15 Greatest Welterweight Boxers oF All Time

15 Greatest Welterweight Boxers oF All Time

The welterweight division has been one of the most fiercely contested weight classes in boxing history for a very long time. These fighters, from the pioneers to the contemporary elites, have had illustrious ring careers, leaving an indelible mark on the sport thanks to their special talent, in-ring technique, and the vigour they exhibit while in the ring.

To understand the division better, a professional boxer competing in the welterweight division must weigh more than 140 pounds (63 kg), but not more than 147 pounds (67 kg). With that weight, we anticipate nothing less than crazy ring manoeuvres, deadly blows, and slippery moves as we have witnessed from a few of the best welterweight boxers. 

These boxers have gone ahead to attain legendary status all thanks to their outstanding records, memorable fights, and overall performances. Their victories have left a lasting legacy which has impacted future generations of boxers. Let us find out the 15 greatest welterweight boxers of all time.

1. Sugar Ray Robinson

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American professional boxer Walker Smith Jr., better known by his ring name Sugar Ray Robinson, competed from 1940 until 1965. He is frequently regarded as the greatest boxer ever, pound for pound. Robinson has the third-longest undefeated record in professional boxing history from 1943 to 1951, with 91 matches. Then he made boxing history by being the first fighter to win a divisional world championship five times. Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951 and won the world middleweight title in the latter year.

He was brave in the ring and quick, smooth, and strong. He undoubtedly possesses one of the most amazing professional records of all time with an astonishing final record of 174 (109 KO) victories to only 19 losses (nearly all of which were far past his prime).

Related: 10 Things You Need to Know About Legendary Boxer Sugar Ray Robinson

2. Roberto Duran

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Former Panamanian professional boxer Roberto Durán fought from 1968 to 2001 being one of two boxers to have competed over five decades, the first being Jack Johnson. He previously won world titles in the weight divisions of lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight, and middleweight. He was once the undisputed and undisputed lightweight champion as well as the lineal welterweight champion. Durán was renowned for his powerful punching strength and superb defence as a versatile, technical brawler and pressure fighter.

3. Sugar Ray Leonard

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Ray Charles Leonard, best known by his ring name “Sugar” Ray Leonard, is a motivational speaker, actor, and former professional boxer from the United States. He boxed competitively between 1977 and 1997 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. He earned world titles in five weight classes, three lineal championships, and the undisputed welterweight championship.

Because of how fast he could hurl blows and move around the ring, many people referred to Sugar Ray as the assassin Babyface. In the 1980s, he was regarded as the best fighter of the decade thanks to victories against Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, and Roberto Duran.

4. Manny Pacquiao

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Manny Pacquiao is a Filipino politician and former pro boxer. He is regarded as one of the greatest competitive boxers of all time. He fought from the southpaw position, which provided him with an advantage over his opponents.

Pacquiao is the only eight-division world winner in boxing history, having won twelve major world titles. He was the first boxer to win major world titles in four of the eight “glamour divisions” (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight), as well as the first to earn the lineal championship in five weight classes. He is also the only boxer to have won world championships in four decades. (the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s). Pacquiao, 40, became the all-time oldest welterweight champion in July 2019.

Also Read: 15 Most Skilled Southpaw Boxers

5. Henry Armstrong

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Henry Jackson Jr., also known as Henry Armstrong, was an American professional fighter and world boxing champion. Armstrong was one of the few fighters to earn titles in three or more weight classes: featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. He successfully defended his welterweight title nineteen times!

6. Julio César Chávez 

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Chávez, a three-weight world champion, was selected by The Ring magazine as the best boxer in the world from 1990 to 1993, pound for pound. He held the WBC super featherweight title from 1984 to 1987.

He held the WBA and WBC lightweight titles from 1987 to 1989. He also held the WBC light welterweight title twice from 1989 to 1996. He won the IBF light welterweight title from 1990 to 1991. In addition, between 1990 and 1996, he held the lineal light welterweight championship twice, as well as the Ring magazine and lineal lightweight titles from 1988 to 1989. Chavez is largely regarded in Mexico as the top Latin American fighter.

7. Jack Britton

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American boxer Jack Britton became the first welterweight boxer to win the welterweight title three times. Starting in 1905, he had a 25-year professional career. He fought in a record-breaking 37 title fights throughout his career (18 of which have ended in no decisions), many of them against his bitter rival Ted “Kid” Lewis, who he faced 20 times. Britton is listed as the sixth-best welterweight of all time by the statistical boxing website BoxRec, while The Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer ranked him third.

8. Oscar De La Hoya 

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Oscar is a Mexican-American boxer regarded as “The Golden Boy” of the sport. This was following his gold medal win at the 1992 Summer Olympics. BoxRec ranks him as the 13th-best fighter of all time, and he has had a very successful boxing career. He has crowned The Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year in 1995 and is widely regarded around the world as one of the best boxers ever.

Oscar retired in 2009 after a stellar 16-year career. His accomplishments include 11 world titles in six weight classes, as well as the lineal championship in three weight classes winning titles at light welterweight and welterweight.

9. Emile Griffith

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Emile Griffith was a professional boxer from the United States Virgin Islands who won world championships in three weight classes. He was the undisputed world light middleweight, welterweight, and middleweight champion. His most famous bout was a 1962 title fight against Benny Paret. Griffith won the fight via knockout; Paret never regained consciousness and died 10 days later in the hospital. 

10. Barney Ross

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American boxer Barney Ross competed professionally in the 1920s. Ross, a distinguished World War II soldier, won the title of world champion in three different weight classes. As one of the rare champions of all three weight divisions in boxing—lightweight, light welterweight, and welterweight—Ross’s record is exceptional. In 81 fights, he never lost by knockout and kept his title against some of the strongest opponents in the sport’s history.

11. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

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Floyd is one of the best boxers to have participated in the sport. Floyd, who uses the orthodox stance, is frequently touted as the greatest defensive boxer in history. Competing between 1996 to 2017, he performed from the super featherweight to the light middleweight. He ended his career with an undefeated record and 15 major world titles. This covers the lineal championship in four weight divisions(twice at welterweight) and the five weight classes for the Ring magazine title. 

12. Thomas Hearns

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American former professional boxer Thomas Hearns competed from 1977 to 2006. Hearns was the only boxer in history to win world titles in five weight divisions: welterweight, light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight. This was made possible by his tall, skinny body and his large arms and shoulders. Despite moving up five weight classes, Hearns was noted for his deadly punches throughout his career, even at cruiserweight.

13. Jose Napoles

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14. Pernell Whitaker

American professional boxer Pernell Whitaker Sr. competed from 1984 to 2001. He afterwards became a boxing trainer. He had won titles at lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight, and light middleweight in addition to the undisputed lightweight title and the lineal lightweight and welterweight titles thus becoming a four-weight world champion. With six successful title defences, he presently has the longest unified lightweight championship reign in boxing history. Whitaker is widely considered to be one of the greatest defensive boxers of all time.

15. Mickey Walker

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Mickey Walker was an American professional boxer who held the world welterweight and world middleweight titles at various times during his career. Walker was recognized as a first-class member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Ring magazine Hall of Fame in 1957.

Read More: Boxing Style And Technique: 5 Different Types of Boxers You Will Recognize Right Away