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.

Timothy Ray Bradley, Jr. (born August, 29 1983) is an undefeated American professional boxer. A native to the Coachella Valley. Born in Cathedral City, California, and training out of Indio, California. He is the current WBO Light Welterweight Champion and former two-time WBC Light Welterweight Champion.

Bradley had his first professional bout on the 20th of August 2004, knocking out Francisco Martinez in the second round. In his rise through the ranks, he gained the WBC Youth World Welterweight and Light Welterweight crowns. He also beat IBF Lightweight Champion Miguel Vazquez by a unanimous ten round decision. Bradley finally got his chance for the title when José Luis Castillo failed to make weight in a title eliminator for the full WBC Light Welterweight belt. He then won the WBC Light Welterweight title by defeating British fighter Junior Witter in England.

On 4 April 2009, Bradley fought Kendall Holt to unify his WBC and Holt's WBO titles. Bradley was dropped in the first round by a huge left hook and was badly hurt but regrouped and outboxed Holt for most of the fight, before being sent to the canvas again in the 12th round. Nonetheless, Bradley got up and finished the fight. He won the fight by unanimous decision and became the new WBO Champion.

Jahmal Ara 'Johny' Hendricks (born September 12, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist and an accomplished former collegiate wrestler. He currently fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Welterweight division. As of March 2012, Hendricks is ranked as the #4 welterweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.

While competing for Oklahoma State University, Hendricks won the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Division I wrestling title at 165-pounds, and he finished second in 2007 after falling to Mark Perry from the University of Iowa. The loss to Perry was Hendricks' only one suffered during his senior year at OSU, during which he had compiled a 56-0 record coming into the bout.

In addition to his two national championships, Hendricks was a 4-time All-American at OSU and a three-time Big 12 Conference champion (2005, 2006 & 2007). During his high school wrestling career at Edmond Memorial High School, Hendricks won three Oklahoma state titles and the 160-pound high school national championship.

After graduating from OSU in 2007, Hendricks moved to Las Vegas and signed with Team TakeDown, along with two other former OSU wrestlers, Shane Roller and Jake Rosholt. Hendricks began training for an MMA career and made his professional MMA debut on September 28, 2007, in which he scored a third round TKO (punches) over Victor Ratcliff at Masters of the Cage 16 from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Hendricks fought once more in 2007, and defeated Spencer Cowley with a second round TKO (punches) at Snakebite Fight Night from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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.