AIBA to start a professional boxing programme in 2013

Leroy Brown, Gleaner Writer

There was an announcement of epic proportions last Monday, when Chin-Kuo Wu, the president of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) made it known that his organisation, which is the world's controlling body for amateur boxing, will be getting more involved with professional boxing.

Starting in 2013, AIBA will launch the AIBA Professional Boxing programme (APB), which will be designed to provide an opportunity for boxers worldwide, to move into the professional ranks and still have the opportunity to participate in the Olympic Games, starting in Rio in 2016. At present, professional boxers cannot participate in these games.

As a prelude to this move, the AIBA started the World Series of Boxing last year, which set up a team-based competition in which amateur boxers were able to receive payment and retain their amateur status. The APB takes this a step further, as boxers participating will be full professionals but since they are fighting under the AIBA banner, will be able to become Olympians.

This step, Wu pointed out in making the announcement in Astana, Kazakstan, following a meeting of the AIBA Executive Committee there, was the culmination of a process that started in 2007 at an Extraordinary Congress of AIBA in Chicago.

The mission, he said, was for AIBA to govern the sport of boxing in all its forms, and what has been agreed on is for AIBA to have the ultimate responsibility for the entire career of boxers. AIBA, he said, should be "the true governing body ... and the respected leader of our sport of boxing throughout the world". Another goal, he said, was "to change the image and reputation of our sport, with transparency, popularity and making a social contribution".

The aim is to have both team and individual competition. Boxers will be categorised in three divisions, World, Continental and National. The World category will have 20 boxers in each weight class, and they will fight over 10 rounds in ranking competitions, and title fights will be over 12 rounds.

The Continental category will be boxers rated 21-50, and they will fight over eight rounds with 10 round title fights. The National category will feature boxers rated 51 and below, and they will have six-round competitions with title fights over 10 rounds.

Fight without headgear

Boxers in these competitions will fight without headgear and there will be a referee and three judges as the arbiters in all their fights. There will be a worldwide team competition, to which National Federations can send APB-registered boxers to represent their country.

The age limit will be 19 to 40, and current registered AIBA boxers who want to turn professionals will be invited to register with the APB. Wu said that, for the first season only, current professional boxers will be allowed to join the APB with certain terms and conditions that will be announced in due course.

He pointed to the fact that the current AIBA Technical and Competition Rules will be revised to accommodate the new body and these will be announced. He also said that one of the changes will be to remove headgear for some amateur boxers. The categories that will have to continue to use headgear will be women, youth and juniors.

Detailed work to get the new organisation up and running so as to start the first season on time early in 2013, will start immediately, he said.