What is so magical about the welterweight division in boxing?

Historically, the welterweight division has had some of the best boxers. Armstrong, Robinson, Griffith, Napoles, Leonard, Hearns. Many boxing historians agree that Ray Robinson, and Henry Armstrong are the top two boxers all-time, and both held titles at 147. Now Floyd and Pacquiao are in the top 2 spots. What is it about this weight class?|||Welterweights are JUST small enough to entertain us with their speed and they are JUST big enough to also entertain us with their power. It is in essence, the "perfect" weight division because the fighters are not small enough to the point where they have no power like flyweights or bantamweights, and they are not big enough to the point where they are very slow and plodding like cruiserweights or heavyweights.





When there was originally only 8 weight divisions in boxing (not 17 like there are today), the welterweight division was smack dab in the middle and it has always featured great all-around, balanced fighters who could do many things extremely well inside the ring because the welterweights have the best of both worlds- they have the speed of the lighter weights and the power of the heavier weights.





Each of the fighters that you listed were great multidimensional fighters because they didn't do just one or 2 things correctly, they did MANY things correctly- they had great offensive as well as great defense, they could counter punch, they had good jabs, they didn't headhunt because they went to the body as well, they controlled range and tempo of a fight and they were blessed with the natural talent that allowed them to be great and dedicate themselves to their craft.|||Oh yes, there most definitely are exceptions- Duran, Chavez, and Saddler all had good knockout power despite being very small, however all 3 of those fighters are guys that only come around once, maybe twice in a lifetime, so, as you stated- they are the exception, not the rule.

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|||I guess in the welterweight division, people can be strong but also fast. The guys aren't too small but not too big. A good fight to watch|||Like Red Boy said, fighters at this weight have a good combination of both speed and power. For me, I am a welterweight so I find I can identify more with these fights, as well.|||Well, personally i think the best athlete's are in the lighter divisions. When a guy is big and super athletic, powerful, and coordinated chances are that he'll do another sport which won't leave him brain dead.|||Because it is the best weight of boxing. Other weights look like just kid's boxing or they look like giants but too slow.|||Larger fighters are typically less mobile, i.e. heavyweights and even middleweights. They give fewer angles and lower volume of punches. But incredibly thin boxers, minimum or straw weight, are really too small to put genuine pop on their shots, the kind that can be appreciated by fans. Welterweights, thus, occupy a happy medium between speed and strength. It's the perfect division.|||147 is among the ELITE.





But it would not be if Mayweather gets BEAT.