Encyclopedia

Light flyweight

Weight class in boxing

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Source updated July 20, 2026

Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing.

01Professional boxing

The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920, the law stipulated a "junior flyweight" class, with a weight limit of 99 pounds. When the National Boxing Association was formed in 1921, it also recognized this weight class. However, on January 19, 1922, the NBA decided to withdraw recognition of the junior flyweight division. On December 31, 1929, the New York State Athletic Commission also abolished the junior flyweight class. No champion had been crowned in this division prior to its abolition.

The World Boxing Council (WBC) decided to resurrect this division in the 1970s. The first champion in this division was Franco Udella, who won the WBC title in 1975. The World Boxing Association also crowned its first champion in 1975, when Jaime Rios defeated Rigoberto Marcano via fifteen-round decision. The first International Boxing Federation champion was Dodie Boy Peñalosa, who won the belt in 1983.

The first light flyweight "superfight" took place on March 13, 1993, when Michael Carbajal, the IBF champion, knocked out WBC champion Humberto González to unify the championship. Their rematch, on February 19, 1994, was the first time a light flyweight fighter (Carbajal) made a million dollar purse.

Current world champions

Sanctioning body	Reign began	Champion	Record	Defenses
WBA	December 17, 2025	René Santiago	16-4 (9 KO)	1
WBC	March 15, 2026	Shokichi Iwata	16-2 (13 KO)	1
IBF	June 19, 2025	Thanongsak Simsri	40-1 (35 KO)	1
WBO	March 13, 2025	René Santiago	16-4 (9 KO)	2

Current The Ring world rankings

As of December 28, 2025.

Keys:

C Current The Ring world champion

Rank	Name	Record	Title(s)
C	vacant
1	René Santiago	15-4 (9 KO)	WBO, WBA
2	Carlos Cañizales	28-3-1 (20 KO)	WBC
3	Thanongsak Simsri	39-1 (34 KO)	IBF
4	Kyosuke Takami	10-1 (8 KO)
5	Shokichi Iwata	14-2 (11 KO)
6	Regie Suganob	16-1 (6 KO)
7	Christian Araneta	25-3 (6 KO)
8	Erick Badillo	17-0 (8 KO)
9	Masataka Taniguchi	19-5 (13 KO)
10	Sivenathi Nontshinga	13-2 (10 KO)

02Amateur boxing

At the Summer Olympic Games, the division is defined as up to 49 kilograms.

Olympic champions

European champions

Pan American champions

03Notable light flyweights

Watch videos about Light flyweightExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Light flyweight”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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