Despite its reputation as a brutal, deadly sport, boxing tries to create fair fights by matching fighters of roughly equal weight in each contest. Weight classes are regulated so closely that the sport's officials conduct weigh-ins before each bout to ensure no fighter weighs even 1 pound more than his allowed weight for that class. There are many weight classes among the amateur and professional boxing organizations.
Amateur Weight Classes
The International Boxing Association governs amateur boxing, which includes the competitions held during the Summer Olympics. In addition to limiting boxers to the top end of a weight class, the IBA requires boxers not to fall below the lower limit of the class. In Olympic boxing, a country may only enter one fighter per weight class.
Weight classes for men include super heavyweight, heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, light welterweight, lightweight, bantamweight and flyweight. The heaviest weight class is 201 pounds or more, with the lightest weight class allowing boxers to weigh 101 pounds to 108 pounds.
For amateur women, the weight classes are heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, light welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight and flyweight. The high end is 178 pounds and over, and the low end is 101 pounds. Women's boxing will be an Olympic sport beginning with the 2012 Games in London.
For juniors, the classes are heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, light middleweight, welterweight, light welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight, flyweight and pinweight. Junior weight classes range from 101 pounds to 176 pounds.
Professional Women
Women's professional boxing is still a relatively young sport, with the Wold Boxing Council and International Females Boxing Association and Women's International Boxing Association holding title fights.
The IFBA and WIBA weight classes include heavyweight, cruiserweight, light heavyweight, super middleweight, middleweight, junior middleweight, super welterweight, welterweight, junior welterweight, super lightweight, lightweight, junior lightweight, super featherweight, featherweight, junior featherweight, super bantamweight, bantamweight, junior bantam weight, super flyweight, flyweight, junior mini flyweight, flyweight and strawweight. The weight classes range from 102 pounds to 175 pounds and over.
Professional Men
There are four main governing bodies in men's professional boxing: World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organization.
These organizations have as many as 17 different weight classes, ranging from the unlimited heavyweight class to the 105-pound minimumweight, strawweight or mini-flyweight categories. The oldest of these weight classes date back to the 1880s and includes the heavyweight, middleweight, lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight categories.If a professional fighter is too heavy for his weight class, the boxer might be disqualified, sanctioned or the match may be fought as a non-title, catch-weight fight.
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