The professional male boxers are split initially into eight categories based on their weight class: heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight, and flyweight:

• Heavyweight boxers have no weight limit, but they must weigh over 200lbs or 91kg. Some of the world famous heavyweights, include Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali;
• Light heavyweight fighters weigh maximum 175lbs or 79.5kg. For example in the beginning of his career in 1936, Archie More was a light heavyweight fighter;
• Middleweights weigh up to 160lbs or 72.5kg. Some of the world famous British boxers in this division are Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank;
• Welterweight boxers such as ‘Sugar’ Ray Robinson weigh maximum 147lbs or 66.7kg;
• Lightweight fighters weigh up to 135lbs or 61.4kg. Roberto Duran and Julio Cesar Chavez are two star lightweights;
• Featherweights like Willie Pep and ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed weigh up to 126lbs or 57.1kg;
• Bantamweight boxers weigh a maximum of 118lbs or 53.5kg. Legendary bantamweight fighters are Eder Jofre and Wayne McCullough;
• Flyweight fighters weigh maximum 112lbs or 51kg. Good examples for this category fighters are the incredible Ricardo Lopez and Jimmy Wilde.

Nowadays the total number of classes is 17: heavyweight, cruiserweight (200lb, 91kg), light heavyweight, super middleweight (168lb, 76.2kg), middleweight, light middleweight or super welter (154lb, 70kg), welterweight, light welterweight or super light (140lb, 63.5kg), lightweight, super featherweight or junior light (130lb, 59kg), featherweight, super bantamweight or junior feather (122lb, 55.3kg), bantamweight, super flyweight, or junior bantam (115lb, 52.1kg), flyweight, light flyweight (108lb, 49kg), straw weight or mini fly (105lb, 47.6kg).