From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
List of world welterweight boxing champions
None
None
The welterweight world champions listed from Mysterious Billy Smith to Harry Lewis are claimants who were not widely accepted outside of the USA as world champions, and are thus not traditionally included in the list of world champions in the welterweight division. Starting with Paddy Duffy follows a more widely accepted chronological List of World Welterweight Boxing Champions, as recognized by four of the major sanctioning bodies:
- The World Boxing Association (WBA), founded in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA)
- The World Boxing Council (WBC), founded in 1963
- The International Boxing Federation (IBF), founded in 1983
- The World Boxing Organization (WBO), founded in 1988
Lists of Champions
World claimants
| Date won | Date lost | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 14 December 1892 | 26 July 1894 | CANMysterious Billy Smith |
| Continued to claim title after losing to Mike "Twin" Sullivan | 1 November 1907 | USAWilliam "Honey" Mellody |
| 1 November 1907 | 23 Jan 1908 | USA Frank Mantell |
| 23 Jan 1908 | March 1911-vacated | USA Harry Lewis |
World/Undisputed
| Date won | Date lost | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 30 October 1888 | 10 July 1890 (died) | USAPaddy Duffy |
| 17 February 1891 | 20 December 1897 (vacated) | USATommy Ryan def. Danny Needham |
| 25 August 1898 | 17 April 1900 | CANMysterious Billy Smith |
| 17 April 1900 | 5 June 1900 | USAMatty Matthews |
| 5 June 1900 | 13 August 1900 | CANEddie Connolly |
| 13 August 1900 | 16 October 1900 | USARube Ferns |
| 16 October 1900 | 24 May 1901 | USAMatty Matthews |
| 24 May 1901 | 18 December 1901 | USARube Ferns |
| 18 December 1901 | 16 October 1906 | BarbadosBarbados Joe Walcott |
| 16 October 1906 | 23 April 1907 | USAWilliam "Honey" Mellody |
| 23 April 1907 | 1908 (vacated) | USAMike "Twin" Sullivan |
| 1 April 1912 | 1 January 1914 | USARay Bronson |
| 1 January 1914 | 24 January 1914 | DenmarkWaldemar Holberg |
| 24 January 1914 | 21 March 1914 | UKTom McCormick |
| 21 March 1914 | 1 June 1915 | UKMatt Wells |
| 1 June 1915 | 22 June 1915 | USMike Glover |
| 22 June 1915 | 31 August 1915 | USAJack Britton |
| 31 August 1915 | 24 April 1916 | UKTed Kid Lewis |
| 24 April 1916 | 25 June 1917 | USAJack Britton |
| 25 June 1917 | 17 March 1919 | UKTed Kid Lewis |
| 17 March 1919 | 1 November 1922 | USAJack Britton |
| 1 November 1922 | 20 May 1926 | USAMickey Walker |
| 20 May 1926 | 3 June 1927 | USAPete Latzo |
| 3 June 1927 | 25 July 1929 | USAJoe Dundee |
| 25 July 1929 | 9 May 1930 | USAJackie Fields |
| 9 May 1930 | 5 September 1930 | USAJack Thompson |
| 5 September 1930 | 14 April 1931 | USATommy Freeman |
| 14 April 1931 | 23 October 1931 | USAJack Thompson |
| 23 October 1931 | 28 January 1932 | CANLou Brouillard |
| 28 January 1932 | 22 February 1933 | USAJackie Fields |
| 22 February 1933 | 29 May 1933 | USAYoung Corbett III |
| 29 May 1933 | 28 May 1934 | CANJimmy McLarnin |
| 28 May 1934 | 17 September 1934 | USABarney Ross |
| 17 September 1934 | 28 May 1935 | CANJimmy McLarnin |
| 28 May 1935 | 31 May 1938 | USABarney Ross |
| 31 May 1938 | 4 October 1940 | USAHenry Armstrong |
| 4 October 1940 | 29 July 1941 | USAFritzie Zivic |
| 29 July 1941 | 1 February 1946 | USAFreddie 'Red' Cochrane |
| 1 February 1946 | 25 September 1946 (vacated) | USAMarty Servo |
| 20 December 1946 | 9 August 1950 (vacated) | USASugar Ray Robinson |
| 14 March 1951 | 18 May 1951 | USAJohnny Bratton |
| 18 May 1951 | 29 August 1951 | CubaKid Gavilán |
| 4 February 1952 | 20 October 1954 | CubaKid Gavilán |
| 20 October 1954 | 1 April 1955 | USAJohnny Saxton |
| 1 April 1955 | 10 June 1955 | USATony DeMarco |
| 10 June 1955 | 14 March 1956 | USACarmen Basilio |
| 14 March 1956 | 12 September 1956 | USAJohnny Saxton |
| 12 September 1956 | 22 February 1957 (vacated) | USACarmen Basilio |
| 6 June 1958 | 5 December 1958 | USAVirgil Akins |
| 5 December 1958 | 27 May 1960 | USADon Jordan |
| 27 May 1960 | 1 April 1961 | CUBBenny 'Kid' Paret |
| 1 April 1961 | 30 September 1961 | USVIEmile Griffith |
| 30 September 1961 | 24 March 1962 | CUBBenny 'Kid' Paret |
| 24 March 1962 | 21 March 1963 | USVIEmile Griffith |
| Title Splits into WBA and WBC Belts during Griffith's reign | ||
| 21 March 1963 | 8 June 1963 | CubaLuis Manuel Rodríguez |
| 8 June 1963 | 10 December 1965 (vacated) | USVIEmile Griffith |
| 28 November 1966 | 18 April 1969 | USACurtis Cokes |
| 18 April 1969 | 3 December 1970 | MexicoJosé Nápoles |
| 3 December 1970 | 4 June 1971 | USABilly Backus |
| 4 June 1971 | 6 December 1975 | MexicoJosé Nápoles |
| 16 September 1981 | 9 November 1982 (retires) | USASugar Ray Leonard |
| Title Split into WBA, WBC, and IBF Belts | ||
| 6 December 1985 | 27 September 1986 | USADonald Curry |
| 27 September 1986 | 22 August 1987 | UKLloyd Honeyghan |
| 13 December 2003 | 5 February 2005 | USACory Spinks |
| 5 February 2005 | 7 January 2006 | USAZab Judah |
| 29 July 2023 | 9 November 2023 | USA Terence Crawford |
WBC
| Date won | Date lost | Name |
|---|---|---|
| last = Mullan | first = Harry | |
| 8 December 1962 | 21 March 1963 | United States Virgin Islands Emile Griffith |
| 21 March 1963 | 8 June 1963 | Cuba Luis Manuel Rodriguez |
| 8 June 1963 | 25 April 1966-Vacated | United States Virgin Islands Emile Griffith |
| 24 August 1966 | 18 April 1969 | USA Curtis Cokes |
| 18 April 1969 | 3 December 1970 | Mexico José Napoles |
| 3 December 1970 | 4 June 1971 | USA Billy Backus |
| 4 June 1971 | 6 December 1975 | Mexico José Napoles |
| 6 December 1975 | 22 June 1976 | UK John H Stracey |
| 22 June 1976 | 14 January 1979 | MEX Carlos Palomino |
| 14 January 1979 | 30 November 1979 | PUR Wilfred Benítez |
| 30 November 1979 | 20 June 1980 | USA Sugar Ray Leonard |
| 20 June 1980 | 25 November 1980 | Panama Roberto Durán |
| 25 November 1980 | 9 November 1982-Retired | USA Sugar Ray Leonard |
| 13 August 1983 | 6 December 1985 | USA Milton McCrory |
| 6 December 1985 | 27 September 1986 | USA Donald Curry |
| 27 September 1986 | 28 October 1987 | Great Britain Lloyd Honeyghan |
| 28 October 1987 | 29 March 1988 | MEX Jorge Vaca |
| 29 March 1988 | 4 February 1989 | Great Britain Lloyd Honeyghan |
| 4 February 1989 | 19 August 1990 | USA Marlon Starling |
| 19 August 1990 | 18 March 1991 | USA Maurice Blocker |
| 18 March 1991 | 29 November 1991 | Jamaica Simon Brown |
| 29 November 1991 | 6 March 1993 | USA James McGirt |
| 6 March 1993 | 12 April 1997 | USA Pernell Whitaker |
| 12 April 1997 | 18 September 1999 | USA Oscar De La Hoya |
| 18 September 1999 | 3 March 2000- Vacated | PUR Félix Trinidad |
| 4 March 2000 | 17 June 2000 | USA Oscar De La Hoya |
| 17 June 2000 | 26 January 2002 | USA Shane Mosley |
| 26 January 2002 | 25 January 2003 | USA Vernon Forrest |
| 25 January 2003 | 13 December 2003 | Nicaragua Ricardo Mayorga |
| 13 December 2003 | 5 February 2005 | USA Cory Spinks |
| 5 February 2005 | 7 January 2006 | USA Zab Judah |
| 7 January 2006 | 4 November 2006 | ARG Carlos Manuel Baldomir |
| 4 November 2006 | 6 June 2008- Retired | USA Floyd Mayweather Jr. |
| 21 June 2008 | 16 April 2011 | USA Andre Berto |
| 16 April 2011 | 17 September 2011 | USA Victor Ortiz |
| 17 September 2011 | 12 September 2015- Retired | USA Floyd Mayweather Jr. |
| 23 January 2016 | 4 March 2017 | USA Danny García |
| 4 March 2017 | 24 April 2018- Vacated | USA Keith Thurman |
| 8 September 2018 | 28 September 2019 | USA Shawn Porter |
| 28 September 2019 | 29 July 2023 | USA Errol Spence Jr. |
| 29 July 2023 | 18 June 2024-Stripped | USA Terence Crawford |
| 18 June 2024 | Present | USA Mario Barrios |
WBA
| Date won | Date lost | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 8 December 1962 | 21 March 1963 | United States Virgin IslandsEmile Griffith |
| 21 March 1963 | 8 June 1963 | Cuba Luis Manuel Rodriguez |
| 8 June 1963 | 25 April 1966-Vacated | United States Virgin Islands Emile Griffith |
| 24 August 1966 | 18 April 1969 | USA Curtis Cokes |
| 18 April 1969 | 3 December 1970 | Cuba Jose Napoles |
| 3 December 1970 | 4 June 1971 | USA Billy Backus |
| 4 June 1971 | 1975-Stripped | Cuba Jose Napoles |
| 28 June 1975 | 17 July 1976 | PUR Ángel Espada |
| 17 July 1976 | 2 August 1980 | MEX Pipino Cuevas |
| 2 August 1980 | 16 September 1981 | USA Thomas Hearns |
| 16 September 1981 | 9 November 1982-Retired | USA Sugar Ray Leonard |
| 13 February 1983 | 27 September 1986 | USA Donald Curry |
| 27 September 1986 | 1987-Vacated | UK Lloyd Honeyghan |
| 6 February 1987 | 22 August 1987 | USA Mark Breland |
| 22 August 1987 | 29 July 1988 | USA Marlon Starling |
| 29 July 1988 | 12 December 1988-Vacated | COL Tomas Molinares |
| 4 February 1989 | 8 July 1990 | USA Mark Breland |
| 8 July 1990 | 19 January 1991 | USA Aaron Davis |
| 19 January 1991 | 31 October 1992 | USA Meldrick Taylor |
| 31 October 1992 | 4 June 1994 | Venezuela Crisanto España |
| 4 June 1994 | 17 October 1997-Vacated | Ghana Ike Quartey |
| 10 October 1998 | 2000-Stripped | USA James Page |
| 17 February 2001 | 30 March 2002 | GUY Andrew Lewis |
| 30 March 2002 | 13 December 2003 | Nicaragua Ricardo Mayorga |
| 12 September 2003 | 2 April 2005 | USA Jose Antonio Rivera |
| 13 December 2003 | 5 February 2005 | USA Cory Spinks |
| 5 February 2005 | 7 January 2006-Stripped | USA Zab Judah |
| 2 April 2005 | 13 May 2006 | USA Luis Collazo |
| 13 May 2006 | 31 August 2006-Vacated | UK Ricky Hatton |
| 2 December 2006 | 26 July 2008 | PUR Miguel Cotto |
| 26 July 2008 | 24 January 2009 | MEX Antonio Margarito |
| 3 October 2008 | 10 April 2009 | UKR Yuriy Nuzhnenko |
| 24 January 2009 | 22 May 2010-Stripped | USA Shane Mosley |
| 10 April 2009 | 29 April 2012 | UKR Vyacheslav Senchenko |
| 29 April 2012 | 22 June 2013 | USA Paul Malignaggi |
| 22 June 2013 | 14 December 2013 | USA Adrien Broner |
| 14 December 2013 | 3 May 2014 | ARG Marcos Maidana |
| 3 May 2014 | 11 January 2016-Retired | USA Floyd Mayweather Jr. |
| February 2015 | 7 November 2016 | USA Keith Thurman |
| 7 November 2016 | 20 July 2019 | USA Keith Thurman |
| 7 November 2016 | 18 February 2017 | RUS David Avanesyan |
| 18 February 2017 | 3 October 2017-Vacated | USA Lamont Peterson |
| 27 January 2018 | 15 July 2018 | ARG Lucas Matthysse |
| 15 July 2018 | 20 July 2019 | PHI Manny Pacquiao |
| 20 July 2019 | 29 January 2021-Stripped | PHI Manny Pacquiao |
| 6 September 2020 | 29 January 2021-Elevated | CUB Yordenis Ugás |
| 29 January 2021 | 16 April 2022 | CUB Yordenis Ugás |
| 30 October 2021 | 16 April 2022 | RUS Radzhab Butaev |
| 16 April 2022 | 30 August 2024-Elevated | Lithuania Eimantas Stanionis |
| 16 April 2022 | 29 July 2023 | USA Errol Spence Jr. |
| 29 July 2023 | 30 August 2024 | USA Terence Crawford |
| 30 August 2024 | 12 April 2025 | Lithuania Eimantas Stanionis |
| 12 April 2025 | 1 August 2025-Vacated | USA Jaron Ennis |
| 2 May 2025 | 1 August 2025-Elevated | USA Rolly Romero |
| 1 August 2025 | Present | USA Rolly Romero |
IBF
| Date won | Date lost | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Title inaugurated | ||
| 4 February 1984 | 27 September 1986 | USA Donald Curry |
| 27 September 1986 | 28 October 1987-Stripped | GBR Lloyd Honeyghan |
| 23 April 1988 | 4 October 1991-Vacated | USA Simon Brown |
| 4 October 1991 | 19 June 1993 | USA Maurice Blocker |
| 19 June 1993 | 3 March 2000-Vacated | PUR Félix Trinidad |
| 12 May 2001 | 12 December 2001-Vacated | USA Vernon Forrest |
| 13 April 2002 | 22 March 2003 | ITA Michele Piccirillo |
| 22 March 2003 | 5 February 2005 | USA Cory Spinks |
| 5 February 2005 | 8 April 2006 | USA Zab Judah |
| 8 April 2006 | 20 June 2006-Vacated | USA Floyd Mayweather Jr. |
| 28 October 2006 | 12 April 2008 | PUR Kermit Cintron |
| 12 April 2008 | 23 May 2008-Vacated | MEX Antonio Margarito |
| 2 August 2008 | 16 April 2009-Vacated | Ghana Joshua Clottey |
| 1 August 2009 | 11 December 2009 | ZAF Isaac Hlatshwayo |
| 11 December 2009 | 3 September 2011 | SLO Dejan Zavec |
| 3 September 2011 | 8 November 2011-Vacated | USA Andre Berto |
| 9 June 2012 | 20 October 2012 | USA Randall Bailey |
| 20 October 2012 | 7 December 2013 | USA Devon Alexander |
| 7 December 2013 | 16 August 2014 | USA Shawn Porter |
| 16 August 2014 | 27 May 2017 | GBR Kell Brook |
| 27 May 2017 | 29 July 2023 | USA Errol Spence Jr. |
| 29 July 2023 | 9 November 2023-Stripped | USA Terence Crawford |
| 9 November 2023 | 7 July 2025-Vacated | USA Jaron Ennis |
| 13 Sep 2025 | Present | GBR Lewis Crocker |
WBO
| Date won | Date lost | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Title inaugurated | ||
| 6 May 1989 | 15 December 1989-Vacated | MEX Genaro Leon |
| 15 December 1989 | 12 February 1993 | USA Manning Galloway |
| 12 February 1993 | 16 October 1993-Vacated | Denmark Gert Bo Jacobsen |
| 16 October 1993 | 13 April 1996 | Ireland Eamonn Loughran |
| 13 April 1996 | 6 October 1996-Vacated | MEX José Luis López |
| 22 February 1997 | 1997-Vacated | Romania Michael Loewe |
| 14 February 1998 | 6 May 2000 | Russia Ahmed Kotiev |
| 6 May 2000 | 16 March 2002-Vacated | PUR Daniel Santos |
| 16 March 2002 | 14 July 2007 | MEX Antonio Margarito |
| 14 July 2007 | 9 February 2008 | USA Paul Williams |
| 9 February 2008 | 7 June 2008 | PUR Carlos Quintana |
| 7 June 2008 | 12 November 2008-Vacated | USA Paul Williams |
| 21 February 2009 | 14 November 2009 | PUR Miguel Cotto |
| 14 November 2009 | 9 June 2012 | PHI Manny Pacquiao |
| 9 June 2012 | 12 April 2014 | USA Timothy Bradley |
| 12 April 2014 | 2 May 2015 | PHI Manny Pacquiao |
| 2 May 2015 | 6 July 2015-Stripped | USA Floyd Mayweather Jr. |
| 6 July 2015 | 9 February 2016-Vacated | USA Timothy Bradley |
| 5 March 2016 | 5 November 2016 | USA Jessie Vargas |
| 5 November 2016 | 2 July 2017 | PHI Manny Pacquiao |
| 2 July 2017 | 6 June 2018 | AUS Jeff Horn |
| 9 June 2018 | 12 August 2024 | USA Terence Crawford |
| 12 August 2024 | Present | USA Brian Norman Jr. |
References
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about List of world welterweight boxing champions — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report