This all started way back in 1738 when Jack Broughton established the first two categories, heavyweight and lightweight. Usually they were divided between 160 pounds. Anything above was a heavyweight, anything below was not.
By the end of the 1800s, as boxing got more popular, some new weight class emerged for smaller fighters, weighing less than 147 pounds.
Then in 1909, the London National Sporting Club established the original 8 divisions. This was later adopted in the United States as well in 1920. The original 8 were:
Flyweight (112 pounds)
Bantamweight (118)
Featherweight (126)
Lightweight (135)
Welterweight (147)
Middleweight (160)
Light Heavyweight (175)
Heavyweight (over 175)
Though the numbers have changed a bit, these divisions all still exist are are now referred to as the glamor divisions. Over the years, new division would form as "junior" and "super" versions of those original 8 classes. Today, we have 17 different weights a professionally-sanctioned boxing match can take place at (see the bottom for the whole list).
Of course anyone can fight in any weight class they want, so long as they meet the minimum weight at 105 pounds and don't exceed the maximum of each division. Back in the earlier days, there were plenty of smaller men who competed as a Heavyweight, even though they were naturally several classes smaller. This is because the Heavyweight division has always been the most significant and lucrative weight to fight at it. And that is probably because your average fan tends to like watching a more imposing, more destructive, bigger men slugging it out.
People also eventually discovered at the smaller weight classes, that all you need to do was come in at the maximum limit during the weigh-in. So what some larger fighters would do is dehydrate themselves to cut a significant amount of weight on the scale, barely getting themselves under the limit. Then they would rehydrate before the fight. This way, someone who was, say, naturally a Middleweight could potentially fight at Welterweight and since the bigger man generally has the advantage, (all things being equal), that meant that they would have an advantage against more natural Welterweights.
The problem with this is that it was dangerous. Fighters would dehydrate themselves so much to make weight that they weren't able to properly rehydrate enough before the fight. You can't just chug water or Gatorade. You have to start small and do it slowly, so in the 1980s, the WBC changed it so that boxers would weigh-in the day before the fight. This gave them more time rehydrate, eat at least a couple of meals, sleep and not feel like a ghost when the bout began.
This however, can be dangerous too. Because with the extra times, fighters would just cut MORE weight, almost killing themselves, and by the time the fight happened, they might be 10-20 pounds heavier than they were the day before, and several weight classes up. These kind of dramatic shifts are not good for our bodies but people will do anything to give themselves an advantage in high-level competition. It also can defeat some of the purpose of weight classes in the first place.
Sometimes a fighter won't be able to cut the necessary weight to make it under the limit. Maybe they didn't have a good camp, didn't get themselves close enough before the final cut, maybe they underestimated the cut, etc. If that happens, the other fighter generally has the option to not take the fight or if they do take it, they get a certain percentage of the purse of the boxer who didn't make weight and if there is a belt involved, it is no longer up for grabs (i.e. if the boxer who didn't make weight is challenging for a title and wins, they do not win the title in that weight class). Boxers can also agree to fight at a certain weight outside of the different classes. This is called a "catchweight" fight.
With so many different weight classes now, boxers can be discouraged from going up in weight to fight potentially more challenging opponents. The champs at a certain weight class might as well stay there and not have to worry about risking a loss. This leads to less compelling fights than wheat we might have seen in the old days. Roberto Duran was pretty much unbeatable at Lightweight but he went up to Welterweight and Middleweight to fight the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler. He only won 1 of the 3 fights against Sugar Ray and lost to both Hearns and Hagler but to me and plenty of other fight fans, this did not make Duran any less of champion. It made him more of one. These days, fighters are afraid to lose as keeping their undefeated status usually means they can make more money, depending on what division they are in.
Boxers who are able to win multiple belts at multiple weight classes are a rare and impressive breed. Manny Paquiao being the most impressive as he won titles at 8 different weights. Despite being the most significant, natural Heavyweights generally cannot do this because their larger frames won't support fighting at a much lower weight class. For instance, no matter how much weight Muhammad Ali could cut before a fight, there was no way he could get down to a Middleweight. He's just too big of a human. Sometimes Cruiserweights (up to 200) pounds will compete at Heavyweight but only a few have been champions, most notably Evander Holyfield and Oleksandr Usyk. Some of the greatest Light Heavyweights have tried moving up, like Archie Moore and Bob Foster, but were unable to win a Heavyweight title. Only Michael Spinks has managed to do this in the last 120+ years.
Besides the 17 different weight classes, there are also 4 sanctioning bodies for each weight class - WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO - as well as things like the Ring Magazine and Lineal Champion. So instead of having 17 current champions, we could potentially have over 68. We don't, as plenty of fighters hold more than one belt, and there are a few who are "undisputed" (meaning that they hold all of the belts in a particular weight class) right now. Nonetheless, it has led to a more diluted field of talent and discourages boxers taking on more challenging fights. If someone can stay undefeated as, say, a Super Featherweight WBC champion and keep making money in that division, there is less reason for them to challenge for another belt against a tough opponent. The only thing I can say positive about the different sanctioning bodies is it makes something like a Straweight bout more interesting if one belt-holder is facing another, as opposed to just one champion and a contender. But if I had my druthers, I would go back to the original 8 divisions, 1 sanctioning body, and predetermined fights based on that sanctioning body. This is pretty similar to what the UFC does and I think it would make boxing more interesting. I also think that we should go back to the day-of weigh-ins and try to reduce the dramatic weight cuts. And while I am at it, I think I should be appointed as the grand commissioner of boxing and pretty much make all decisions involving the sport ever. But I guess that is asking for a little much, huh? In any case, below are the current, 17 weight classes:
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