Five great WBC welterweight champions

Shawn Porter defends his WBC crown against Cuban challenger Yordenis Ugas this weekend in Carson, California.

Ahead of Saturday’s title fight, we name some of the greatest  WBC welterweight champions, without any particular order.

Sugar Ray Leonard (1979-80, 1980-82) won his first of five-weight world titles at 147 lb after handing reigning WBC king Wilfred Benitez his first defeat in 40 fights. Leonard lost the belt in his second defense to Roberto Duran after 15 thrilling rounds in the “Brawl in Montreal” but regained it five months later in their infamous “No Mas” rematch. The American superstar unified the division when he rallied from defeat to stop Thomas Hearns in 14 rounds.

Floyd Mayweather Jr (2006-07, 2011-15) outclassed Carlos Baldomir to win the WBC title and knocked out of Ricky Hatton in his first defense before retiring. Mayweather returned to the ring and regained the world crown with a four-round stoppage of Victor Ortiz. The undefeated five-weight world champion successfully defended the belt five times including back-to-back wins over Marcos Maidana and against fellow pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.

Oscar De La Hoya (1997-99) outpointed defending champion Pernell Whitaker to win his fourth world title in a fourth division. De La Hoya secured victories over fellow ring legends Hector Camacho and Julio Cesar Chavez before losing the belt in a unification clash with Felix Trinidad after seven successful defenses.  After losing a close decision to Shane Mosley, “The Golden Boy” moved up to win world titles at super welterweight and middleweight.

Jose Napoles (1969-70, 1971-75) hammered Curtis Cokes into submission after 13 rounds to claim the WBC belt. Napoles stopped Cokes a second time in his first defense and defeated former champion Emile Griffith before losing on cuts to Billy Bacus in his fifth defense. The Cuban-born Mexican defeated the American southpaw to regain the title and successfully defended the belt 10 times during his second reign before losing to John H Stracey on cuts and retiring. 

Roberto Duran (1980) ended Leonard’s run of 27 straight wins by claiming a unanimous decision after the American opted to fight toe-to-toe in their 15-round epic. The Panamanian legend suffered only his second defeat in 74 fights in the rematch when he became frustrated by Leonard’s tactics and famously uttered the words “no mas” to the referee with 30 seconds remaining of the eighth round.