At the recent Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (Amateur International Boxing Association, AIBA) Congress in Cheju, South Korea, important changes were made, questions were asked and members caught up with one another. The congress was held from Nov. 13 to 14, Kazakhstan web portal www.sports.kz reported.
The meeting saw the introduction of new regulations to the semi-professional team tournament World Series of Boxing (WSB) and AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) for next year. Association President Dr. Ching-Kuo Woo called development too rapid and said the association needs to keep up with the times.
In the upcoming season, matches won’t have the home-away format, rather a one-team encounter that will determine the winner in a two-day competition.
The new APB project will gather the best 80 boxers in the world, according to the AIBA president. The APB will also decide the Olympic vacant slots by 2020.
Among other issues on the agenda was the question of whether to continue the use of helmets in matches. Boxing experts and medical professionals have noted that boxers who don’t use helmets have a lower chance of getting head injuries by 33 percent.
The congress also held elections for managing staff. Kazakhstan legend Serik Konakbayev was appointed the vice president of the Kazakh Boxing Federation, while Timur Kulibayev kept his post as president.
“First of all, I am honoured. I realise that this is a big responsibility. It is widely known that Kazakhstan is a boxing powerhouse; the country is growing dynamically and developing economically while advancing unity and harmony. All of these factors validate Kazakhstan’s hosting of EXPO 2017. Kazakhstan is developing in all spheres and global society now knows it. Therefore, our achievements give us the drive to continue forward. I would like to repeat that it is a big responsibility for me. Thanks to the achievements we have today, we need to promote boxing at a higher level,” Konakbayev commented.
Woo also thanked the Kazakh Boxing Federation headed by Kulibayev for being the leading national federation.
“AIBA in Kazakhstan will give impetus to the development of boxing worldwide,” he said. “We only need facilities and the improvement of our assets and technical base. It is important that children involved in the sport get a good education to augment their physical development.”
The leaders of all the national federations discussed the future of modern boxing. The heads of all national federations gathered four years ago in Almaty where they made a number of important decisions that had a positive impact on the development of Olympic boxing.
