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 Current The Ring world rankings As of August 16, 2025. Keys: : Current
The Ring world champion
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 (for multiple time champions) does not apply.
Lineal Champions • Billy Murphy (1890-1891) • Young Griffo (1891) Vacated • George Dixon (1891-1897) • Solly Smith (1897-1898) • Dave Sullivan (1898) • George Dixon (1898-1900) (2) • Terry McGovern (1900-1901) • Young Corbett II (1901-1902) Vacated • Abe Attell (1903-1912) • Johnny Kilbane (1912-1923) • Eugene Criqui (1923) • Johnny Dundee (1923–1924) Vacated • Kid Kaplan (1925-1926) Vacated • Tony Canzoneri (1928) • Andre Routis (1928-1929) • Bat Battalino (1929-1932) Vacated • Henry Armstrong (1937-1938) Vacated • Joey Archibald (1939-1940) • Harry Jeffra (1940-1941) • Joey Archibald (1941) • Chalky Wright (1941-1942) • Willie Pep (1942-1948) • Sandy Saddler (1948-1949) • Willie Pep (1949-1950) (2) • Sandy Saddler (1950-1957) (2) Retired • Hogan Bassey (1957-1959) • Davey Moore (1959-1963) • Sugar Ramos (1963-1964) • Vicente Saldivar (1964-1967) Retired • Johnny Famechon (1969-1970) • Vicente Saldivar (1970) (2) • Kuniaki Shibata (1970-1972) • Clemente Sanchez (1972) • Jose Legra (1972-1973) • Eder Jofre (1973-1974) Abandoned • Alexis Arguello (1975-1977) Vacated • Danny Lopez (1979-1980) • Salvador Sanchez (1980-1982) Died • Eusebio Pedroza (1983-1986) • Barry McGuigan (1986) • Stevie Cruz (1986-1987) • Antonio Esparragoza (1987-1991) • Yong-Kyun Park (1991-1993) • Eloy Rojas (1993-1996) • Wilfredo Vazquez (1996-1998) • Naseem Hamed (1998-2001) • Marco Antonio Barerra (2001-2003) • Manny Pacquiao (2003-2005) Vacated
Olympic champions Men's •
1904 – •
1908 – •
1920 – •
1924 – •
1928 – •
1932 – •
1936 – •
1948 – •
1952 – •
1956 – •
1960 – •
1964 – •
1968 – •
1972 – •
1976 – •
1980 – •
1984 – •
1988 – •
1992 – •
1996 – •
2000 – •
2004 – •
2008 – •
2020 – •
2024 –
Pan American Champions •
1951 –
Francisco Núñez (
ARG) •
1955 – Oswaldo Cañete (
ARG) •
1959 –
Carlos Aro (
ARG) •
1963 – Rosemiro Mateus (
BRA) •
1967 –
Miguel García (
ARG) •
1971 –
Juan García (
MEX) •
1975 –
Dave Armstrong (United States) •
1979 –
Bernard Taylor (United States) •
1983 –
Adolfo Horta (
CUB) •
1987 –
Kelcie Banks (United States) •
1991 –
Arnaldo Mesa (
CUB) •
1995 –
Arnaldo Mesa (
CUB) •
1999 –
Yudel Johnson (
CUB) •
2003 –
Likar Ramos Concha (
COL) •
2007 –
Idel Torriente (
CUB)
Notable featherweights •
Everett Backer “Baker” •
Alexis Argüello •
Henry Armstrong •
Abe Attell •
Marco Antonio Barrera •
Kid Chocolate •
Luisito Espinosa •
Wilfredo Gómez •
Wilfredo Vázquez •
Naseem Hamed •
Paul Ingle •
Chris 'The Dragon' John •
Tom "Boom Boom" Johnson •
Kevin Kelley •
Derrick Gainer •
Kina Malpartida •
Juan Manuel Márquez •
Barry McGuigan •
Érik Morales •
Azumah Nelson •
Manny Pacquiao •
Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire •
Tommy Paul •
Willie Pep •
Sandy Saddler •
Calvin Grove •
Vicente Saldivar •
Salvador Sánchez •
Orlando Salido •
Miguel Ángel García •
Juan Manuel López •
Yuriorkis Gamboa •
Jeff Fenech •
Vasiliy Lomachenko ==Kickboxing==