History
When the bantamweight class was established during the bareknuckle era, the weight limit was 105 pounds. That increased to 112 pounds during the 1880s, to 115 pounds a decade later, and to 116 pounds in 1898.
The present limit of 118 pounds was first adopted in England in 1904. That also became the standard weight limit in America when New York State passed the Walker Law, legalizing prize fights and establishing standard weight divisions, in 1920.
The lists below include generally recognized champions, as well as champions of the National Boxing Association/World Boxing Association (NBA/WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Organization (WBO) and International Boxing Federation (IBF).
Some other champions recognized by New York (NY), Great Britain (GBR), Europe and the European Boxing Union (EBU) are also included, if they seemed to be genuine claimants and/or later won recognition from an international body.
Only those bouts are included in which the championship changed hands or the championships of two or more governing bodies were unified.
