Lightweight 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). Alte ...

combat sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opp ...

s and

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

Boxing

Professional boxing

The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms)

in the sport of

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

. Notable lightweight boxers include

Henry Armstrong Henry Jackson Jr. (December 12, 1912 – October 24, 1988) was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to win in three or more different divisi ...

Ken Buchanan Ken Buchanan Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 28 June 1945) is a Scottish retired professional boxer from Edinburgh and the former List of undisputed boxing champions, undisputed world lightweight champion.Reg Gutteridge, Gutteridge, Reg" ...

Tony Canzoneri Tony Canzoneri (November 6, 1908 – December 9, 1959) was an American professional boxer. A three-division world champion, he held a total of five world titles. Canzoneri is a member of the exclusive group of boxing world champions who have won ...

Pedro Carrasco Pedro Juan Carrasco García (11 July 1943 – 27 January 2001) was a Spanish boxer whose fame transcended the boxing ring. During the 1970s, he was a media darling in Spain. Carrasco was crowned European Lightweight champion in 1967. This triu ...

Joel Casamayor Joel Casamayor Johnson (born July 12, 1971) is a Cuban American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2011. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA super featherweight title from 2000 to 2002; and the ...

, Al "Bummy" Davis,

Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...

Roberto Durán Roberto Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight, as w ...

Joe Gans Joe Gans (born Joseph Gant; November 25, 1874 – August 10, 1910) was an American professional boxer. Gans was rated the greatest lightweight boxer of all-time by boxing historian and ''Ring Magazine'' founder, Nat Fleischer. Known as the "Old M ...

Artur Grigorian Artur Razmikovich Grigorian ( hy, Արթուր Գրիգորյան; born 20 October 1967) is a retired Armenian-Uzbek professional boxer. Grigorian is a former WBO lightweight champion. He defended his title against record-breaking 17 boxers, a ...

Benny Leonard Benny Leonard (born Benjamin Leiner; April 7, 1896 – April 18, 1947) was a Jewish American professional boxer who held the world lightweight championship for eight years, from 1917 to 1925. Widely considered one of the all-time greats, he was ...

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 ...

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 ...

Juan Manuel Márquez Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez (born August 23, 1973) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2014. He is known for defeating Manny Pacquiao. He is the third Mexican boxer (after Érik Morales and Jorge Arce) to become ...

Sugar Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple triple champion, world championships in three weight classes, incl ...

, Miguel Ángel González, Carlos Ortiz,

Katie Taylor Katie Taylor (born 2 July 1986) is an Irish professional boxer and former footballer. She is a two-weight world champion and the current undisputed lightweight champion, having held the WBA title since 2017; the IBF title since 2018; and the ...

Edwin Valero Edwin Valero (3 December 1981 – 19 April 2010) was a Venezuelan professional boxer who competed from 2002 to 2010. He was an undefeated former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA super featherweight title from 2006 to 2 ...

Len Wickwar Len Wickwar (11 March 1911 – 1 June 1980) was a British boxer who fought between 1928 and 1947, mostly as a lightweight. He fought more verified professional fights than any other boxer in history at 473 with 4,020 rounds fought in his 19 yea ...

Pernell Whitaker Pernell Whitaker Sr. (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, ligh ...

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...

and

Ike Williams Isiah "Ike" Williams (August 2, 1923 – September 5, 1994) was a lightweight world boxing champion. He took the World Lightweight Championship in April 1945 and made eight successful defenses of the title against six different fighters prior to ...

Current world champions

Current world rankings

=''The Ring''

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

=BoxRec

= As of , .

Longest reigning world lightweight champions

Below is a list of "longest reigning lightweight champions" career time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.

Amateur boxing

Olympic Champions

* 1904 – * 1908 – * 1920 – * 1924 – * 1928 – * 1952 – * 1956 – * 1960 – * 1964 – * 1968 – * 1972 – *

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 – * 1984 – * 1988 – * 1992 – * 1996 – * 2000 – * 2004 – * 2008 – * 2012 – * 2016 – * 2020 –

Pan American Champions

* 1951 – Oscar Gallardo ( ARG) * 1955 – Miguel Ángel Péndola ( ARG) * 1959 –

Abel Laudonio Abel Ricardo Laudonio (30 August 1938 – 12 August 2014) was an Argentinian lightweight boxer. As an amateur he competed in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won a bronze medal in the lightweight division in 1960. In 1961, he turned professional an ...

( ARG) * 1963 – Roberto Caminero ( CUB) * 1967 – Enrique Regueiferos ( CUB) * 1971 – Luis Dávila ( PUR) * 1975 – Chris Clarke ( CAN) * 1979 – Adolfo Horta ( CUB) * 1983 –

(

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

) * 1987 – Julio Gonzáles ( CUB) * 1991 – Julio Gonzáles ( CUB) * 1995 – Julio Gonzáles ( CUB) * 1999 –

Mario César Kindelán Mesa is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

( CUB) * 2003 –

( CUB) * 2007 –

Yordenis Ugás Yordenis Ugás Hernández (born 14 July 1986) is a Cuban professional boxer. He held the WBA (Super) welterweight title from 2021 to April 2022, having previously held the WBA (Regular) title from 2020 until being elevated to Super champion. ...

( CUB) * 2011 –

Yasniel Toledo Yasnier Toledo López (born 15 September 1989 in Camagüey) is a Cuban amateur boxer from Pinar del Río who won the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the PanAm lightweight title in 2011. He is a southpaw. Career After winning the 5 ...

( CUB)

Kickboxing

International Kickboxing Federation The International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) is a sanctioning body for kickboxing and Muay Thai based in the United States. The IKF sanctions and regulates all aspects of these sports from Semi Contact IKF Point Kickboxing (IKF/PKB)) to Full Co ...

(IKF) Lightweight (Pro & Amateur) 127.1 lb - 132 lb or 57.77 kg - 60 kg. Women's divisions also use this weight class, but usually at a lower weight than the men's divisions. In Glory promotion, a lightweight division is up to 70 kg (154 lb).OFFICIAL GLORY RANKING
In

ONE Championship ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixed ...

, the lightweight division limit is .

Lethwei

World Lethwei Championship World Lethwei Championship (also known as WLC) is a Lethwei promotion based in Yangon, Myanmar. The promotion brought to the millennia-old Burmese martial of Lethwei to UFC Fight Pass and showcased it to the world. The WLC events combined the hi ...

, the lightweight division has an upper limit of .

Mixed martial arts

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

, the lightweight division is from 146 lb (66 kg) to 155 lb (70 kg).

Rowing

Lightweight rowing was a category entered into the Olympic sport, originally due to countries of smaller stature competing with an unfair disadvantage, as rowing favors the taller athlete who has more leverage. Current Olympic class lightweight events in rowing are a men's lightweight Double Scull, and a women's lightweight Double Scull.

References

External links

{{Boxing weight classes Boxing weight classes Kickboxing weight classes Wrestling weight classes * *