light heavyweight

noun

|Updated on: 4 Jun 2018

Definition of light heavyweight

: a boxer in a weight division having a maximum limit of 175 pounds for professionals and 178 pounds for amateurs — compare heavyweight, middleweight

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Recent Examples of light heavyweight from the Web

The team eventually included boxers in the flyweight to light heavyweight divisions found at Camp Pendleton, Miramar and Twentynine Palms.

— carl prine, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Marine boxer bludgeons his way to Best Boxer title in London bouts," 28 May 2018
Fans were treated to two matches – Taka Michinoku defending his light heavyweight title over Scott Taylor and the Headbangers beating Los Boricuas – before Austin and Michaels had a showdown in the ring.

— justin barrasso, SI.com, "The ’Mania Supercolumn: 34 Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes for WrestleMania 34," 6 Apr. 2018
Sullivan’s father, John Sullivan, boxed in the Navy and won the Bermuda light heavyweight championship in 1982.

— tom ignudo, Philly.com, "For Cherry Hill West wrestler Max Sullivan, fighting roots run deep," 26 Jan. 2018
Dmitry Bivol, of Russia, knocks out Sullivan Barrera, of Cuba, during the 12th round of a WBA light heavyweight title boxing match Sat.

— santos a. perez, miamiherald, "Cuban-born Miami fighters unable to make boxing history in New York | Miami Herald," 4 Mar. 2018
Chuck Liddell Chuck Liddell is a world-famous mixed martial arts fighter, whose accolades include a UFC light heavyweight championships in 2005 and 2006, and an induction into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2009.

— natalie maher, Billboard, "Get to Know the 'Celebrity Big Brother' Cast: Mark McGrath, Omarosa & More," 13 Feb. 2018
The Cherry Hill West junior heavyweight great-great-grandfather, Tommy Loughran, was the world light heavyweight champion from 1927-29.

— tom ignudo, Philly.com, "For Cherry Hill West wrestler Max Sullivan, fighting roots run deep," 26 Jan. 2018
Ryan Bader went 2-0 in Bellator MMA, including winning the light heavyweight title.

— mike dyce, SI.com, "Thursday Tap Out: The Year-End Awards Edition," 14 Dec. 2017
DeShon Webster, a 26-year-old light heavyweight boxer from Lenexa, lost for the first time as a professional fighter on Friday to Ali Akhmedov in Round Rock, Texas.

— kansascity, "Lenexa boxer loses title fight in unanimous decision," 8 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'light heavyweight.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of light heavyweight

1903

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT Defined for English Language Learners

light heavyweight

noun

Definition of light heavyweight for English Language Learners

: a fighter who is in a class of boxers with an upper weight limit of 175 pounds (79.5 kilograms) : a boxer who is heavier than a middleweight and lighter than a heavyweight