Beginning with Mysterious Billy Smith to Harry Lewis, the welterweight world champions listed below are more widely recognized in the United States and are not as widely sanctioned as the boxers that follow. Beginning with boxer Pat Bradley, is a chronological widely recognized List of World Welterweight Boxing Champions, as recognized by four of the better-known sanctioning organizations:

• The World Boxing Association (WBA), founded in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA)
• The World Boxing Council (WBC), founded in 1963
• The International Boxing Federation (IBF), founded in 1983
• The World Boxing Organization (WBO), founded in 1988

Lists of Champions

World claimants

Date won	Date lost	Name
14 December 1892	26 July 1894	Mysterious Billy Smith	World claim
Continued to claim title after losing to Mike "Twin" Sullivan	1 November 1907	William "Honey" Mellody	World claim
1 November 1907	23 Jan 1908	Frank Mantell	World claim
23 Jan 1908	March 1911-vacated	Harry Lewis	World claim

World/Undisputed

Date won	Date lost	Name
30 October 1888	10 July 1890 (died)	Paddy Duffy	World
17 February 1891	20 December 1897 (vacated)	Tommy Ryan def. Danny Needham	World
25 August 1898	17 April 1900	Mysterious Billy Smith	World
17 April 1900	5 June 1900	Matty Matthews	World
5 June 1900	13 August 1900	Eddie Connolly	World
13 August 1900	16 October 1900	Rube Ferns	World
16 October 1900	24 May 1901	Matty Matthews	World
24 May 1901	18 December 1901	Rube Ferns	World
18 December 1901	16 October 1906	Barbados Joe Walcott	World
16 October 1906	23 April 1907	William "Honey" Mellody	World
23 April 1907	1908 (vacated)	Mike "Twin" Sullivan	World
1 April 1912	1 January 1914	Ray Bronson	World
1 January 1914	24 January 1914	Waldemar Holberg	World
24 January 1914	21 March 1914	Tom McCormick	World
21 March 1914	1 June 1915	Matt Wells	World
1 June 1915	22 June 1915	Mike Glover	World
22 June 1915	31 August 1915	Jack Britton	World
31 August 1915	24 April 1916	Ted Kid Lewis	World
24 April 1916	25 June 1917	Jack Britton	World
25 June 1917	17 March 1919	Ted Kid Lewis	World
17 March 1919	1 November 1922	Jack Britton	World/NYSAC/NBA
1 November 1922	20 May 1926	Mickey Walker	NBA/NYSAC
20 May 1926	3 June 1927	Pete Latzo	NBA/NYSAC
3 June 1927	25 July 1929	Joe Dundee	NBA/NYSAC
25 July 1929	9 May 1930	Jackie Fields	NBA/NYSAC
9 May 1930	5 September 1930	Jack Thompson	NBA/NYSAC
5 September 1930	14 April 1931	Tommy Freeman	NBA/NYSAC
14 April 1931	23 October 1931	Jack Thompson	NBA/NYSAC
23 October 1931	28 January 1932	Lou Brouillard	NBA/NYSAC
28 January 1932	22 February 1933	Jackie Fields	NBA/NYSAC
22 February 1933	29 May 1933	Young Corbett III	NBA/NYSAC
29 May 1933	28 May 1934	Jimmy McLarnin	NBA/NYSAC
28 May 1934	17 September 1934	Barney Ross	NBA/NYSAC
17 September 1934	28 May 1935	Jimmy McLarnin	NBA/NYSAC
28 May 1935	31 May 1938	Barney Ross	NBA/NYSAC
31 May 1938	4 October 1940	Henry Armstrong	NBA/NYSAC
4 October 1940	29 July 1941	Fritzie Zivic	NBA/NYSAC
29 July 1941	1 February 1946	Freddie 'Red' Cochrane	NBA/NYSAC
1 February 1946	1 February 1946 (vacated)	Marty Servo	NBA/NYSAC
20 December 1946	9 August 1950 (vacated)	Sugar Ray Robinson	NBA/NYSAC
14 March 1951	18 May 1951	Johnny Bratton	NBA
18 May 1951	29 August 1951	Kid Gavilán	NBA/NYSAC
4 February 1952	20 October 1954	Kid Gavilán	NBA/NYSAC
20 October 1954	1 April 1955	Johnny Saxton	NBA/NYSAC
1 April 1955	10 June 1955	Tony DeMarco	NBA/NYSAC
10 June 1955	14 March 1956	Carmen Basilio	NBA/NYSAC
14 March 1956	12 September 1956	Johnny Saxton	NBA/NYSAC
12 September 1956	22 February 1957 (vacated)	Carmen Basilio	NBA/NYSAC
6 June 1958	5 December 1958	Virgil Akins	NBA/NYSAC
5 December 1958	27 May 1960	Don Jordan	NBA/NYSAC
27 May 1960	1 April 1961	Benny 'Kid' Paret	NBA/NYSAC
1 April 1961	30 September 1961	Emile Griffith	NBA/NYSAC
30 September 1961	24 March 1962	Benny 'Kid' Paret	NBA/NYSAC
24 March 1962	21 March 1963	Emile Griffith	NBA/NYSAC—WBA/WBC
Title Splits into WBA and WBC Belts during Griffith's reign
21 March 1963	8 June 1963	Luis Manuel Rodríguez	WBA/WBC
8 June 1963	10 December 1965 (vacated)	Emile Griffith	WBA/WBC
28 November 1966	18 April 1969	Curtis Cokes	WBA/WBC
18 April 1969	3 December 1970	José Nápoles	WBA/WBC
3 December 1970	4 June 1971	Billy Backus	WBA/WBC
4 June 1971	6 December 1975	José Nápoles	WBA/WBC
16 September 1981	9 November 1982 (retires)	Sugar Ray Leonard	WBA/WBC
Title Split into WBA, WBC, and IBF Belts
6 December 1985	27 September 1986	Donald Curry	WBA/WBC/IBF
27 September 1986	22 August 1987	Lloyd Honeyghan	WBA/WBC/IBF
13 December 2003	5 February 2005	Cory Spinks	WBA/WBC/IBF
5 February 2005	7 January 2006	Zab Judah	WBA/WBC/IBF
29 July 2023	Present	Terence Crawford	WBO/WBA (Super)/WBC/IBF

WBC

Date won	Date lost	Name
Separate WBA and WBC champions began when José Nápoles gives up WBA title[1]
8 December 1962	21 March 1963	Emile Griffith	WBC
21 March 1963	8 June 1963	Luis Manuel Rodriguez	WBC
8 June 1963	25 April 1966-Vacated	Emile Griffith	WBC
24 August 1966	18 April 1969	Curtis Cokes	WBC
18 April 1969	3 December 1970	José Napoles	WBC
3 December 1970	4 June 1971	Billy Backus	WBC
4 June 1971	6 December 1975	José Napoles	WBC
6 December 1975	22 June 1976	John H Stracey	WBC
22 June 1976	14 January 1979	Carlos Palomino	WBC
14 January 1979	30 November 1979	Wilfred Benítez	WBC
30 November 1979	20 June 1980	Sugar Ray Leonard	WBC
20 June 1980	25 November 1980	Roberto Durán	WBC
25 November 1980	9 November 1982-Retired	Sugar Ray Leonard	WBC
13 August 1983	6 December 1985	Milton McCrory	WBC
6 December 1985	27 September 1986	Donald Curry	WBC
27 September 1986	28 October 1987	Lloyd Honeyghan	WBC
28 October 1987	29 March 1988	Jorge Vaca	WBC
29 March 1988	4 February 1989	Lloyd Honeyghan	WBC
4 February 1989	19 August 1990	Marlon Starling	WBC
19 August 1990	18 March 1991	Maurice Blocker	WBC
18 March 1991	29 November 1991	Simon Brown	WBC
29 November 1991	6 March 1993	James McGirt	WBC
6 March 1993	12 April 1997	Pernell Whitaker	WBC
12 April 1997	18 September 1999	Oscar De La Hoya	WBC
18 September 1999	3 March 2000- Vacated	Félix Trinidad	WBC
4 March 2000	17 June 2000	Oscar De La Hoya	WBC
17 June 2000	26 January 2002	Shane Mosley	WBC
26 January 2002	25 January 2003	Vernon Forrest	WBC
25 January 2003	13 December 2003	Ricardo Mayorga	WBC
13 December 2003	5 February 2005	Cory Spinks	WBC
5 February 2005	7 January 2006	Zab Judah	WBC
7 January 2006	4 November 2006	Carlos Manuel Baldomir	WBC
4 November 2006	6 June 2008- Retired	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	WBC
21 June 2008	16 April 2011	Andre Berto	WBC
16 April 2011	17 September 2011	Victor Ortiz	WBC
17 September 2011	12 September 2015- Retired	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	WBC
23 January 2016	4 March 2017	Danny García	WBC
4 March 2017	24 April 2018- Vacated	Keith Thurman	WBC
8 September 2018	28 September 2019	Shawn Porter	WBC
28 September 2019	29 July 2023	Errol Spence Jr.	WBC
29 July 2023	Present	Terence Crawford	WBC

WBA

Date won	Date lost	Name
8 December 1962	21 March 1963	Emile Griffith	WBA
21 March 1963	8 June 1963	Luis Manuel Rodriguez	WBA
8 June 1963	25 April 1966-Vacated	Emile Griffith	WBA
24 August 1966	18 April 1969	Curtis Cokes	WBA
18 April 1969	3 December 1970	Jose Napoles	WBA
3 December 1970	4 June 1971	Billy Backus	WBA
4 June 1971	1975-Stripped	Jose Napoles	WBA
28 June 1975	17 July 1976	Ángel Espada	WBA
17 July 1976	2 August 1980	Pipino Cuevas	WBA
2 August 1980	16 September 1981	Thomas Hearns	WBA
16 September 1981	9 November 1982-Retired	Sugar Ray Leonard	WBA
13 February 1983	27 September 1986	Donald Curry	WBA
27 September 1986	1987-Vacated	Lloyd Honeyghan	WBA
6 February 1987	22 August 1987	Mark Breland	WBA
22 August 1987	29 July 1988	Marlon Starling	WBA
29 July 1988	12 December 1988-Vacated	Tomas Molinares	WBA
4 February 1989	8 July 1990	Mark Breland	WBA
8 July 1990	19 January 1991	Aaron Davis	WBA
19 January 1991	31 October 1992	Meldrick Taylor	WBA
31 October 1992	4 June 1994	Crisanto España	WBA
4 June 1994	17 October 1997-Vacated	Ike Quartey	WBA
10 October 1998	2000-Stripped	James Page	WBA
17 February 2001	30 March 2002	Andrew Lewis	WBA
30 March 2002	13 December 2003	Ricardo Mayorga	WBA Super Champion
12 September 2003	2 April 2005	Jose Antonio Rivera	WBA Regular Champion
13 December 2003	5 February 2005	Cory Spinks	WBA Super Champion
5 February 2005	7 January 2006-Stripped	Zab Judah	WBA Super Champion
2 April 2005	13 May 2006	Luis Collazo	WBA Regular Champion
13 May 2006	31 August 2006-Vacated	Ricky Hatton	WBA
2 December 2006	26 July 2008	Miguel Cotto	WBA
26 July 2008	24 January 2009	Antonio Margarito	WBA Super Champion
3 October 2008	10 April 2009	Yuriy Nuzhnenko	WBA Regular Champion
24 January 2009	22 May 2010-Stripped	Shane Mosley	WBA Super Champion
10 April 2009	29 April 2012	Vyacheslav Senchenko	WBA Regular Champion
29 April 2012	22 June 2013	Paul Malignaggi	WBA
22 June 2013	14 December 2013	Adrien Broner	WBA
14 December 2013	3 May 2014	Marcos Maidana	WBA
3 May 2014	11 January 2016-Retired	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	WBA Super Champion
February 2015	7 November 2016	Keith Thurman	WBA Regular Champion
7 November 2016	20 July 2019	Keith Thurman	WBA Super Champion
7 November 2016	18 February 2017	David Avanesyan	WBA Regular Champion
18 February 2017	3 October 2017-Vacated	Lamont Peterson	WBA Regular Champion
27 January 2018	15 July 2018	Lucas Matthysse	WBA Regular Champion
15 July 2018	20 July 2019	Manny Pacquiao	WBA Regular Champion
20 July 2019	29 January 2021-Stripped	Manny Pacquiao	WBA Super Champion
6 September 2020	29 January 2021-Elevated	Yordenis Ugás	WBA Regular Champion
29 January 2021	16 April 2022	Yordenis Ugás	WBA Super Champion
30 October 2021	16 April 2022	Radzhab Butaev	WBA Regular Champion
16 April 2022	Present	Eimantas Stanionis	WBA Regular Champion
16 April 2022	29 July 2023	Errol Spence Jr.	WBA Super Champion
29 July 2023	Present	Terence Crawford	WBA Super Champion

IBF

Date won	Date lost	Name
Title inaugurated
4 February 1984	27 September 1986	Donald Curry	IBF
27 September 1986	28 October 1987-Stripped	Lloyd Honeyghan	IBF
23 April 1988	4 October 1991-Vacated	Simon Brown	IBF
4 October 1991	19 June 1993	Maurice Blocker	IBF
19 June 1993	3 March 2000-Vacated	Félix Trinidad	IBF
12 May 2001	12 December 2001-Vacated	Vernon Forrest	IBF
13 April 2002	22 March 2003	Michele Piccirillo	IBF
22 March 2003	5 February 2005	Cory Spinks	IBF
5 February 2005	8 April 2006	Zab Judah	IBF
8 April 2006	20 June 2006-Vacated	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	IBF
28 October 2006	12 April 2008	Kermit Cintron	IBF
12 April 2008	July 2008-Stripped	Antonio Margarito	IBF
2 August 2008	16 April 2009-Vacated	Joshua Clottey	IBF
1 August 2009	11 December 2009	Isaac Hlatshwayo	IBF
11 December 2009	3 September 2011	Dejan Zavec	IBF
3 September 2011	8 November 2011-Vacated	Andre Berto	IBF
9 June 2012	20 October 2012	Randall Bailey	IBF
20 October 2012	7 December 2013	Devon Alexander	IBF
7 December 2013	16 August 2014	Shawn Porter	IBF
16 August 2014	27 May 2017	Kell Brook	IBF
27 May 2017	29 July 2023	Errol Spence Jr.	IBF
29 July 2023	Present	Terence Crawford	IBF

WBO

Date won	Date lost	Name
Title inaugurated
6 May 1989	15 December 1989-Vacated	Genaro Leon	WBO
15 December 1989	12 February 1993	Manning Galloway	WBO
12 February 1993	16 October 1993-Vacated	Gert Bo Jacobsen	WBO
16 October 1993	13 April 1996	Eamonn Loughran	WBO
13 April 1996	6 October 1996-Vacated	José Luis López	WBO
22 February 1997	1997-Vacated	Michael Loewe	WBO
14 February 1998	6 May 2000	Ahmed Kotiev	WBO
6 May 2000	16 March 2002-Vacated	Daniel Santos	WBO
16 March 2002	14 July 2007	Antonio Margarito	WBO
14 July 2007	9 February 2008	Paul Williams	WBO
9 February 2008	7 June 2008	Carlos Quintana	WBO
7 June 2008	12 November 2008-Vacated	Paul Williams	WBO
21 February 2009	14 November 2009	Miguel Cotto	WBO
14 November 2009	9 June 2012	Manny Pacquiao	WBO
9 June 2012	12 April 2014	Timothy Bradley	WBO
12 April 2014	2 May 2015	Manny Pacquiao	WBO
2 May 2015	6 July 2015-Stripped	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	WBO
6 July 2015	9 February 2016-Vacated	Timothy Bradley	WBO
5 March 2016	5 November 2016	Jessie Vargas	WBO
5 November 2016	2 July 2017	Manny Pacquiao	WBO
2 July 2017	6 June 2018	Jeff Horn	WBO
9 June 2018	Present	Terence Crawford	WBO