 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (April 2020) |
Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between 126 pounds (57 kg) and 130 pounds (59 kg).
History
[edit]The super-featherweight division appeared in two distinct historical periods, from 1921 to 1934 and 1949 to the present. This weight class was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, known as the junior-lightweight division. In 1921, Johnny Dundee would defeat George Chaney by a fifth-round DQ to become the division's first universally recognized world champion, as acknowledged by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC).[1] In 1924, Steve Sullivan would then defeat the reigning Dundee by a 10-round UD to win The Ring magazine's inaugural title in the division.[2] In 1927, the National Boxing Association (NBA) (the direct predecessor to the World Boxing Association (WBA)), awarded their inaugural title to reigning world champion Tod Morgan.[3]
The NYSAC abolished the division in 1930 due to suspicions of fight-fixing after Benny Bass won the title from Tod Morgan the previous year, a fight in which Morgan dominated the first round before suffering a sudden second-round stoppage, all after bookmakers had placed unusually high odds on him to win just before the fight began.[4][5] The NBA and The Ring both upheld Bass' win, and the division continued to be recognized at least outside of New York. However, during the reign of Kid Chocolate, The Ring discontinued its junior-lightweight ratings in 1931, with the NBA initially following suit in 1932.[2][3] Kid Chocolate would be briefly reinstated as champion by the NBA in 1933, which continued to recognize the division until Frankie Klick vacated the title in 1934.[3] After this, the division was largely abandoned until 1949, when Sandy Saddler won the vacant NBA junior-lightweight title after defeating Orlando Zulueta by a 10-round SD, continuing to hold on to the title until 1957 to stay at featherweight.[3]
In 1962, reigning WBA[a] champion Flash Elorde was named by The Ring magazine as junior-lightweight champion of the world, 31 years after they had initially withdrawn recognition of the division.[2] He would then go on to win the inaugural World Boxing Council (WBC) super-featherweight title in 1963 by defeating Johnny Bizarro by a 15-round UD.[6] The inaugural champion for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) was Hwan-Kil Yuh in 1984, who won the title by defeating Rod Sequenan via a 15-round SD.[7] The first World Boxing Organization champion was John John Molina in 1989, defeating Juan Laporte by a 12-round UD to win the title.[8]
Some other notable fighters to hold championship titles at this weight include Brian Mitchell, Arturo Gatti, Vasiliy Lomachenko, Alexis Argüello, Azumah Nelson, Julio César Chávez, Diego Corrales, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Érik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Acelino Freitas, Juan Manuel Márquez, Oscar De La Hoya, Rocky Lockridge, and Manny Pacquiao.
Current world champions
[edit]| Sanctioning body | Reign began | Champion | Record | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WBA | November 25, 2023 | Lamont Roach Jr. | 25–1–2 (9 KO) | 1 |
| WBC | November 2, 2024 | O'Shaquie Foster | 23–3 (12 KO) | 0 |
| IBF | May 28, 2025 | Eduardo Núñez | 28–1 (27 KO) | 0 |
| WBO | February 3, 2023 | Emanuel Navarrete | 39–2–1–1 (33 KO) | 4 |
Current world rankings
[edit]The Ring
[edit]As of August 11, 2025.[9]
Keys:
- C Current The Ring world champion
| Rank | Name | Record | Title(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | vacant | ||
| 1 | O'Shaquie Foster | 23–3 (12 KO) | WBC |
| 2 | Emanuel Navarrete | 39–2–1–1 (32 KO) | WBO |
| 3 | Anthony Cacace | 24–1 (9 KO) | |
| 4 | Lamont Roach Jr. | 25–1–2 (10 KO) | WBA |
| 5 | Eduardo Núñez | 28–1 (27 KO) | IBF |
| 6 | Robson Conceição | 19–3–1–1 (9 KO) | |
| 7 | Eduardo Hernández | 37–2 (32 KO) | |
| 8 | Charly Suarez | 18–0–0–1 (10 KO) | |
| 9 | Raymond Ford | 17–1–1 (8 KO) | |
| 10 | Jazza Dickens | 36–5 (15 KO) |
BoxRec
[edit]As of 5 January 2024.[10]
| Rank | Name | Record | Title(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emanuel Navarrete | 38–2–1 (31 KO) | WBO |
| 2 | O'Shaquie Foster | 22–3 (12 KO) | |
| 3 | Joe Cordina | 17–1 (9 KO) | |
| 4 | Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov | 17–2–1 (14 KO) | |
| 5 | Lamont Roach Jr. | 25–1–1 (9 KO) | WBA (Regular) |
| 6 | Masanori Rikiishi | 15–1 (10 KO) | |
| 7 | Robson Conceição | 19–2–1–1 (8 KO) | |
| 8 | Mark Magsayo | 26–2 (17 KO) | |
| 9 | Elnur Samedov | 17–1 (7 KO) | |
| 10 | Anthony Cacace | 22–1 (8 KO) |
Notes
[edit]- ^ The NBA had changed its name to the WBA on August 23, 1962.
References
[edit]- ^ "Johnny Dundee - Lineal Jr. Lightweight Champion". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
- ^ a b c "The Ring Magazine's Annual Ratings". Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d "World Boxing Association Super Featherweight Title History". Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ^ Hughes, Ed, "Morgan Had First Round Advantage Despite K.O. Defeat", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, page 12, 21 December 1929
- ^ "Boxing's Chaotic Weight Divisions: A Short History of How We Got to Where We Are". Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ^ "Punches and Trophies: The 19th Elorde Awards Will Once Again Honor the Best of Philippine Boxing, Plus Migs will Defend his Title". 27 February 2019.
- ^ "Blog Archives".
- ^ "Best I Faced: John John Molina". 10 January 2019.
- ^ "The Ring ratings: super featherweight/junior lightweight". Retrieved 11 August 2025.
- ^ "BoxRec ratings: super featherweight, active". Retrieved 12 June 2022.