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The term catchweights in boxing refers to an agreed-upon weight limit set outside standard divisional boundaries. These are particularly useful for facilitating high-profile fights between competitors from different weight classes.
The Welterweight division straddles the gap between Lightweight and Middleweight. Puerto Rican Felix Trinidad, one of the finest boxers from the territory, is the longest-reigning champion with a spell lasting six years, eight months and 14 days.
The welterweight division is brimming with talent, and the potential matchups mentioned are undeniably exhilarating. Whether it's the Crawford-Spence rematch or the top contenders of Ennis, Thurman, Stanionis, Ugas, or Ortiz, the division offers a wealth of stability and enticing fights that would satisfy fans for years to come.
Fighters may initially try to lose as much weight as possible - through the use of sauna suits and ramping up rigorous training - to then meet the maximum weight allowance of their division before they face their opponent.
There is no limit on the upper weight for Heavyweight fighters, but the lower bound has trended upwards over the history of boxing, as athletes have grown taller and bigger. In the 1800s a 170lb fighter might have been considered a heavyweight. That was formalised as 175lbs in 1920s, and when the cruiserweight division emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, a heavyweight would have been expected to weigh more than 190lbs, 195lbs and then 200lbs. The heaviest champion in the division so far is Nikolay Valuev, who came in at 324lbs when he fought John Ruiz in 2005.
At this point, fighters cannot exceed 10 lbs. above their assigned weight class in order to compete. This ensures everyone meets the professional boxing requirements by division. With that being said, it’s common for fighters to “drop weight” days before a competition to meet specific boxing weight classes.
However, the major boxing-sanctioning bodies didn’t crown their own super middleweight champions until the 1980s. Murray Sutherland became the first IBF super middleweight champion in 1984, with the WBA and WBC crowning their champions later in the decade.
Noteworthy fighters in this category include Kenshiro Teraji from Japan and Jonathan González from Puerto Rico who has also represented his country, winning gold both at the Youth World Championships and Central American and Caribbean Games.
Canelo Álvarez is the major name who has excelled in this division across all organizations, unifying all major titles and only losing twice to Dmitry Bivol and Floyd Mayweather Jr. at different weight classes.
Modern day legends Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao did a lot of their best career work at welterweight, while Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. have starred in recent times at 147 pounds. Throughout history, the division has been graced by all-time greats such as Ted Lewis, Jack Britton, Barney Ross, Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Henry Armstrong and Thomas Hearns.
