The maximum weight for this division is 76.205 kg.
Originally considered an ephemeral classification, it was ultimately retained. In 1984 and 1985, Murray Sutherland won the super middleweight title.
The light heavyweight division is between 76.206 kg and 79.378 kg. Changing categories is not easy. This requires great diligence and requires a lot of work. So going from lightweight champions to light heavyweight champions is very difficult. Floyd Patterson, Essard Charles, Roy Jones Junior, and Evander Holyfield are among the professional boxers who have achieved this.
The light heavyweight division only concerns professional boxers who weigh between 79.379 and 90.719 kg. In this category, the weight difference is significant, with more than 11 kilos apart. Like many boxing divisions, this one does not apply to amateur fights.
The first organization to establish laws on heavyweight fights was the World Boxing Council, in 1979. The objective was then to facilitate the transition to heavyweight categories by creating an intermediary: light heavyweight.
This division is between 90.720 and 101.605 kg. Among the best-known weight categories, we can count that of heavyweights. However, the heavyweight category is, on a global scale, the most recent in the world of English boxing. In fact, it only appeared in 2020, but only with the World Boxing Council.
Note that for men's amateur boxing, the range is between 81 and 91 kg. As for women's boxing, this category is not open to competition.
Finally, the last category in the world of professional English boxing concerns super-heavyweights, from 101.606 kg to infinity.
As the build of boxers gets bigger and stronger, the minimum weight for this category has evolved significantly. In the 1800s, for example, a 150-pound boxer might have fought in the heavyweight division.
Note that this category, in amateur and Olympic competitions, only concerns male athletes. Just like the heavyweight division, the super heavyweight division is not open to women.
There is a big difference between professional boxing and amateur boxing, particularly in terms of weight classification. We were also able to mention it earlier. Let's talk about amateur in more detail, in the context of the Olympic Games.
These competitions are the only ones where amateurs can play their games and where the rules are strict. We are going to discuss the weight categories for both men's and women's boxing, because as you can imagine, the divisions are different.
To analyze the differences and have the most current categories possible, we will take the 2020 Olympic Games, taking place in Tokyo, as an example.
As for the men, the clashes spanned eight weight categories:
Women fight in a smaller set of weight categories. Indeed, the boxers are divided into five weight divisions:
Finally, we can see that there are many categories and many variations depending on the type of competitions and the type of boxers, as well as between women and men.
Dans le but de rendre la boxe plus équitable et accessible, les catégories de boxe sont créées. Les boxeurs s’affrontent selon leur poids.
As we have mentioned and as history shows us, these weight categories will certainly evolve over the years.
First, because body types change over the centuries and because competitions and trends vary enormously.
We agree, all this strict classification is a lot of information at once. At the Circle, no categories, no difference between women and men. You can all practice, no matter your level, or the level of your neighbor.
So why hesitate to try? Become a Tiger!
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Our studios
Le Cercle Boxing – Boxing club in Paris
6 rue de Clignancourt, 75018 Paris
Le Cercle Boxing – Studio Beaubourg – Boxing club in Paris
60 rue Quincampoix, 75004 Paris
The Boxing Circle | Studio Bastille – Boxing club in Paris
28 rue Popincourt, 75011 Paris
