Bridgerweight is a

weight class Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Altern ...

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 ...

created and used by the

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 Federation ...

(WBC). The weight is named after six-year-old American Bridger Walker, who saved his four-year-old sister from a stray dog in July 2020.

History

After presenting Bridger Walker with a championship belt and naming him an "Honorary Champion" in July 2020, the WBC announced the establishment of bridgerweight four months later on November 9. Established for boxers weighing between and , the division sits between the WBC's cruiserweight and

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

divisions. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said of the decision to create the new weight: "We have decided to create a new division called Bridger, as it is the bridge necessary to serve the large number of boxers who are between 200 and 224-pounds. This name is inspired by that hero of humanity, that six-year-old boy who heroically saved his four-year-old sister from an attack by a wild dog during the pandemic; yes, this new division is inspired by Bridger Walker." The WBC intend to reduce the lower limit for the weight class to , lowering the upper limit for cruiserweight accordingly, within "six months or one year" of the November 2020 announcement. This would move the cruiserweight limit out of line with the other major sanctioning organisations. In December 2020, the WBC announced the first set of rankings for the new division, with Óscar Rivas at #1. The first fight took place on April 3, 2021 with Geovany Bruzon defeating Jose German Garcia Montes by eight-round

technical decision A technical decision is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because of a headbutt. In boxing fights, referees have to pay deep attention to the action going on between the fighters, especially when the two combatants are fightin ...

to win the WBC Latino title. The inaugural world championship fight took place on October 22 between Oscar Rivas and Ryan Rozicki, with Rivas winning via twelve-round

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighter ...

Reaction

As of June 2022, none of the other major sanctioning organizations ( WBA,

IBF 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 ...

, WBO) have adopted the new weight class. Editor-in-chief of '' The Ring'', Doug Fischer, said in November 2020 when asked if the magazine would recognise the new weight class that "I’ll pose (the question) to the Ring Ratings Panel. For the time being, however, the answer is no. It’s brand new and the WBC has yet to arrange a bout for their inaugural title. But if the WBC is able to put together a credible top 10-25 of small heavyweights that are cool with being ranked as ‘Bridgerweights’ and if the concept catches on with the other major sanctioning organizations, who knows? Maybe we’ll have to recognize it.”.

Deontay Wilder Deontay Leshun Wilder (; born October 22, 1985) is an American professional boxer. He held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020, making 10 successful defenses. By winning the title, Wilder became the first American world heavyweight ch ...

, who has fought within the bridgerweight limits for much of his career, said that he was not interested in fighting at the weight. The IBA, a lightly-regarded minor sanctioning organization, has a similar weight class named super cruiserweight for boxers weighing between and .

List of champions

References

{{Boxing weight classes Boxing weight classes * Bridgerweight boxers