Olympic Boxing History Article

Boxing Weight Classes

The weight classes are determined by weight so that boxers can fight fairly with others, who resemble their weight class and size. Otherwise, the match would be unfair. Obviously a larger man will have and advantage over a smaller man, so this is to keep the match on an even level. Some people consider it to be a brutal sport and have difficulty watching people literally beat up before their eyes.

The differing weight classes are classified by the various boxing organizations and are uniform across the board.

The heavyweight class is for boxers who are 200 lbs or over. There have been quite a few heavyweight champions such as John Sullivan, Jim Corbet, Jack Johnson, Oleg Maskaev, Jack Dempsey, Muhammed Ali, Gene Tunney, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and Rick Bowe.

Other weight classes, which is the maximum amount a boxer can weigh are bantam weight (118 lbs), light bantam weight, super bantam weight, Cruiser Weight (190 lbs) super cruiser weight, feather weight, super feather weight, fly weight, light fly weight, super fly weight, super heavy weight, light heavy weight (175 lbs.), middle weight, super middle weight (165 lbs.), light middle weight (154 lbs.), minimum weight, welter weight (147 lbs.)and light welter weight. I believe they have found a weight category for almost any and every one!

The weight classified as cruiser has the weight limit of 175 to 200lbs. Famous boxers in this category include, Neil Bell, James Toney and Jean Mormeck.

The super welter weight category carries a weight class of 045- 155 lbs. One of the most famous boxers in this category is Oscar de Lahoya better known as the Golden Boy. He was born in Mexico and won a gold medal in the Barcelona games. He was deemed “Fighter of the Year” in 1995. He has also won several tiles, 6 different weight classes.

Boxing like other sports is very competitive. Some boxers try to take advantage of this by dieting before they begin boxing so that they can box in another weight division. In some cases boxers have stopped eating 3 days before a fight to lose weight. Other desperate measures, boxers have done is to sit in a sauna for hours, take pills such as diuretics, and run with heavy jackets to sweat. The weigh time was changed to prevent boxers from dying of dehydration.

Other famous boxers in a variety of weight categories include, Israel Vazquez in the super bantam weight category, Juan Marquez in the super feather weight category, David Diaz in the Light weight category, Shane Mosley in the Welter weight category, Jermain Taylor in the middle weight category and Oleg Maskav in the heavy weight category.