#HeadsUp! is a global programme developed by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) to promote the values of boxing and the global AIBA family.

Based upon the four pillars of health, education, sport and sustainability, AIBA begun the campaign at its 2015 World Boxing Championships in Doha with a focus on training boxers to maintain a heads-up stance to help prevent concussions and cuts.

The AIBA Medical Commission had been working behind the scenes at boxing competitions throughout 2015, concluding with a series of HeadsUp! workshops with World Championship referees in Qatar’s capital to help them anticipate issues before they occur and to warn boxers leading with the head.

The training of coaches will also be part of the ongoing education of the boxers in a bid to ensure that they go into bouts, not only with the correct stance, but the right mind-set to ultimately change the behaviour of leading with the head that came with the psychological protection of guards.

"It is essential that AIBA fulfils its duty to provide a strong, secure framework within which boxers can develop and excel from grassroots to pro competition," said AIBA President Ching-Kuo Wu at the launch.

"HeadsUp! will now be adopted by the world’s boxing Federations to help all of our athletes enjoy stable futures in their sport."

HeadsUp! has since been rolled out in Zambia and across Southern Africa following the finalisation of a new partnership with the National Olympic Committee of Zambia.

Under the HeadsUp! initiative, AIBA has sponsored five top young athletes from Fight for Peace, which uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities suffering from high levels of crime and violence.

AIBA will support each of the athletes with one-year grants, giving them the means to continue training and participate in national and international competitions by covering travel and living costs as well as competition fees.

The world governing body has also confirmed the signing of the HeadsUp! Charter with the Brazilian Boxing Confederation, illustrating the strong support of National Federations.

AIBA and the Venezuelan Boxing Federation then organised a donation of essential training equipment to local boxing clubs under the HeadsUp initiative.

Accompanied by their coaches, dozens of young boys and girls attended the event in the presence of Wu, Venezuelan Boxing Federation President Fran Lopez, national boxing team member Yoel Finol and several local authorities.

Gloves, t-shirts, shorts and headguards provided by Top Ten were all given to members of the Hugo Chavez and Montesano boxing clubs in Vargas, before the kids went through their boxing exercises.

The AIBA President outlined the importance of supporting the development of boxing among the younger generation and giving them the right conditions to practice their favorite sport.

Lopez added that the HeadsUp project endorsed by his federation will help to ensure a brighter future for boxing in Venezuela.

AIBA World Boxing Championships

The biennial AIBA World Boxing Championships is the signature event on the world governing body’s calendar and was first held in Cuba’s capital Havana in 1974. Athletes compete in the 10 official weight categories in accordance with the AIBA technical rules and AIBA Open Boxing competition rules as they bid to claim the ultimate glory of becoming a world champion. The number of weight categories was reduced from 12 to 11 in 2003 with the removal of the light middleweight division. In 2011, the weight categories went down to 10 with the removal of the featherweight division. After 18 editions, Cuba top the overall medal standings with a haul of 128, including 71 golds, 32 silvers and 25 bronzes. The country won four of the gold medals on offer at the 2015 World Championships in Qatar’s capital Doha, coming out on top in the light flyweight, lightweight, middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.

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AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships

The biennial AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships was first held in Scranton in the United States in 2001 and is considered one of the fastest growing competitions in international boxing. After eight editions, Russia top the overall medal standings with 21 golds, eight silvers and 23 bronzes. The country landed three gold medals at the 2014 World Championships in Jeju, South Korea with success in the featherweight, light welterweight and heavyweight divisions.

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AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships

The biennial AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships was first held in 2008 in Guadalajara in Mexico. The 2014 edition took place at the Armeec Arena in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia and served as the sole qualifying event for the Nanjing 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games. Male and female boxers aged 17 and 18 were eligible to compete with the former contesting 10 weight categories and the latter three.

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AIBA Women’s Youth/Junior World Boxing Championships

The biennial AIBA Women’s Youth/Junior World Boxing Championships was first held in Antalya in Turkey in 2011 and has since taken place in Albena, Bulgaria, in 2013 and Taipei, Taiwan, in 2015. At the most recent edition, boxers aged 15 and 16 were eligible to compete in the 13 junior weight classifications, while those aged 17 and 18 were able to contest the 10 youth weight categories. The Championships form a key part of AIBA’s bid to further develop women’s boxing globally.

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AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships

The history of the AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships, held every two years, goes back to 2001 when it was first held in Baku in Azerbaijan. It was then known as the AIBA Cadet World Championships. The competition, which took place in St Petersburg in 2015, welcomes international boxers aged 15 and 16 in 13 weight categories. With participation numbers growing each year, the Championships is a premier event on the AIBA competitions calendar.

Men’s

Light flyweight

The light flyweight category featured at the Olympics for the first time in 1968, when the Games were held in Mexico City. It increased the total number of weight classes to 11.

Flyweight

First contested at the 1904 Olympic Games in St Louis, the flyweight division's inaugural winner was the United States' George Finnegan. Cuba has won gold at three of the last five Games thanks to Maikro Romero at Atlanta 1996, Yuriorkis Gamboa at Athens 2004 and Robeisy Ramírez at London 2012. 

Bantamweight

Great Britain's Luke Campbell is the reigning bantamweight Olympic champion having defeated Ireland's John Joe Nevin in the London 2012 final. Like in the flyweight class, Cuba has been the dominant force in recent times, claiming top honours at Barcelona 1992 through Joel Casamayor, and at Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 courtesy of back-to-back winner Guillermo Rigondeaux. 

Lightweight

Vasyl Lomachenko topped the lightweight podium for Ukraine at London 2012, fending off the challenge of Han Soon-Chul of South Korea. One particularly notable winner of this title is the United States' Oscar De La Hoya, who, having won the gold medal at Barcelona 1992, went on to win 10 world titles in six different professional weight classes.  

Light welterweight

The light welterweight class was introduced in 1950 and made its Olympic debut at the 1952 Games in Helsinki, where the United States’ Charles Adkins struck gold.

Welterweight

Kazakhstan have won welterweight gold at each of the last three Olympic Games thanks to Bakhtiyar Artayev at Athens 2004, Bakhyt Sarsekbayev at Beijing 2008 and Serik Sapiyev at London 2012. 

Middleweight

Following three successive victories for Cuba at Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000, the middleweight gold medal has gone to a different country at each of the last three editions of the Olympic Games. Russia's Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov prevailed at Athens 2004 after which Britain's James De Gale and Japan's Ryota Murata triumphed at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 respectively. 

Light heavyweight

The light heavyweight class - between 75 kilograms and 81kg - was introduced in 1950 and first featured in the Olympics at the 1952 Games in Helsinki, where the United States’ Norvel Lee topped the podium. Eight years later at the Rome 1960 Games, Lee's compatriot Cassius Clay claimed gold at the expense of Poland's Zbigniew Pietrzykowski. The man who became to be known as Muhammad Ali went on to win the world heavyweight title on three occasions in 1964, 1974 and 1978 and is widely considered as the greatest boxer of all time. 

Heavyweight

The United States' Joe Frazier and George Foreman are two of the stand-out names in the Olympic heavyweight roll of honour with the former taking the title at Tokyo 1964 and the latter at Mexico City 1968. Both went on to become the world heavyweight champion and encountered the great Muhammad Ali along the way in some of the most memorable bouts in the history of boxing. Two Cubans also have a hat-trick of titles to their names with Teófilo Stevenson winning at Munich 1972, Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980, and Félix Savón coming out on top at Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. 

Super heavyweight

The super heavyweight category was included for the first time at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984 when the wearing of headguards was made compulsory. Lennox Lewis ranks among the most famous gold medallists, topping the podium at Seoul 1988 as a representative of Canada. Lewis, who holds dual British and Canadian citizenship, beat the United States' Riddick Bowe to top honours before embarking on a professional career that would see him become the undisputed world heavyweight champion. 

Women’s

Flyweight

Britain’s Nicola Adams became the first female fighter to win an Olympic gold medal when she defeated China’s Ren Cancan in the flyweight final at London 2012. The United States' Marlen Esparza and India's Mary Kom shared the third step of the podium. 

Lightweight 

Ireland’s Katie Taylor beat Russia’s Sofya Ochigava to lightweight gold at London 2012 with Tajikistan’s Mavzuna Chorieva and Brazil’s Adriana Araujo taking bronze.

Middleweight

Russia also had to settle for a silver medal at London 2012 in the middleweight division as Nadezda Torlopova lost out to the United States' Claressa Shields in the final. Kazakhstan's Marina Volnova and China's Li Jinzi came away with the bronzes.

1904 - Boxing makes its Olympic Games debut in St Louis, with bouts taking place across seven weight categories.

1920 - The International Amateur Boxing Federation - or Federation Internationale de Boxe Amateur (FIBA) in French - is founded during the Olympic Games in Antwerp, and comprises 11 National Member Federations. Great Britain’s John H. Douglas, the 1908 Olympic middleweight gold medallist and an England cricketer, is appointed President.

1926 - The first-ever FIBA Executive Committee is elected at the fifth FIBA Congress in Paris. A decision is made to limit the number of entries to the Olympic Games to one boxer per country per category, while bouts are fixed to three rounds of three minutes instead of two rounds of three minutes and one round of four minutes, as it had been before.

1931 - A decision is made at the ninth FIBA Congress in Brussels to have referees officiate from inside the ring, as opposed to sitting outside on a high chair, and to have neutral judges at ringside.

1932 - Boxers are allowed to wear a cup protector and a gumshield for the first time at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

1946 - The FIBA was dissolved and the English Amateur Boxing Association in partnership with the French Boxing Federation decided to create the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA). At its first Congress in London, attended by 21 countries, France’s Emile Grémaux is elected the first President.

1948 - The AIBA Medical Commission is founded at an Extraordinary Congress in London.

1950 - The second AIBA Congress takes place in Copenhagen, bringing together 54 National Member Federations. New rules are adopted stipulating that a contest should be stopped if a boxer has been knocked down three times in a round. The light welterweight and light heavyweight categories are introduced, increasing the total number of weight classes to 10.

1952 - Bronze medal contests do not feature at the Olympics for the first time in Finland’s capital Helsinki. The two beaten semi-finalists are automatically placed third.

1962 - Britain’s Rudyard H. Russell is elected AIBA President at the governing body's fifth Congress in Interlaken in Switzerland. It follows the death of Emile Grémaux three years earlier.

1968 - The light flyweight category features at the Olympic Games for the first time in Mexico City, increasing the total number of weight classes to 11.

1970 - The seventh AIBA Congress takes place in Paris, bringing together 111 National Member Federations.

1972 - Boxing gloves with white hitting surface are used for the first time at the Olympic Games in Munich.

1974 - The first AIBA World Championships are held in Cuba’s capital Havana, with 242 athletes from 45 countries taking part. The Soviet Union's N.F. Nikiforov-Denisov is elected AIBA President at the eighth Congress in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. An AIBA fund is set up with the aim of developing boxing around the world; thus Olympic Solidarity becomes part of AIBA’s work.

1978 - The United States' Col. Don F. Hull, a graduate of West Point and a World War Two veteran, is elected AIBA President at the ninth Congress in Madrid, where 127 National Member Federations are represented.

1979 - The first AIBA World Junior Championships are held in the Japanese city of Yokohama, while the inaugural AIBA World Cup takes place in New York City.

1984 - The super heavyweight category is included for the first time at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The wearing of headguards is made compulsory too. 

1986 - Pakistan's Anwar Chowdhry, then secretary general of the Asian Boxing Federation, is elected as the fifth AIBA President, replacing Col. Don F. Hull.  

1988 - The AIBA Vice-Presidents’ Bureau adopts principles for the maintenance of boxing as an Olympic sport.

1989 - The fifth AIBA World Championships are held in Moscow with 236 boxers from 43 countries participating. An electronic scoring machine is used for the first time to make judges’ officiating more objective.

1993 - The AIBA Vice-Presidents’ Bureau adopts a resolution on women’s boxing at a meeting in Tunisia’s capital Tunis.

1994 - The 13th AIBA Congress takes place in Beijing, bringing together 187 National Member Federations. A decision is made to use only 10oz gloves in order to increase boxers’ safety, while the upper age limit is extended from 32 to 34 years of age on the basis of measures introduced to improve the protection of the boxers’ health. Furthermore, women’s boxing is recognised.

1996 - A new rule stipulates that every boxer must possess an official AIBA competition record book in which they must be certified as fit to box by a qualified doctor.

2006 - Chinese Taipei’s C K Wu is elected as the sixth AIBA President at the 16th Congress in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. Wu secures 83 votes against the 79 of Anwar Chowdhry, who by then had served five consecutive terms as President. 

2007 - The AIBA Reform Committee, tasked with taking AIBA into a new era, is launched at the Executive Committee meeting in Taiwan with International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board member, Gerhard Heiberg, named as chairman. A new AIBA is born following the approval of the Reform Committee’s recommendations by the 196 National Member Federations at the Extraordinary Congress in Chicago. Changes include the introduction of a new logo, new statutes and new competition rules and the adoption of a new mission statement: "To govern the sport of boxing worldwide in all its forms".

2009 - AIBA’s Road to Dream programme is launched with the aim of assisting boxers and coaches from emerging countries in training and for further participation in AIBA World Championships by covering all their expenses. Also launched is the World Series of Boxing (WSB) which would see the world’s best boxers compete in a unique team format.

2010 - The first-ever WSB season begins. The introduction of women’s boxing at the Olympic Games is accepted by the IOC Executive Board.

2011 - The creation of AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) is approved allowing fighters to compete professionally while maintaining their Olympic eligibility.

2012 - Women’s boxing makes its Olympic Games debut in London. Britain’s Nicola Adams becomes the first female fighter to win an Olympic gold medal, defeating China’s Ren Cancan in the flyweight final. 

2013 - Following extensive studies on boxers' safety, including two statistical reviews by the AIBA Medical Commission where more than 2,000 bouts were studied, AIBA decides that boxers in all elite men’s competitions will no longer wear headguards. All available data is said to have indicated that the removal of headguards would result in a decreased number of concussions.

2014 - C K Wu officially opens the AIBA World Boxing Academy, an integrated training institute in Almaty, Kazakhstan, which sets the best practice and global standards for boxing education, development and performance. Wu is re-elected as AIBA President during the Congress in Jeju in South Korea where the removal of headguards as a safety measure for elite male boxers is unanimously supported.

2015 - German super heavyweight Erik Pfeifer becomes the first APB world champion after beating Moroccan opponent Mohammed Arjaoui in Baku, Azerbaijan. Astana Arlans Kazakhstan win their second WSB title after defeating Cuba Domadores in the Season V Finals.