Bantamweight

Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds (52.163 kg) and up to 118 pounds (53.525 kg). However, in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) it is 125-136 pounds (56.6 - 61.7 kg). Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight. The name is derived from bantam chickens.

History

The first title fight with gloves was between Chappie Moran and Tommy Kelly in 1889. At that time, the limit for this weight class was 110 pounds. In 1910, however, the British settled on a limit of 118.

Notable bantamweights

• Monte Attell
• Fabrice Benichou
• Panama Al Brown
• Orlando Canizales
• Jimmy Carruthers
• Jeff Chandler
• Frankie Conley (1910)
• George Dixon (the first black world champion at any weight, 1890)
• Sixto Escobar
• Luisito Espinosa
• Eder Jofre
• Alphonse Halimi
• Fighting Harada
• Pete Herman
• Akhil Kumar
• Abner Mares
• Joe Lynch
• Rubén Olivares
• Manuel Ortiz
• Lionel Rose
• Charlie Phil Rosenberg
• Charles "Bud" Taylor
• Alfonso Zamora
• Carlos Zarate
• Joichiro Tatsuyoshi
• Johnny Owen

Amateur Champions

Olympic Champions

• 1904:  Oliver Kirk (USA)
• 1908: File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Henry Thomas (GBR)
• 1920: File:South Africa Flag 1912-1928.svg Clarence Walker (RSA)
• 1924: File:South Africa Flag 1912-1928.svg William Smith (RSA)
• 1928: File:Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg Vittorio Tamagnini (ITA)
• 1932: File:Flag of Canada 1921.svg Horace Gwynne (CAN)
• 1936: File:Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg Ulderico Sergo (ITA)
• 1948: File:Flag of Hungary (1946-1949, 1956-1957).svg Tibor Csík (HUN)
• 1952: File:Flag of Finland.svg Pentti Hämäläinen (FIN)
• 1956: File:Flag of Germany.svg Wolfgang Behrendt (EUA)
• 1960: File:Flag of the Soviet Union 1955.svg Oleg Grigoryev (URS)
• 1964: File:Flag of Japan.svg Takao Sakurai (JPN)
• 1968: File:Flag of the Soviet Union 1955.svg Valeriy Sokolov (URS)
• 1972: File:Flag of Cuba.svg Orlando Martínez (CUB)
• 1976: File:Flag of North Korea.svg Gu Yong-Ju (PRK)
• 1980: File:Flag of Cuba.svg Juan Hernández (CUB)
• 1984: File:Flag of Italy.svg Maurizio Stecca (ITA)
• 1988:  Kennedy McKinney (USA)
• 1992: File:Flag of Cuba.svg Joel Casamayor (CUB)
• 1996: File:Flag of Hungary.svg István Kovács (HUN)
• 2000: File:Flag of Cuba.svg Guillermo Rigondeaux (CUB)
• 2004: File:Flag of Cuba.svg Guillermo Rigondeaux (CUB)
• 2008: File:Flag of Mongolia.svg Enkhbatyn Badar-Uugan (MGL)
• 2012: File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Luke Campbell  (GBR)

Pan American Champions

• 1951: Ricardo Gonzales (ARG)
• 1955: Salvador Enriquez (VEN)
• 1959: Waldo Claudiano (BRA)
• 1963: Abel Almaraz (ARG)
• 1967: Juvencio Martínez (MEX)
• 1971: Pedro Flores (MEX)
• 1975: Orlando Martínez (CUB)
• 1979: Jackie Beard (USA)
• 1983: Manuel Vilchez (VEN)
• 1987: Manuel Martínez (CUB)
• 1991: Enrique Carrion (CUB)
• 1995: Juan Despaigne (CUB)
• 1999: Gerald Tucker (USA)
• 2003: Daniel Chyutin (CUB)
• 2007: Carlos Cuadras (MEX)

Commonwealth Games Champions

• 2010: Manju Wanniarachchi (SRI)

Professional Champions

Current champions

Sanctioning Body	Reign Began	Champion	Record	Defenses
WBA Super	May 31, 2008	Anselmo Moreno	33-2-1 (12 KO)	10
WBA Regular	December 26, 2010	Koki Kameda	30-1 (17 KO)	6
WBC	November 6, 2011	Shinsuke Yamanaka	18-0-2 (13 KO)	3
IBF		Vacant
WBO	March 2, 2013	Paulus Ambunda	20-0 (10 KO)	0

For a full list, see List of bantamweight boxing champions

Kickboxing bantamweight

In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between 53 kg (116 lb) and 55 kg (120 lb). However, some governing bodies have slightly different classes. For example, the International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) Bantamweight division (professional and amateur) is 117.1 lbs.–122 lbs. or 53.22 kg–55.45 kg.

See also

• Reigning boxing champions