The International Boxing Association (IBA) responds to the official statement issued by the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) calling for an Extraordinary Congress at the end of August and warns that World Boxing has not been officially recognised by the IOC or any other organisation.

The Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) has issued an official statement announcing the date and venue for a vote on joining World Boxing, in line with the IOC's interest in sidelining the International Boxing Association (IBA) as the governing body for Olympic boxing.

Built on a foundation of success, the International Boxing Association (IBA) is growing from strength to strength, based on continued success as an independent organisation, working hard with those key stakeholders who have a vested interest in the sport of boxing, explains IBA Secretary General & CEO, Chris Roberts OBE.

Dates: November 2 – 3, 2018

Location: Moscow, Russia

Overall Election Schedule

• Opening of the registration – 13.08.2018
• AIBA HQ to inform National Federations of the positions that will be available for election and distribute application, compliance and nomination forms to all members – 24.08.2018 latest
• Candidates applications’ forms to be received back at AIBA HQ – 23.09.2018 latest
• The list of all candidates approved by the election Committee shall be announced to all National Federations and published on AIBA website – 02.10.2018 latest
• The Congress registration will be closed – 13.09.2018
• AIBA election – 03.11.2018

Election Procedures: ENG

Agenda: ENG

List of elected officials: Coming soon

Voting Numbers: Available after the elections

AIBA Election Committee

The New Foundation Plan represents AIBA’s commitment to improve and build a solid foundation needed for success. This plan will allow the new AIBA leadership, due to be elected in November 2018, a fresh start with a smoothly running organisation from which to create a new long-term strategy. 

The New Foundation Plan consists of five pillars: governance, events, rules, development, and communication. In addition to the activities already accomplished by AIBA, the plan outlines key priorities and action items that are necessary to implement and consider in the lead up to a new AIBA strategy. The New Foundation Plan was developed with the input of the wider boxing community and experts, through surveys and meetings.

The full plan is available for download, please click here.

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Dates, Venue and Background

Date and place - October 5 to 15 in Doha, Qatar

Venue - Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena

The 2015 AIBA World Championships was unveiled with a spectacular opening ceremony on October 5, with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach adding his support to AIBA President C K Wu.

The event was particularly historic because it was first World Championships in the Middle East.

"This has been a huge step for the global development of boxing," said Wu. 

"Bringing the AIBA World Boxing Championships to Qatar and the Middle East for the first time in history was really special, and it was tremendous to see the local communities in Doha coming out in their thousands to see the best boxers battle to be crowned world champions.

"The organisers have been first class, from the spectacular arena to the incredible facilities for our boxers and the full logistical side of the event. Doha has really set a new benchmark for the AIBA World Championships, and I think it is safe to say that this was the best ever."

A total of 18 different countries were represented at the semi-final stage, underlining the universal appeal of boxing around the world. 

In the gold medal matches, boxers from Azerbaijan, Cuba, France, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Russia and Uzbekistan competed for the title of world champion.

Highlighting the importance of AIBA’s "HeadsUp!" campaign, there were no incidents of concussion during the 238 bouts. 

Officially launched during the Championships with workshops for referees and coaches, the first phase of the ongoing initiative sought to instil a more upright style and keep boxers' health a priority.

Yousuf Ali Al Kazim, President of the Qatar Boxing Federation, believed of equal importance as staging a first-class event was leaving a strong legacy for Qatar boxing.

"This has been a defining moment for boxing in this region and as history was made, new generations of boxing talent are left inspired," he said. 

"We cherish the friendship and relationship we share with you and we will undoubtedly see Qatar continuing to be an integral part of the development of boxing here in the Middle-East and across the world. That is our commitment. 

"That is our pledge."

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The Winners

Who won what

Cuba topped the medal table at Doha 2015 with four golds, two silvers and one bronze.

Middleweight Arlen Lopez, light flyweight Joahnys Argilagos, lightweight Lázaro Álvarez and light heavyweight Julio César La Cruz all won top honours for the Caribbean nation.

The country's two silvers followed defeats for heavyweight Erislandy Savon and flyweight Yosbany Veitia in their finals against Russia’s Evgeny Tishchenko and Azerbaijan’s Elvin Mamishzada respectively.

Russia finished second in the medal table with light welterweight Vitaly Dunaytsev adding to Tishchenko’s triumph.

The three other gold medallists were Irish bantamweight Michael Conlan, Moroccan welterweight Mohammed Rabiiand French super heavyweight Tony Yoka.

View live blogs, medal tables and results from Doha 2015

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Dates, Venue and Background

Date and place - August 25 to September 2 in Hamburg, Germany

Venue - Sporthalle Hamburg

The 2017 AIBA World Championships will be held in Hamburg in the north of Germany, a city with a great boxing history that today pulsates with a unique mixture of maritime atmosphere, big-city style and rich culture. 

The Sporthalle Hamburg indoor arena has a capacity of 4,584 seats. It opened in 1968 and is located in the Winterhude area of the city.

The Hamburg 2017 AIBA World Championships are going to be one of the great sporting events of the summer. 

After a new qualification system via the five Continental Championships, only the very best boxers, including 18 Olympic medallists from Rio 2016, will compete for the boxing world’s most prestigious prize, giving fans lots of first-class action to enjoy over the nine days.

Germany’s second-largest city lies on the Elbe River, for centuries a major port and trading centre for central Europe, and today houses a thriving restaurant and shopping scene, cultural centres and technology hubs.

"The traditional boxing city of Hamburg will see the best 280 boxers in the world competing across nine days of boxing action," said AIBA President C K Wu.

"This is the DNA of the AIBA family, to develop and provide the best opportunities for our athletes. 

"Sports will always come first and Hamburg will be a great celebration of the noble art.

"We are delighted to partner with prestigious global brands like Borgward and Adidas in Hamburg 2017. 

"As I already said before, the World Championships are special for us and having these sponsors on board reaffirm our intention of escalate the level and the quality of our major competition.

"After the challenging qualification path with five Continental Championships, only the best boxers will be competing to crown the boxing world. 

"This means that the attraction of the sport side is ensured and fans will be able to enjoy the best boxing action in the World.

"But, at the same time, we will offer for the first time ever a completely new fan experience on site and on our AIBA digital channels. 

"The boxing fans in Hamburg will enjoy an extensive Fan Zone experience, including different spaces dedicated to the AIBA Year of Africa, a commentary challenge and all the different activities from our sponsors ensuring a kindly approach to our sport from all the fans."

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Boxers to watch

For the first time, the sole qualification routes for the World Championships were the five Continental Championships held between April and June this year.

Among the biggest names to make it through were Cuban duo Julio César La Cruz and Lázaro Álvarez, both of whom are looking to make it four consecutive titles.

Ireland’s Joe Ward will arrive fresh from winning a third-straight European title in Ukrainian city Kharkiv, while Rio 2016 finalists Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan and Yurberjen Martinez of Colombia will both be looking to re-kindle one of the great modern rivalries at light flyweight.

Rio 2016 Olympic champion Evgeny Tishchenko of Russia and exciting English prospect Cheavon Clarke will be among the favourites at heavyweight.

A tight middleweight competition is in store as the likes of India’s Krishan Vikas and Hungary’s Zoltán Harcsa chase their first world title.

• About
• History
• Career Pathway

About

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) launched the #AIBAFamily campaign in April 2017 as part of the organisation attempts to help bring all 203 of its National Federations (NFs) together in a shared commitment to the sport leading up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The campaign includes far-reaching educational programmes directed at all levels of boxing.

Emphasis is being placed on ethics and behaviour as well as taking a look back at the legends past and present that have been a central part of the AIBA story.

#AIBAFamily unites its members and embraces the progress of those athletes who have left an indelible mark on the AIBA Open Boxing (AOB) and World Series of Boxing (WSB) competitions over the years.

The campaign ensures that AIBA continues to be the only organisation that provides its boxers, coaches, R&Js and technical staff with tangible support and education throughout the development of their careers.

Discover the AIBA Family

Boxers

Coaches

Officials

Boxers

A total of 9,394 boxers are part of AIBA, 2,116 of which are competing at grassroots level and 7,278 of which are competing at elite level.

There are a total of 7,245 male boxers and 2,149 female boxers.

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Coaches

A total of 5,389 coaches are part of AIBA.

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Officials

A total of 2,566 officials are part of AIBA, including 2,080 R&Js, 216 doctors, 134 physios, 10 cutmans, 59 supervisors and 67 international technical officials.

History

In its 70 year-history, AIBA has helped to develop some of the best boxers in history. Names such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Wladimir Klitschko and Teófilo Stevenson began and shaped their careers with AIBA and their Olympic journeys.

The body is proud of its past and believes it deserves the opportunity to reinforce the message to the boxing world that these great boxers begun their stories with AIBA.

AIBA Classes by aiba

Career Pathway

AIBA is the only boxing governing body that provides a clear, fair and transparent career pathway in which a boxer can develop from the grassroots gyms all the way to the pinnacle of elite competition, the Olympic Games, with support from AIBA’s professional avenues such as the World Series of Boxing and AIBA Pro Boxing.

AIBA Career pathway by aiba

AIBA: Providing African boxing with a powerful legacy

• About
• Aims
• Future ambitions

Facts about the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships

The 2016 International Boxing Association (AIBA) Youth World Boxing Championships was the fifth edition of the event.

It took place in Russian city St Petersburg from November 17 to 26, with more than 400 boxers from over 70 countries competing.

Guadalajara in Mexico hosted the first edition of the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in 2008.

The biennial tournament took the place of the prestigious Junior World Championships for 17 to 19 year-old boxers, which replaced the longstanding Cadet World Championships for 15 to 16 year-olds.

The competition has always been considered a superb testing-ground for the potential elite-level champions of the future.

Previous winners include Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Tony Yoka of France, Pan-American Games winner Erislandy Savon of Cuba, and European Champion Filip Hrgovic of Croatia.

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Previous editions

2008 - Guadalajara, Mexico

Cuba topped the medal table after claiming four golds, one silver and one bronze.

The Caribbean island nation's victories came through light welterweight Frank Isla, middleweight Rey Eduardo Recio, light heavyweight Jose Larduet and heavyweight Erislandy Savon.

Savon has since gone on to win gold at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, silver at the 2015 World Championships in Doha and bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. 

2010 - Baku, Azerbaijan

As of the end of the final registration period, 105 countries were sending 532 competitors to the second edition of the Championships, but due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland, only 466 boxers could make it to Azerbaijan's capital.

This year’s event should have taken place from April 20 to May 2, however, the only qualifying event for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games had to be postponed and started on April 25 with the finals on May 3.

Cuba were the dominant force once more, winning three golds, one silver and one bronze.

Robeisy Ramírez claimed top honours at bantamweight, while there were also victories for light heavyweight Irosvani Duverger and heavyweight Lenier Eunice Pero Justiz.

Ramírez went on to claim bantamweight gold at the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, and two years later won flyweight gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

He moved back up to bantamweight for the Rio 2016 Olympics, where he struck gold. 

2012 - Yerevan, Armenia

This year's competition was held at the Karen Demirchyan Complex from November 25 to December 8.

Cuba, England and Russia each claimed two gold medals, while Armenia, China, Ukraine and Uzbekistan also had successful boxers. 

2014 - Sofia, Bulgaria

This year's competition was held at the Armeec Arena from April 10 to 25, and served as the sole qualifying event for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

Cuba, Kazakhstan, Russia and the United States won two gold medals each with Bulgaria and Uzbekistan claiming the other two.

The women's titles were won by Armenian flyweight Anush Grigoryan, American lightweight Jajaira Gonzalez and Poland's Elzbieta Wojcik.

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About St Petersburg

Established by Peter the Great at the start of the 18^th century, St Petersburg was conceived to provide Russia with a great port city on the edge of the Baltic Sea.

The country’s administrative capital during two separate periods, St Petersburg has developed into one of the truly great European cities and a symbol of Russian modernity that today is home to five million inhabitants.

The city is also Russia’s cultural capital and home to the Hermitage, one of the world’s finest art museums.

Spread across six historic sites, Pre-historic, Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Greek works sit alongside paintings by modern greats such as Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt and Vincent van Gogh in its permanent collection.

Geographically striking, St Petersburg’s canals and waterways and the local architecture lend themselves to comparisons with Venice.

Located on the River Neva that runs from vast Lake Ladoga to the Baltic Sea, the city boasts 342 bridges.

The Palace Bridge and the 17^th century Lomonosov Bridge are among the most famous.

Sport has always had a significant role in the city’s daily life, with football club Zenit Saint Petersburg playing its home games at Petrovsky Stadium and basketball and ice hockey are also immensely popular.

One of the city’s favourite sporting sons is the former boxing champion Nikolai Valuev, who now runs a local gym that aims to help ensure that the sport continues to attract attention.

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Venue - Sibur Arena

The Sibur Arena played host to the 2016 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships. 

One of St Petersburg's most modern sports venues and with a capacity of 7,120 spectators, the Sibur is located on Krestovsky Island in the heart of the city. 

Since its inauguration in 2013, the arena has hosted some of St Petersburg’s biggest sporting events, including World Series of Boxing franchise Russian Boxing Team’s home matches.

The venue has also staged ATP tennis tournaments, the 2013 World Combat Games and basketball team B.C. Zenit Saint Petersburg's games. 

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Boxers

A total of 417 boxers from 75 countries, including 2015 Junior World Boxing Championships gold medallists such as Azerbaijan's Mahammad Abdullayev, Romania's Cosmin Petre Girleanu, Uzbekistan's Bilolbek Mirzarakhimov and Cuba's Dainier Pero Justiz, took part in the 2016 edition.

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Mascot 

The St Petersburg Lion is said to impersonate boxing's key values - strength, confidence and willpower.

Behind the mascot, there is a complex background binding it with the host city and the history of boxing. 

Lions are among the symbols of St Petersburg; around the city, there are hundreds of images depicting the regal felines. 

From the very foundation of the Northern Capital, the statues and reliefs of lions ornate its architecture, symbolising the city's calm yet confident might. 

Referring to the host city, the mascot also pays a respectful tribute to the historical homeland of boxing, the United Kingdom, whose symbol has also been a lion for centuries.

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History

Astana 2016

Videos

History

Read the Women's Boxing Timeline  

The first edition of the Women’s World Boxing Championships was held in 2001 and hosted by Scranton in the US state of Pennsylvania.

It took place seven years after women’s boxing was formally recognised at the 13th AIBA Congress in Beijing.

A total of 125 boxers from 30 countries participated at the event, where Russia topped the medal standings with four golds.

Elena Sabitova took top honours in the 45 kilogram division, while there was also triumphs for fellow Russians Elena Karpetcheva, Irina Sinetskaya and Olga Domouladzhanova in the 54kg, 67kg and 81kg categories respectively.

North Korea were the best-performing nation at the second edition of the Championships, which were staged in Antalya, Turkey in 2002.

Their medal haul of two golds, two silvers and one bronze saw them narrowly better that of Ukraine, with the Eastern European country managing two golds, one silver and two bronzes.

Russia returned to the top of the medal standings when they hosted the third edition of the Championships in Podolsk in 2005.

They blew away the opposition, winning seven of the 13 golds on offer as well as one silver and four bronzes. 

The following year in New Delhi, Russia finished second with three golds and three bronzes as home nation India headed the rankings with four golds, one silver and three bronzes.

It was China’s turn to host the Championships in 2008 and they marked it by topping the medal standings in Ningbo City with five golds, two silvers and four bronzes. 

Two years later, Barbados' capital Bridgetown welcomed the world’s best female boxers to its shores for the sixth edition of the Championships.

They were held on the back of the International Olympic Committee Executive Board’s decision to introduce women’s boxing into the Olympic Games at London 2012.

Russia regained their place at the top of the medal standings with two golds and one silver.

China returned to the summit of the medal standings at the 2012 Championships in Qinhuangdao, which served as a qualifier for the Olympic Games that were to be held a few months later.

The host country’s haul of three golds, one silver and one bronze saw them lead the way with the seven other golds split between seven nations.

The eighth and most recent edition of the Championships took place in 2014 in Jeju, South Korea where 280 boxers from 67 countries competed.

The event was initially scheduled to be held in Edmonton, Canada, but Boxing Canada withdrew from hosting after failing to find a venue that was available for the dates suitable for AIBA.  

Russia returned to the top of the medal standings once more with three golds, one silver and one bronze.

Featherweight Zinaida Dobrynina, light welterweight Anastasiia Beliakova and heavyweight Zenfira Magomedalieva all triumphed for Russia.

Ireland’s Katie Taylor and the United States’ Clarissa Shield, the London 2012 lightweight and middleweight gold medallists respectively, both struck gold.

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Astana 2016

City and date

The 2016 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships took place in Astana, Kazakhstan from May 19 to 27. Astana is the northernmost capital city in Asia. The city currently makes up more than 722 square kilometres and consists of three districts - Almaty, Saryarka and Yesil District. It has a population of nearly 853,000 people.

Venue

The Barys Arena played host to the 2016 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. Opened in 2015, the total area of the complex is 86,000 square metres. It features two ice skating and a 50-metre Olympic swimming pool, and can be transformed for other sports events and concerts. The main hall’s capacity is approximately 12,000.

Boxers

A total of 314 boxers from 71 countries registered for the 2016 edition, including past champions such as Ireland’s Katie Taylor and the United States’ Clarissa Shield, the London 2012 lightweight and middleweight gold medallists respectively. China’s Ren Cancan, the London 2012 flyweight silver medallist, is another former winner who will be competing.

Olympic Games quota

A total of 12 quota places were available for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games during the Championships - four at each of the three Olympic weight classes; flyweight, lightweight and middleweight.

Ambassadors

The 2016 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships was seen as the perfect platform for the promotion of women’s boxing and establishing it as an integral part of AIBA’s vision in the build-up to Rio 2016. Ambassadors of the event include boxers and referees and judges. 

British flyweight Nicola Adams, the first woman to win an Olympic boxing title when she won gold at London 2012, heads a six-strong boxer list. It also features India’s Mary Kom and America’s Marlen Esparza, the two flyweight bronze medallists at London 2012, as well as Brazil’s Adriana Araujo, a lightweight bronze medallist at London 2012. Completing the list of boxers is Bulgarian bantamweight Stanimira Petrova, the 2014 AIBA world champion, and Moroccan middleweight Khadija Mardi. Algeria’s Kheira Sidi Yakoub, the first female five-star official from AIBA, and Canada’s Jennifer Huggins, a three-star AIBA referee, are also ambassadors.

Medals

With a design mimicking ancient Kazakh zoomorphic patterns, the gold, silver and bronze medals represent Scythian art - a decoration traditionally used to deliver power, good luck and protection to the wearer. Made of Italian enamel, they feature the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships logo on the front and both the AIBA and the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation logos on the back. A total of 40 medals will be won in 10 weight divisions during the nine days of competition. All 10 champions will receive a medal covered in an alloy containing real gold and weighing approximately 110 grams.

Mascot

It is claimed that Maya the squirrel is quick and elegant, much like all the registered female fighters, and represents the speed, grace and beauty of women’s boxing.

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Videos

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The International Boxing Association (AIBA) is a non-profit international organisation that succeeded the former Fédération Internationale de Boxe Amateur in 1946 and has been led by President Ching-Kuo Wu since 2006. 

AIBA's new competition formats, AIBA Pro Boxing and World Series of Boxing, aim to offer a secure and transparent new career path option for boxers, whereby inspiring youngsters to take up the sport. 

The AIBA Open Boxing competitions are the first step for any boxer who dreams about making a career in boxing.

By defining these competitions "open", AIBA attempts to demonstrate its openness to boxers wishing to represent their country. 

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AIBA Open Boxing

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AIBA Open Boxing

AIBA Open Boxing (AOB), formerly known as amateur or Olympic boxing, remains the main focus within AIBA.

Each year, AIBA sets the maximum number of AOB competitions to be held in any one calendar year at its Executive Committee meeting.

AOB competitions are divided into three levels - one-star, two-star and three-star competitions - depending on the number of boxers participating from different countries and the level of the boxers.

Three-star competitions include World Championships and Youth World Championships for men and women, Junior World Championships for boys and girls and all qualifying competitions for the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games.

Continental multi-sport events such as the Asian Games, All-Africa Games, European Games and Pan American Games also fall under this category, as do any international and confederation competitions with the participation of more than 20 countries and over 150 boxers.

International and confederation competitions with a participation of between 13 and 19 nations and more than 100 boxers are classed as two-star competitions, while those with a participation of between three and 12 countries are considered one-star.

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AIBA Pro Boxing

AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) is the only individual professional boxing competition that allows boxers to compete while retaining their Olympic eligibility.

It is run under the governance of AIBA in partnership with AIBA National Member Federations and showcases 90 of the world’s top-ranked boxers competing in 10 weight classes.

The APB boxers’ roster comprises the best AIBA Open Boxing and World Series of Boxing athletes as well as a selection of professional boxers from across the globe.

Rio 2016 will be the first Olympic Games in history where professional boxers are allowed to compete.

The only route professional boxers can take to qualify for the Games is through the APB competition, which is fully supported by the International Olympic Committee.

APB bouts feature eight and 12 rounds with boxers ultimately competing for the title of APB champion.

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World Series of Boxing

World Series of Boxing (WSB) is a unique team boxing competition, which take place across four continents of Africa, Americas, Asia and Europe for six intense months.

A WSB match comprises five bouts, consisting of five rounds of three minutes each, and the team with the most wins claims victory.

Each bout is decided by the scores of three judges or, in some cases, by a knockout, technical knockout or walk-over.

Participating boxers, who compete without vests or headguards, are drafted by international franchises.

During the first four seasons 12 teams competed, but in Season V there were 16 teams. Season VI will also see 16 teams competing for the title of WSB Champions.

A total of 552 bouts and 112 matches were held in Season V, with 17 boxers winning Olympic quota place for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the process.

Following the completion of the regular season, Cuba Domadores and Astana Arlans Kazakhstan clashed in a two-day final in Astana.

Astana Arlans Kazakhstan defeated their rivals to become the first two-time winners of the competition.

In Season VI, Cuba Domadores were crowned as champions after they beat the British Lionhearts 9-1 in the final.

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