Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system. In most sports that use it, welterweight is heavier than lightweight but lighter than middleweight.

A welterweight boxer's weight is greater than 140 pounds (63.5 kilos), but not greater than 147 pounds (66.7kilos).

Henry Armstrong holds the division record for most title defenses at 18. Felix Trinidad was the longest reigning champion, holding the IBF title six years, eight months, and fourteen days. Sugar Ray Robinson is generally considered to be the greatest welterweight of all time.

Notable fighters who have fought as welterweights include Barney Ross, Jackie Fields, Johar Abu Lashin, Ted "Kid" Lewis, Jimmy McLarnin, Jack Britton, Henry Armstrong, Fritzie Zivic, Sugar Ray Robinson, Kid Gavilan, Carmen Basilio, Emile Griffith, José Nápoles, Sugar Ray Leonard, Eisa Al Dah, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Durán, Julio César Chávez, Pernell Whitaker, Félix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Ike Quartey, Shane Mosley, Vernon Forrest, Zab Judah, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Ricky Hatton, Micky Ward, Arturo Gatti, Miguel Cotto, Victor Ortiz, and Manny Pacquiao.

Emmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH (English pronunciation: /ˈpæki.aʊ/ PAK-ee-ow; Tagalog: [pɐkˈjaʊ]; born December 17, 1978) is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion; having won six world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s (decade) by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He is also a three-time The Ring and BWAA "Fighter of the Year," winning the award in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

As of 2012, Pacquiao is the WBO Welterweight Champion. He was long rated as the best pound for pound boxer in the world by some sporting news and boxing websites, including BoxRec.com, Sporting Life and The Ring. However, in April 2012, Pacquiao dropped to number two in the rankings, behind Floyd Mayweather Jr. In their ratings ending May 7, 2012, Ring Magazine declared the top position vacant and jointly ranked Pacquiao and Mayweather in the number two spot.

The Felice Brothers are a folk rock/country rock band from Upstate New York founded in 2006.

The Felice Brothers got their start as a band playing in the New York City subway. The sons of a carpenter, they would play together on Sundays at their father's afternoon barbecues. They stayed in a little apartment in Brooklyn and would play in the subway stations at 42nd Street and Union Square and in Greenwich Village. The three brothers originally hail from Palenville, New York in the Catskill Mountains.

Now they tour the country, traveling in their "Short Bus". Their 2006 self-released debut album was Through These Reins and Gone followed by Tonight At the Arizona released in 2007.Through These Reins and Gone made it onto Radio Woodstock WDST's top 25 albums of 2006. About their album Adventures of the Felice Brothers Vol. 1 James Felice said, "We put one record out on an English label, and we've released all the other stuff ourselves" (on their label 'New York Pro').The Felice Brothers have played at Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble in Woodstock, New York and also toured with Bright Eyes in the fall of 2007.

Oscar De La Hoya (born February 4, 1973 in East Los Angeles, California) is a retired American professional boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy," De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from James A. Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr. and brother Joel Jr. were all boxers. De La Hoya was The Ring's "Fighter of the Year" in 1995 and Ring Magazine's top-rated Pound for Pound fighter in the world in 1997 & 1998. De La Hoya officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference held in Los Angeles on April 14, 2009.

De La Hoya has defeated 17 world champions and has won ten world titles in six different weight classes. He has also generated more money than any other boxer in the history of the sport, an estimated $696 million pay-per-view income.

De La Hoya founded Golden Boy Promotions, a combat sport promotional firm. He is the first American of Hispanic descent to own a national boxing promotional firm and one of the few boxers to take on promotional responsibilities while still active.

Shane Andre Mosley (born September 7, 1971) is an American professional boxer from Pomona, California. Mosley has held world titles in three weight divisions, having held the IBF Lightweight Championship, WBC & WBA (Super) Welterweight Championships and WBC, WBA (Super) & The Ring Light Middleweight Championships.

Mosley was an amateur standout, capturing various amateur titles, including:

He also had an amateur record of 250–16.

Sugar Shane started his pro career in 1993, By 2000 he had fought 34 times amassing a 34–0 (32) record, beating undefeated Phillip Holiday to win the IBF Lightweight title. He made 9 title defenses with all inside the distance, but never unified belts. Mosley relinquished his Lightweight title to move up 2 divisions, facing Oscar De La Hoya for his Welterweight title.

On June 17, 2000, Mosley met De La Hoya in Los Angeles for the WBC Welterweight title. After twelve rounds, Mosley emerged with a split decision victory. During the fight, neither man was in danger of going down, but both had badly swollen faces at the end and De La Hoya was bleeding from the nose for several rounds. Mosley earned a minimum of $15 million, while De La Hoya was guaranteed $35 million. It was later that Mosley was accused of using illegal performance enhancing drugs prior to his 2003 bout with Oscar De La Hoya.