Featherweight


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. 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.
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.
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, Naseem Hamed, Marco Antonio Barrera and Manny Pacquiao.

Current world champions

Sanctioning BodyReign BeganChampionRecordDefenses
WBAJune 1, 2024Nick Ball23–0–1 3
WBCVacant
IBFAugust 10, 2024Angelo Leo26–1 1
WBODecember 9, 2023Rafael Espinoza27–0 3

Current ''The Ring'' world rankings

As of August 16, 2025.
Keys:
RankNameRecordTitle
C
1Rafael Espinoza27–0 WBO
2Angelo Leo26–1 IBF
3Nick Ball23–0–1 WBA
4Stephen Fulton23–1 WBC
5Luis Alberto Lopez31–3
6Bruce Carrington16–0
7Brandon Figueroa26–2–1
8Mirco Cuello16–0
9Robeisy Ramírez14–3
10Nathaniel Collins17–0–1

Longest reigning world 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 does not apply.
NameTitle reignTitle recognitionSuccessful defensesBeaten opponentsFights
1.Johnny Kilbane11 years, 3 months, 24 daysWorld/NYSAC42
2.Chris John10 years, 1 month, 5 daysWBA1816
3.Abe Attell8 years, 5 months, 19 daysWorld2214
4.Eusebio Pedroza7 years, 1 month, 23 daysWBA1918
5.Gary Russell, Jr.6 years, 9 month, 25 daysWBC55
6.Sandy Saddler6 years, 4 months, 13 daysWorld43
7.Léo Santa Cruz5 years, 10 months, 13 daysWBA 55
8.Naseem Hamed4 years, 11 months, 20 daysWBO1515
9.George Dixon4 years, 5 monthsWorld44
10.Antonio Esparragoza4 years, 27 daysWBA77
11.Davey Moore4 years, 3 daysWorld54

Lineal Champions

Men's
In kickboxing, a featherweight fighter generally weighs between. However, some governing bodies have slightly different classes. For example, the International Kickboxing Federation featherweight division is between.
In Glory promotion, a featherweight division is up to.
In Bellator Kickboxing promotion, a featherweight division is up to.
In ONE Championship, the featherweight division limit is.

Bare-knuckle boxing

The limit for featherweight generally differs among promotions in bare-knuckle boxing:
has a featherweight division with an upper limit of. In International Lethwei Federation Japan, Thar A Thae Ta Pwint is the Featherweight Champion.
In World Lethwei Championship, the featherweight division has an upper limit of.

Mixed Martial Arts

In MMA, within the UFC company and most other MMA companies the featherweight range is from.

Current champions

These tables were last updated in July 2025.
Men:
OrganizationReign BeganChampionRecordDefenses
UFCApril 13, 2025