Lineal Junior Welterweight World Champions

[140lbs]

Reigning Junior Welterweight World Champion: Teofimo Lopez (2023 - Present)

1 Myron "Pinky" Mitchell (1923 - 1926) USA

2 Mushy Callahan (1926 - 1930) USA

3 Jackie "Kid" Berg (1930 - 1931) UK

4 Tony Canzoneri (1931 - 1932) USA **

5 Johnny Jadick (1932 - 1933) USA

6 Battling Shaw (1933) Mexico

7 Tony Canzoneri (1933) USA **

8 Barney Ross (1933 - 1935) Vacated USA

9 Tippy Larkin (1946) USA Vacated

10 Carlos Ortiz (1959 - 1960) Puerto Rico

11 Duilio Loi (1960 - 1962) Italy **

12 Eddie Perkins (1962) USA **

13 Duilio Loi (1962 - 1963) Italy Retired **

14 Eddie Perkins (1963 - 1965) USA **

15 Carlos Hernandez (1965 - 1966) Venezuela

16 Sandro Lopopolo (1966 - 1967) Italy

17 Paul Fuji (1967 - 1968) USA

18 Nicolino Locche (1968 - 1972) Argentina

19 Alfonso Frazer (1972) Panama

20 Antonio Cervantes (1972 - 1976) Colombia

21 Wilfredo Benitez (1976 - 1979) Puerto Rico Vacated

22 Aaron Pryor (1983-1985) USA Vacated

23 Julio Cesar Chavez (1990 - 1994) Mexico **

24 Frankie Randall (1994) USA

25 Julio Cesar Chavez (1994 - 1996) Mexico **

26 Oscar De La Hoya (1996 - 1997) USA Vacated

27 Kostya Tszyu (2001 - 2005) Australia

28 Ricky Hatton (2005 - 2009) UK

29 Manny Pacquiao (2009 - 2010) Philippines Vacated

30 Danny Garcia (2013 - 2015) USA Vacated

31 Terence Crawford (2016 - 2018) USA Vacated

32 Josh Taylor (2021 - 2023) UK

33 Teofimo Lopez (2023 - Present) USA

In what was an unusual beginning for a boxing weight class, in 1922, the readers of the Boxing Blade voted that Pinky Mitchell was the best man in the newly created Junior Welterweight division - a decision that was initially supported by the NBA, although they soon withdrew their recognition of it. The fact that the owner of the Boxing Blade was Mike Collins, Pinky Mitchell's manager, also affected the credibility of the fledgling division.

Mitchell's first victory as Junior Welterweight #1 was against Bud Logan on January 30th, 1923, so this is the bout that LinealBoxingChampion.com identifies as when he solidified his claim as the division's inaugural World Champion.

The first lineage started with Mitchell, and finished with Barney Ross, who vacated the title in 1935. Tippy Larkin claimed the title in 1946, but it wasn't until Carlos Ortiz in 1959, that the division really began gaining true respect.

Since then the 140lbs weight class has had famous reigns from a variety of elite fighters from all over the world. National sporting heroes with huge fan bases like Mexican, Julio Caesar Chavez and British icon, Ricky "Hitman" Hatton, have left their mark on the division. Current P4P ace, Terence Crawford stayed only briefly, but The World Boxing Super Series put the junior welterweights back in the spotlight, with the tournament’s winner, Josh Taylor, going on to beat Jose Ramirez for divisional supremacy.

2021/Current Lineage

Josh Taylor defeated Jose Ramirez on May 23rd, via 12 round unanimous decision - the two men were the top-rated junior welterweights in the world according to all the leading independent ratings. The fight was also for all four major sanctioning body belts, as well as The Ring and TBRB titles.

@LinealBoxChamp