Women’s Boxing Weight Classes: Pro Limits and Olympic Categories

Women’s boxing does not have one universal weight-class list. The WBA’s current professional rankings contain 17 divisions, from 102-pound light minimumweight—often called atomweight—to heavyweight above 175 pounds. World Boxing’s elite women have 10 categories, while the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics will use seven. These are different systems, not interchangeable charts. (WBA rankings, World Boxing rules, §2.2.2, LA28 events)

Category listings checked October 14, 2026.

Women’s professional boxing weight classes in order

The table below follows the WBA’s September 2026 women’s rankings, with alternative names used in the WBO and IBF listings and the familiar “light middleweight” name for 154 pounds. The pound figure is the division’s maximum, except heavyweight, which has no upper limit. Kilograms are conversions rounded to one decimal place—not separate weigh-in allowances. (WBA, WBO regulations, IBF divisions)

Division	Alternative name	Limit in pounds	Approx. kilograms
Light minimumweight	Atomweight; junior mini flyweight	102	46.3
Minimumweight	Strawweight; mini flyweight	105	47.6
Light flyweight	Junior flyweight	108	49.0
Flyweight	—	112	50.8
Super flyweight	Junior bantamweight	115	52.2
Bantamweight	—	118	53.5
Super bantamweight	Junior featherweight	122	55.3
Featherweight	—	126	57.2
Super featherweight	Junior lightweight	130	59.0
Lightweight	—	135	61.2
Super lightweight	Junior welterweight	140	63.5
Welterweight	—	147	66.7
Super welterweight	Junior middleweight; light middleweight	154	69.9
Middleweight	—	160	72.6
Super middleweight	—	168	76.2
Light heavyweight	—	175	79.4
Heavyweight	—	Over 175; no maximum	Over 79.4

For example, 135 pounds is the lightweight ceiling, not a weight every lightweight must hit exactly. And “super lightweight” and “junior welterweight” describe the same 140-pound limit; they are not two separate divisions.

Why other professional lists differ

The main differences are at the heavyweight end—and between a body’s written rules and its displayed championship list:

• WBA: Its current women’s rankings list 17 divisions, including heavyweight above 175 pounds and the 102-pound class. There is no cruiserweight category in that list. (WBA rankings)
• WBC: Its women’s category menu lists 16 divisions. It goes directly from super middleweight to heavyweight, without women’s light heavyweight or cruiserweight entries. (WBC category menu)
• IBF: Its female champions page lists 18 divisions, including 102-pound junior mini flyweight, 200-pound cruiserweight and heavyweight above 200 pounds. Those displayed upper divisions differ from the WBA chart above. (IBF champions)
• WBO: Its published female regulations enumerate 18 divisions, including junior heavyweight up to 200 pounds and heavyweight above 200. Its female champions page displays 17 slots, without a separate junior-heavyweight slot. Consequently, “listed in the rules” and “displayed on the champions page” do not produce the same count. (WBO female regulations, WBO champions)

For a particular title fight, identify the sanctioning body and the approved bout terms. A general chart cannot settle every heavyweight classification or title-eligibility question. For belt holders rather than weight limits, see our women’s professional boxing champions guide.

Amateur and Olympic women’s weight classes

World Boxing’s elite women’s categories, introduced from January 1, 2025, are 48, 51, 54, 57, 60, 65, 70, 75 and 80 kilograms, plus heavyweight above 80 kilograms. That is 10 categories. The lowest class covers weights above 45 kilograms up to 48 kilograms. (World Boxing competition rules, §2.2.2)

The LA28 women’s Olympic program is smaller: 51, 54, 57, 60, 65, 70 and 75 kilograms—seven medal events. It does not include World Boxing’s 48-kilogram, 80-kilogram or above-80-kilogram categories. (LA28 boxing program)

The same division name can mean a different limit in the two formats. A professional lightweight ceiling is 135 pounds, about 61.2 kilograms; World Boxing’s women’s lightweight ceiling is 60 kilograms. Use the number and governing rules, not the name alone.

Youth and domestic competition categories also need their own rulebook. Our amateur boxing weight-divisions guide covers that distinction in more detail.

Making weight is separate from winning on points

Weight limits determine eligibility; they are not judges’ points. Under the WBA rules, a champion who fails to make weight after the permitted extension loses the title. If the bout proceeds and that boxer wins, the title remains vacant. The boxer can therefore win the fight without retaining the championship. (WBA rules, §E.8–9)

Each judge’s scorecard records rounds under the applicable scoring system. As a simple example, six rounds scored 10–9 for Boxer A and four scored 9–10 produce 96–94 for A on that judge’s card, assuming no other adjustments. That arithmetic does not change because the bout is at flyweight rather than middleweight. (WBA scoring rules, §E.3)

To interpret those numbers, use our 10-point must scoring guide; to identify the division, start with the official weight limit and sanctioning body.