Professional Boxing
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of 126 pounds (57 kg). In the early days of the division, this limit fluctuated. The British have generally always recognized the limit at 126 pounds, but in America the weight limit was at first 114 pounds. An early champion, George Dixon, moved the limit to 120 and then 122 pounds. Finally, in 1920 the United States fixed the limit at 126 pounds.
The 1860 fight between Nobby Clark and Jim Elliott is sometimes called the first featherweight championship. However, the division only gained wide acceptance in 1889 after the Ike Weir-Frank Murphy fight.
Considered one of the greatest featherweight champions of all time, Johnny Kilbane held the championship for 11 years, starting when he won the title in 1912 from Abe Attell till he lost the title in 1923 to Eugène Criqui. To this day he remains the second longest world title holder in boxing history.
Since the end of the 2000s and early 2010s the Featherweight division is one of the most active in boxing with the likes of Chris John, Juan Manuel López, Celestino Caballero, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Elio Rojas, Israel Vazquez, Cristobal Cruz, Rafael Márquez, Rocky Juarez, and Steven Luevano and Manny Pacquiao.
Read more about this topic: Featherweight
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