AIBA WORLD BOXING HISTORY

The AIBA World Boxing Championships and the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships are biennial boxing competitions organized by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), which is the sport governing body. Alongside the Olympic boxing program, it is the highest level of competition for the sport. The championships were first held in 1974 Havana, Cuba as a men's only event and the first women's championships was held over 25 years later in 2001. The men's and women's competitions are held separately and since 2006 the biennial championships have been held in alternating years. The number of weight categories was reduced from twelve to eleven in 2003 with the removal of the light-middleweight division (71 kg). In 2011 the weight categories went down to ten with the removal of the featherweight division (57 kg).

It was held only for mens and first-ever womens world championships were introduced in the year 2001. Since then both men and women categories were held together until 2006. After that AIBA decided to conduct the events separately in alternate years.

The mens world championship will be held under 11 different categories over the years. Like other competitions, AIBA world champions have also undergone major changes due to the demands of the modern era. Boxing has made deep roots in many countries over the years and it clearly impacted the number of nations participating in the event.

Cuba, Russia and the United States are the most successful nations in the tournament, but India and China are emerging as the new superpowers in recent years. Cuban boxing legend Felix Savon is the most successful boxer in world boxing championships by winning 6 gold medals Almost 19 editions of the AIBA World Boxing Championships have been completed over the years.

FOR MEN

As of 2018, weight classes for the men include:

• 46 49 Kg (Light Flyweight)
• 52 Kg (Flyweight)
• 56 Kg (Bantamweight)
• 60 Kg (Lightweight)
• 64 Kg (Light Welterweight)
• 69 Kg (Welterweight)
• 75 Kg (Middleweight)
• 81 Kg (Light Heavyweight)
• 91 Kg (Heavyweight)
• 91+ Kg (Super Heavyweight)

FOR WOMEN

India's Mary Kom is the most successful boxer in women's boxing having won 6 golds and a silver.

As of 2018, weight classes for women are as follows:

• 45 48 Kg (Light flyweight)
• 51 Kg (Flyweight)
• 54 Kg (Bantamweight)
• 57 Kg (Featherweight)
• 60 Kg (Lightweight)
• 64 Kg (Light welterweight)
• 69 Kg (Welterweight)
• 75 Kg (Middleweight)
• 81 Kg (Light heavyweight)
• 81+ Kg (Heavyweight)

2019 EDITION

International boxing association which is the governing body of the game boxing is also trying their level best to make the event more interesting and competitive.

As said earlier, it is the premier most events in the sport. Apart from the Olympics, this is the event where we can see the top boxers fighting with each other for the medal.

The 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships will be held in Yekaterinburg, Russia from September 7 to September 21, 2019. 

Originally, Cameroon, Trinidad and Tobago and Uzbekistan also expressed an interest in hosting the championships. However, they did not submit a final application and therefore they were withdrawn from the running. This left Italy and South Korea, who were the final two countries in contention during the bidding process to host the 2009 championships. The city of Milan in Italy was then chosen to host the competition.

The 20th edition of the AIBA World Boxing Championship is scheduled to take part in the city of Sochi Russia next year. After the resounding success and overwhelming popularity, this event will be the biggest event in the history of the world championships. Around 150 athletes from 32 nations are expected to take part in the event under various disciplines.

The event will be held in 10 different disciplines and it will be a rehearsal for the Olympic event which is also considered as the major event.  Top boxers across the globe are expected to participate in the tournament and Russia is traditionally famous for boxing, hence the event will witness the highest number of attendance.

AIBA world champions for men will be conducted under 10 categories that are listed below:

• 46-49 kg (light-flyweight)
• 52 kg (flyweight)
• 56 kg (bantamweight)
• 60 kg (lightweight)
• 64 kg (light welterweight)
• 69 kg (welterweight)
• 75 kg (middleweight)
• 81 kg (light-heavyweight)
• 91 kg (heavyweight)
• 91 kg (super heavyweight)

As both Womens and Mens Championships getting the popularity it is evident that the sport is getting a much-needed boost from the audience across. Hope next years edition will be a grand success and continues to make an impact over the years.

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