The 12 Categories at the 2023 IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships

The IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships is rhe amateur boxing level conducted and organized by the International Boxing Association, the sport’s governing body. However, it has different categories that different fighters fall into according to their weight.

 

It has since gained traction and has become one of the popular options for sports betting online. In that case, we have to highlight the twelve categories at the 2023 IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships below, so continue reading our article below if you are interested.

Minimum Weight

The Minimum weight is one of the categories at the 2023 IBA Men’s World Boxing Championship. The Minimumweight division is the category of boxers that may weigh no more than 48kg (105 pounds), and it is a relatively new weight category for professional Boxers. It was first inaugurated by major boxing authority bodies between 1987 and 1990.

 

This category was initially introduced in 1968 for the Summer Olympic Games and was named light flyweight. However, the division was only recognized by the four most wide authority bodies Until the IBF in June 1987, when Kyung-Yun Lee knocked out Masaharu Kawakami to become the inaugural champion.

Flyweight

The Flyweight category includes fighters that weigh above 49 kg to 51kg. This division was the last boxing’s 8th traditional weight class to be founded. Before 1909, anyone below featherweight was considered a bantamweight, no matter how small the boxer was. Later in 1911, the organization that eventually became the British Boxing Board of Control hosted a match that crowned Sid Smith as the first Flyweight champion in the World.

Bantamweight

The Bantamweight is another 2023 IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships category. It is a weight class that falls into the combat sports. So for boxing, the range is above 52.2kg and 53.5kg. On the other hand, in Kickboxing, a bantamweight fidget usually weighs between 53 kg and 55 kg. Lastly, in MMA, bantam weight weighs between 57.2to 61.2kg.

 

The first title fight of the Bantamweight was between Ray Lewis and Chappie Moran in 1889. As of then, the limit for this weight class was 110 pounds. So later, in 1910, the British settled on a limit of 118 pounds.

Lightweight

Another category at the 2023 IBA Men’s World Boxing Championship is the Lightweight division. In this division, fighters must weigh from 59 kilograms to 61.32 kilograms in boxing. There are many notable Lightweight boxers, and they include Tony Canzoneri, Pedro Carrasco, Henry Armstrong, Ken Buchanan, Joel Casamayor, Oscar De La Hoya, Al “Bummy” Davis, Roberto Duran, Benny Leonard, Joe Gans, Ray Mancini, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Juan Manuel, and many more.

 

Light Welterweight

Light Welterweight is another category at the 2023 IBA Men’s World Boxing Championship category. This division is usually contested between the welterweight and the lightweight division, where boxers must weigh above 61.2kg to 63.5kg. The first boxer to win this category was Pinky Mitchell back in 1946, although he was awarded only for his championship by a vote of the readers of the Boxing Blaze magazine.

 

In the early years of this division, it was not widespread, and the New York State Athletic Commission withdrew awareness of it in 1930. Only the NBA continued its recognition until Barney Ross (it’s champion) relinquished the title in 1935 to concentrate more on regaining the welterweight championship.

Welterweight

Welterweight is another category in the 2023 IBA Men’s World Boxing Championship category. It is also a weight class in combat sports, but initially, the term “welterweight” was used only in boxing. Some other combat sports like Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and mixed martial arts also use the term for their division to identify the opponents. However, welterweights are heavier than lightweight in most sports but lighter than middleweights.

Light Middleweight

Light middleweight is the Junior midweight in the IBF or the super welterweight in the WBC and WBA. It is the division of every professional boxer that weighs above 66.7kg to 69.9kg. This division was established in 1962 when a fight was recognized by the Austrian Board of Control between Teddy Wright and Emile Griffith for the World championship. The fight was held on the 1st of October, and Griffth won via a 15-round decision.

Middleweight

Middleweight is also among the categories in the 2023 IBA Men’s World Championship category, where this division is contested by boxers that weigh above 70kg to 73kg. The middleweight division began in the 1840s when its first championship fight was between Dooney Harris and Tom Chandler in 1867.

 

Chandler won the fight, and he became the American middleweight champion. Although, the first middleweight fight with gloves is said ti have been between Jack(Nonpareil) Dempsey and George Fulljames.

 

Light Heavyweight

Light Heavyweight is another category at the 2023 IBA Men’s World Championship category. This division involves boxers that weigh above 76kg to 79kg, falling between Cruiserweight and super middleweight. The Light Heavyweight has produced many of boxing’s greatest champions, including Bernard Hopkins, Billy Conn, Tommy Loughran, Bob Foster, Ann Wolfe, Micheal Spinks, Archie Moorer, Roy Jones Jr., and many more.

Cruiserweight

Another category at the 2023 IBA Men’s World Championship category is the Cruiserweight. It is referred to as the junior heavyweight, falling between light and heavyweight. Cruiserweight and light heavyweight were sometimes used interchangeably in the U.K. The current limit for this division is 90.7kg, but when it was initially established, the weight limit was 86.2kg.

 

However, this division was established to accommodate smaller heavyweight boxers that cannot compete with the growing size of boxers.

Heavyweight

Heavyweight is another category in the 2023 IBA Men’s World Championship category. In this division, boxers weighing over 91 kg are usually considered heavyweights by three or four major professional boxing organizations: the World Boxing Association, the International Boxing Federation, and the World Boxing Organization. However, in 2020, the World Boxing Council increased its heavyweight class to 102kg, allowing for the bridge weight division.

Super Heavyweight

The last category at the 2023 IBA Men’s World Championship is the Super Heavyweight category. In amateur boxing, this division involves more than 91kg of fighters. It was first introduced for the 1984 Summer Olympics, where it is the amateur division equivalent of the heavyweight in professional boxing. It was introduced because of the general increase in the weight of top heavyweights in the 20th century, and it means that the heavyweight division became broad, where more petite men also had a chance to compete effectively.

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