The 10 Longest-Reigning Welterweight Boxing Champions In History

The welterweight division has always been a big hit with boxing fans as it has featured some of the sport’s most dynamic champions. The division is contested for fighters weighing between 140 and 147lbs and sits between the lightweight and middleweight divisions. This list features the 10 longest reigning welterweight boxing champions in history. It deals with single reigns rather than combined reigns for those who held the title more than once.

The current champions as of July 10th 2017 are Keith Thurman (WBA Super and WBC), Lamont Peterson (WBA Regular) and Errol Spence (IBF) of the USA and Jeff Horn (WBO) of Australia. Some of the most popular past champions include Floyd Mayweather Jr., Jose Napoles, Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Leonard, Wilfredo Benitez, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, Oscar De La Hoya, Emile Griffith and Manny Pacquiao.

10. Simon Brown

He may not be recognized as one of the all-time greats, but Simon Brown of Jamaica was a solid welterweight champ, who defended the IBF Title nine times during his reign of three years, five months and 11 days. He was actually a two-division belt holder as Brown also won a junior middleweight title. Brown, who was nicknamed Mantequilla, was pretty active during his pro career from 1982 to 2000 as he fought 59 times with a record of 47-12 with 34 Kos while losing his final six fights. Brown started his career at 21-0 and then managed to win the vacant IBF Championship in 1988 with a 14th-round TKO over Tyrone Trice. Brown added the WBC Title when he beat Maurice Blocker in 1991, but lost his belts to Buddy McGirt in his next fight. He stopped Terry Norris two years later for the WBC Jr. Middleweight crown and defended it once against Troy Waters before losing to Norris in their rematch.

9. Mickey Walker

American Mickey Walker of Elizabeth, New Jersey and was known as the Toy Bulldog. He won world titles in the welterweight and middleweight divisions and even fought as a light heavyweight and heavyweight. Walker fought from 1919 to 1935 and officially went 94-19-4 with 60 Kos. He won the World Welterweight Championship in November, 1922 by a 15-round unanimous decision over Jack Britton at Madison Square Garden. He then held the title for three years, five months and 20 days and defended it five times as well as participating in numerous non-title bouts. Walker lost the welterweight belt to Pete Latzo in May, 1926 and then moved up to middleweight. He won that division’s title just seven months later with a controversial 10-round points win over Tiger Flowers. Walker reigned as middleweight champ for five years, but defended his title just three times before moving up to heavier divisions. After retiring, Walker became a world-renowned artist.

8. Jack Britton

Jack ‘Boxing Marvel’ Britton was another American boxer who fought in the earlier days of the sport. The native of Clinton, New York fought professionally between 1904 and 1930 and compiled an official record of 104-29-20 with 30 Kos. He was a three-time World Welterweight Champion with his longest reign being three years, seven months and 13 days. Britton first won the crown in June, 1915 with a 12-round decision over Mike Glover. However, he lost it in his first defense against Ted ‘Kid’ Lewis just two months later. Britton regained the title in a rematch with Lewis seven months after that, but once again lost it to Lewis the next year. Britton won the title for the third time by knocking Lewis out in the ninth round in March, 1919 and successfully defended it four times before losing to Mickey Walker in November, 1922.

7. Donald Curry

One of the best welterweights of the 1980s and 90s was Donald Curry of Fort Worth, Texas. Curry was known as the Lone Star Cobra and after a fine amateur career, made the 1980 American Olympic Boxing Team. His dreams of competing were shattered though when the U.S. boycotted the Games. Curry fought pro from 1980 to 1997 with a record of 34-6 with 25 Kos. He won the vacant WBA Welterweight Championship in February, 1983 with a unanimous decision over Jun-Suk Hwang. Curry’s brother Bruce would soon win the WBC Jr. Welterweight Title and the Curry’s became the first siblings to hold world titles at the same time. Curry added the IBF Welterweight Title in 1984 and then knocked out Milton McCrory for the WBC and Lineal Belts. He lost all of his titles in September, 1986 when Lloyd Honeyghan stopped him in six. However, he held the WBA Title for three years, seven months and 14 days while defending it seven times. Curry would later win the WBC Jr. Middleweight Title, but failed in three attempts at a middleweight belt.

6. Sugar Ray Robinson

Arguably the greatest boxer of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson of Ailey, Georgia fought between the featherweight and light heavyweight divisions between 1940 and 1965 with a record of 173-19-6 with 108 Kos after going 85-0 as an amateur with 69 Kos. He also enjoyed the longest unbeaten streak in pro boxing history at 91 contests between 1943 and 1951. Robinson won the World Welterweight Championship with a 15-roud unanimous decision over Tommy Bell in December, 1946 and held onto it for three years, seven months and 19 days while defending it five times and winning numerous non-title bouts. Robinson then moved up to middleweight and became a five-time champion in the division. After retiring, Robinson dabbled in acting, but he’ll forever be remembered for his fights against the likes of Jake LaMotta, Henry Armstrong, Kid Gavilan, Bobo Olson, Randy Turpin, Gene Fullmer and Carmen Basilio.

5. Floyd Mayweather Jr.

At 49-0 with 26 Kos since turning pro back in, 40-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr. of Grand Rapids, Michigan will be coming back to take on UFC fighter Conor McGregor on August 26th. As a boxer though, Mayweather has won world titles in five different weight divisions and has racked up four different Lineal Titles and a grand total of 15 world championship belts. He reigned as Welterweight Champion for four years before being stripped of the title and defended it five times. The former 1996 Olympic bronze medalist at featherweight won the IBF and vacant IBO Welterweight Titles with a unanimous decision over Zab Judah in April, 2006 and added the WBA, IBC, and Lineal Titles in his next bout against Carlos Baldomir. Mayweather would give up the IBF belt and things would get a little complicated as he fought at catch-weights on a few occasions and he would later win the WBO Welterweight Crown by beating Manny Pacquiao in 2015. He was soon stripped of that title for failing to pay a $200,000 sanctioning fee.

4. Pernell Whitaker

One of the best pure boxers and defensive fighters in the history of the sport was Pernell ‘Sweet Pea’ Whitaker of Norfolk, Virginia. Whitaker would win world titles in four different weight classes and defended the WBC Welterweight Championship eight times during his reign of four years, one month and six days. He also won gold as a lightweight at the 1984 Olympics. Whitaker fought professionally from 1984 to 2001 with a record of 40-4-1 with 17 Kos and one no contest. After winning titles in the lightweight and junior welterweight divisions, Whitaker won the WBC and Lineal Welterweight Titles by unanimous decision over Buddy McGirt in September, 1993. He won the WBA Super Welterweight Championship in 1995 and held onto to his Welterweight Belts until losing to Oscar De La Hoya in April, 1997. Whitaker lost his last three bouts before retiring.

3. Jose Napoles

Cuba has long produced some of the world’s finest boxers and Jose ‘Mantequilla’ Napoles is a prime example even though he did end up fighting out of Mexico after becoming a citizen of that country. Napoles fought 88 times as a pro between 1958 and 1975 with a record of 81-7 with 54 Kos. Napoles won the WBA and WBC Welterweight Titles in 1969 when he stopped Curtis Cokes after 13 rounds. He would defend the belts three times before being stopped by Billy Backus in the fourth round in December, 1970. Napoles stopped Backus in their rematch the next year to regain the titles. He then held the belts for four years, six months and two days. Carlos Monzon stopped him in February, 1974 when Napoles challenged the Middleweight Champion. Napoles moved back to welterweight where he was still the champ and held the belt until John Stracey stopped him in his final bout in December, 1975 in Napoles’ 15th overall defense.

2. Antonio Margarito

Mexico’s Antonio Margarito will always be remembered for “doctoring” his hand wraps with plaster of Paris against Shane Mosley in 2009. But he did manage to defend the WBO Welterweight Championship seven times during his reign of five years, three months and 28 days. In fact, he’s a three-time champ at welterweight as he would later win WBA and IBF Titles. The 39-year-old is currently 40-8-1 with 27 Kos and one no-contest after turning pro in 1994. Margarito won the vacant WBO Title in March, 2002 with a 10th-round TKO over Antonio Diaz. He lost it in his eighth defense when Paul Williams beat him by unanimous decision in July of 2007. Margarito beat Kermit Cintron for the IBF Belt and Miguel Cotto for the WBA Title in 2008, but then lost to Mosley. He lost to Cotto in a rematch at junior middleweight and to Manny Pacquiao in the same division in a title shot. Margarito retired in 2011, but came back in 2016 and has won two fights since.

1. Felix Trinidad

The longest-reigning Welterweight Champion of all time was Puerto Rico’s Felix Trinidad as he held the IBF Title for six years, eight months and 14 days. Trinidad boxed from 1990 to 2008 after the five-time national amateur champ turned pro at 17 years of age. He would win world titles in three weight divisions and went 42-3 as a pro with 35 Kos. All three of his defeats came in his last five bouts. Trinidad captured the welterweight crown in June, 1993 when he stopped Maurice Blocker in the second round. He’d go on to defend it 15 times against the likes of Luis Garcia, Hector Camacho, Oba Carr, Pernell Whitaker and Oscar De La Hoya. He also won the WBC and Lineal Welterweight Titles in his September, 1999 win over De La Hoya. Trinidad then vacated his titles in 2000 to fight as a junior middleweight then middleweight and won world titles in both divisions.

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10 Boxing Matches That Need To Happen In 2018 Or Sooner

With boxing enjoying a resurgence, fans are making up wish lists for bouts they’d like to see take place sooner rather than later. But even though the sport’s popularity is growing, there’s still a problem of too many world champions. Most fans would like to see just one champion in each weight division rather than three or four of them.

To achieve this, boxing needs to unify the titles by having the champions square off against each other. While that’s possible in some cases and would lead to some great matchups, there are also some other excellent possibilities between non-champions and those boxers moving up or down in weight. These are 10 great fights we’d like to see either sometime this year or in 2018 at the latest.

10. Vasyl Lomachenko vs Orlando Salido

WBO Super Featherweight Champion Vasyl Lomachenko (8-1, 6Ko’s) of Ukraine tops many pound-for-pound lists as the former two-time Olympic and World Amateur Champion has adapted extremely well to the pro game. There is one blemish on the 29-year-old’s record though and that’s a split decision loss to Mexico’s Orlando Salido (44-13-4, 31Ko’s) in March, 2014. The former featherweight and Jr. lightweight champion edged the young southpaw by scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 113-115. Lomachenko was trying to win a world title in just his second pro fight against Salido and it was a controversial battle. The Mexican came in over the 126 lb. weight limit seemingly on purpose and gave up the title by doing so. This meant Lomachenko could still win the belt, but failed to do so when Salido landed numerous low blows throughout the contest and rehydrated to 147 lbs. while Lomachenko entered the ring at 136 lbs. A rematch with the 36-year-old Salido would enable Lomachenko to avenge his only pro defeat.

9. Gervonta Davis vs Miguel Berchelt

American Gervonta Davis became somewhat of an overnight sensation when he knocked out Jose Pedraza in the seventh round to win the IBF Junior Lightweight Championship on January 14th in Brooklyn. The 22-year-old southpaw is unbeaten with a record of 22-0 with 21Ko’s. He’s got excellent speed and power and is a protégé of Floyd Mayweather Jr. Davis then went to England on May 7th and stopped Liam Walsh in the third round. However, it took the champion three tries to make the 130 lb. weight limit. We’d like to see Davis deal with 25-year-old WBC Champion Miguel Berchelt (31-1, 28Ko’s) of Mexico who won his title in January in an all-time classic by stopping Francisco Vargas in the 11th round. Berchelt is scheduled to meet former champ Takashi Miura of Japan on July 15th. Therefore if Miura beats him we’ll gladly settle for a Davis vs Miura showdown.

8. Amir Khan vs Kell Brook

This would be a huge domestic fight in the UK as it pits two Englishmen against each other. It’s also an excellent matchup generally since it’s no secret these two guys don’t particularly like each other. The 31-year-old Brook (36-2, 25Ko’s) is a former IBF Welterweight Champion who lost his last two fights to Gennady Golovkin and Errol Spence Jr. And while Brook suffered a broken eye socket in each fight, he was very competitive, exciting and dangerous being stopped. The 30-year-old Khan (31-4, 19Ko’s) is a former junior welterweight champ with excellent boxing skills, but a bit of a weak chin. He was carrying the action in his fights against Canelo Alvarez and Danny Garcia before being stopped and his decision loss to Lamont Peterson was highly controversial. This is a fight which could probably draw over 50,000 fans in England and would be a treat for fans all over the world.

7. Roman Gonzalez vs Srisaket Sor Rungvisai

Roman Gonzalez (46-1, 38Ko’s) of Nicaragua was riding high on the pound-for-pound list until he ran into Srisaket Sor Runvisai (42-4-1, 38Ko’s) of Thailand in March and lost his WBC Super Flyweight Championship by controversial decision. It was the first pro loss for the 29-year-old Gonzalez who has won world titles in four different weight classes. He was dropped in the first round, but recovered well only to lose by scores of 114-112, 114-112 and 113-113. The 30-year-old southpaw Rungvisai was deducted point for a head butt in the sixth round and landed 284 of his 940 punches while Gonzalez threw 1,013 punches and connected on 441 of them. It appears the WBC has ordered a rematch of this action-packed fight and it’s one fans definitely shouldn’t miss when it takes place.

6. Keith Thurman vs Errol Spence Jr.

American Errol Spence Jr. (22-0, 19Ko’s) just won the IBF Welterweight Championship over in England with a fine performance against hometown hero Kell Brook. The 27-year-old Spence wore the former champ down and eventually stopped him in the 11th round. Since he’s the real deal there’s no point in Spence Jr. waiting around so he might as well face WBA and WBC Welterweight Champion and fellow undefeated American Keith Thurman (28-0, 22Ko’s). The 28-year-old Thurman already has impressive wins over Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia while Spence is a three-time U.S. amateur champ and former Olympian. Both guys have speed, power and solid chins and this should be a fast-paced, fan-friendly fight. It’s one of the best welterweight matchups out there and would unify three of the titles with Manny Pacquiao owning the WBO belt.

5. Mikey Garcia vs Adrien Broner

To put it bluntly, there are a lot of boxing fans out there who simply don’t like the 27-year-old Adrien Broner (33-2, 24Ko’s) the U.S. due to his antics in and out of the ring. They believe he’s a discredit to the sport and certainly not a role model that kids can look up to. For these people, there’s nothing more they’d like to see than Broner get his come-uppance in the ring again. They’d love to see the unbeaten Mikey Garcia (36-0, 30Ko’s) face Broner as soon as possible to put him in his place. Broner has been a world champ in four different weight divisions while Garcia has achieved the feat in three divisions. If they meet it will likely be at the junior welterweight limit of 140 lbs., meaning Garcia will be going up in weight as he’s currently a lightweight titleholder.

4. Leo Santa Cruz vs Carl Frampton

We’ve already seen Leo Santa Cruz (33-1-1, 18Ko’s) of Mexico and Northern Ireland’s Carl Frampton (23-1, 14Ko’s) split a pair of fights and a trilogy is needed to break the tie. The 28-year-old Santa Cruz is a four-time world champion in three different weight divisions and is the current WBA (Super) Featherweight titleholder. Meanwhile, the 30-year-old Frampton is a former bantamweight and featherweight champ. Frampton took the first bout and Santa Cruz’s title by majority decision last July in Brooklyn, with scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 114-114. The rematch was held on January 28th in Las Vegas, and Santa Cruz regained the title via a close majority decision by scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 114-114. Both bouts were exciting and delivered edge-of-the-seat action and a third contest should be just the same. However, it looks like Santa Cruz will be meeting Abner Mares first.

3. Gennady Golovkin vs Daniel Jacobs

One of the biggest fights of 2017 will be the Gennady Golovkin vs Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez showdown in Las Vegas on September 16th. We’ll go out on a limb here and assume Golovkin (37-0, 33Ko’s) of Kazakhstan defeats his Mexican opponent and retains his WBC, WBA, IBF, and IBO Middleweight Belts. If he does, then we’d like to see the 35-year-old ‘Triple G’ take on former WBA champ Daniel Jacobs (34-2, 29 Ko’s) again in a rematch. The two met on March 18th of this year and many fans believed the 30-year-old Jacobs of the U.S. deserved the decision. Golovkin got the official nod though by scores of 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113. The champion’s fourth-round knockdown of Jacobs definitely helped him out on the scorecards, but if the fight was that close and controversial then the only way to settle the issue is to do it again.

2. Terence Crawford vs Manny Pacquiao

First things first, Manny Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38Ko’s) of the Philippines needs to get past Australia’s Jeff Horn down in Brisbane before the WBO Welterweight Champion thinks about another fight. If the 38-year-old Pac Man beats Horn impressively then a matchup against WBC and WBO Junior Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford (31-0, 22Ko’s) of the U.S. would be a fine matchup. Yes, the 29-year-old Crawford would have to come up in weight by seven pounds, but that shouldn’t be a problem for him. Pacquiao’s a natural southpaw and Crawford often likes to turn southpaw during his fights and this bout would feature the speed, accuracy and ring generalship of two excellent boxers. Crawford’s one of the top pound-for-pound boxers out there for the moment and Pacquiao’s a legend, so this fight makes sense as long as Pacquiao looks good against Horn.

1. Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder

Fans want to see unified champions in every division, especially when it comes to the heavyweights. England’s Anthony Joshua currently owns the WBA (Super), IBF, and IBO versions of the titles while American Deontay Wilder is the WBC heavyweight king. Joshua will likely be forced into a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko before 2017 is over and assuming he wins, which is actually a big assumption based on their first fight, he needs to meet Wilder to unify the division. The 27-year-old Joshua is 19-0 with 19Ko’s while the 31-year-old Wilder is 38-0 with 37Ko’s. Since Wilder is 6-foot-7 and Joshua is 6-foot-6, boxing logic would lead us to believe this fight will end in a knockout with several knockdowns along the way being a distinct possibility. This fight has the potential to be a dramatic slugfest and it would give everybody what they really want, which is one true heavyweight champion of the world.

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Pacman is Back

Manny Pacquiao knew when he hung up his gloves in April that his departure was not for long.

"I felt lonely because when skeftese for the sport you love, you're not longer active thought is time and again that boxing still loves me," said Pacquiao.

So, why should I stop my career? So I changed my mind and decided to continue my journey. "

Pacquiao, 37, Thursday restarted her career after his decision to retire from last April after the unanimous decision defeat to Timothy Bradley.

Then the focus was to win the election in the Philippines Senate. This being achieved, should establish a way to fulfill its political responsibilities and effectively trained for another world title fight.

At a press conference in Beverly Hills, the Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 knockouts) officially announced that on November 5, returns to the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas against World Boxing Welterweight champion Jessie Vargas (27-1, 10 KOs ).
 

Pacquiao has won and successfully defended the zone six times.

"I want this belt," Pacquiao, said when asked why he chose Vargas. "Plus, it's my first fight as a senator."

Vargas, 27, claimed the title in March with a ninth-round technical knockout on Ali Hussein, and says that the challenge of winning against Pacquiao could settle an old score.

As a young boxer, Vargas said he was impressed that Pacquiao had built his reputation as a "Mexicutioner" with devastating victories over Mexican legends Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales.

"I will beat him on November 5. He is the older fighter, I am the youngest fighter - the same position he was in when I beat Morales and Barrera, "said Vargas." These were my idols, but I said to myself, 'I'm going to go to the post fight Pacquiao one day ...

"I'm fighting for this my child inside that says," You beat my idols, and now are going to beat them. "

After the great disappointment of the lackluster loss by decision against Floyd Mayweather Jr. the richest fight in history, Pacquiao recovered from a shoulder injury and all look impressive against Bradley.

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