Boxing Weight Classes Table
| Division | Weight limit (lb) | Weight limit (kg) |
|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | 200+ (no limit) | 90.7+ |
| Bridgerweight (WBC) | 200–224 | 90.7–101.6 |
| Cruiserweight | 175–200 | 79.4–90.7 |
| Light heavyweight | 168–175 | 76.2–79.4 |
| Super middleweight | 160–168 | 72.6–76.2 |
| Middleweight | 154–160 | 69.9–72.6 |
| Light middleweight | 147–154 | 66.7–69.9 |
| Welterweight | 140–147 | 63.5–66.7 |
| Light welterweight | 135–140 | 61.2–63.5 |
| Lightweight | 130–135 | 59.0–61.2 |
| Super featherweight | 126–130 | 57.2–59.0 |
| Featherweight | 122–126 | 55.3–57.2 |
| Super bantamweight | 118–122 | 53.5–55.3 |
| Bantamweight | 115–118 | 52.2–53.5 |
| Super flyweight | 112–115 | 50.8–52.2 |
| Flyweight | 108–112 | 49.0–50.8 |
| Light flyweight | 105–108 | 47.6–49.0 |
| Strawweight | 105 cap | 47.6 cap |
Professional boxing recognizes seventeen weight classes, and the ladder is a creature of history, not physiology: the sport managed with eight divisions for most of the twentieth century, then kept splitting classes as promoters realized each new gap between the old limits was a marketable title of its own. The result runs from heavyweight - the only division with no upper limit, 200 pounds and beyond - down through the super and light variants of the old eight, ending at strawweight, where the ceiling is just 105 pounds (47.6 kg).
The class names hide a grammar worth learning once. Plain names (heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight, flyweight) are the original eight-century-old divisions; the prefix super- marks the band just above a classic class, and light- marks the band just below it. One newcomer breaks the pattern: Bridgerweight, created by the WBC in 2020 to give 200-to-224-pound fighters a home between cruiserweight and heavyweight - named for heavyweight Bridger Walker, the six-year-old who shielded his sister from a dog attack.
How to use
- Match a fighter to a class by the ceiling, not the name: each limit is a maximum, so a 146-pound welterweight must boil down no further - the 147-pound line is the class boundary, and one extra slice of pasta on fight week is the difference between making weight and forfeiting a percentage of the purse.
- Convert across systems before comparing records: the pound limits are the official definition and the kilogram figures are conversions - a 63.5 kg fighter in a European gym is exactly a 140-pound light welterweight, and the chart's two columns let you place any record either way.
- Watch the two-tier vocabulary when reading old results: cruiserweight (175-200 lb) was long called junior heavyweight, and the 190-pound cap era produced champions who would be Bridgerweight today - when comparing cross-era records, place the fighter by weight, not by the label their era used.
Frequently asked questions
How many weight classes are there in professional boxing?
Seventeen in the widely recognized professional system: heavyweight with no upper limit, then Bridgerweight, cruiserweight, light heavyweight, super middleweight, middleweight, light middleweight, welterweight, light welterweight, lightweight, super featherweight, featherweight, super bantamweight, bantamweight, super flyweight, flyweight, light flyweight, and strawweight at 105 pounds. The original eight grew to seventeen as sanctioning bodies split the gaps: every super- and light- variant was carved from the space between classic divisions, mostly from the 1970s onward.
Why was Bridgerweight created?
The WBC introduced it in 2020 to fill the widest dead zone on the ladder: a 200-to-224-pound band where fighters were too small to be competitive heavyweights but too big for cruiserweight's 200-pound ceiling. Critics call it a title inflation; the WBC calls it a home for the crossing guard-sized pros who used to have nowhere to win a belt. It is named for Bridger Walker, the boy who suffered the injuries shielding his little sister from a dog - the division's stated spirit is courage, which is why it appears on the chart between cruiserweight and heavyweight despite not being universal.
Do fighters have to stay at the weight on fight night?
No - and this surprises newcomers. The class limit applies only at the weigh-in, typically the day before the fight; after weighing in, fighters rehydrate and commonly enter the ring ten to twenty pounds heavier than their class limit. That is why the chart's limits describe a paperwork category more than a fight-night body: a welterweight bout may feature two men near 160 pounds by the first bell. The practice drives the sport's weight-cutting culture and its risks, and it is why moving up a class or two is often just a matter of accepting a bigger opponent rather than rebuilding a body.
What is the difference between cruiserweight and heavyweight?
The ceiling: cruiserweight stops at 200 pounds (90.7 kg), and heavyweight has no limit at all - it is defined by being above the light heavyweight ladder's reach, 200 pounds and up. Historically the 175-to-200 band was junior heavyweight before cruiserweight became the standard name in the 1980s, and the division's best - Evander Holyfield among them - used it as a springboard to heavyweight titles. On the chart the two divisions are neighbors, but in the ring the size gap between a 199-pound cruiser and a 250-pound modern heavyweight is the largest step anywhere in boxing's seventeen classes.