The welterweight division is usually one of, if not the strongest divisions in boxing historically. So many great fighters either started out there or moved up there. Both Sugar Rays, Floyd, Pacquiao, Hearns, Whitaker, Napoles, ODLH, Trinidad, just to name a few. Why is this? Is it because welterweights are around the average size for fighters?
There's a lot of men around this size range, meaning the best athletic talents rise, and the amount of competition develops skill. The division is also extremely deep historically. As a result, it attracts fighters who will move up / down for prestige and money.
I think it is as simple as the fact that it is the most common weight for in shape men in their early 20s, and so the talent pool is the largest.
There are a lot of short or average height guys on this planet. A lot more then giants or very short ones.
It's an original 8 weight class, and they routinely end up siphoning off the top talent from the surrounding junior/super divisions due to the higher prestige and paydays. It winds up genuinely becoming deeper, and the virtuous cycle continues. Many fighters who would've been better suited to 140 or 154 stayed at welterweight as long as possible for those reasons. Also, as others mentioned, it is a common size for people globally. 147 pounders also don't have most other professional sports opportunities, so boxing is one of the few ways you can profit off your athleticism at that size.
Welterweights can walk around at 160-175 pounds when not in fighting shape. A very average walking weight for males.
Good responses here, size and weight is the most obvious answer. If you are being introduced when walking in to a room though, Welterweight Champ just has a much better ring to it than the Junior Welterweight or Super Lightweight Champ. It is a more sturdy sounding title, and people like that.
