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 (one of the most famous fights of all time). 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 February 11, 2023. 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. Amateur boxing In amateur boxing, the weight limit is for women and for men. To make room for the introduction of women's boxing to the Olympics in 2012, the men's featherweight class was dropped down one kilogram and became bantamweight. Following further adjustments, the 2020 Olympics will again feature men's featherweight and, for the first time, women's featherweight. 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 – 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