Men's Amateur World Boxing Championship Opened In Belgrade

On Sunday, 24th October, a spectacular opening ceremony in Belgrade Štark Arena marked the beginning of the 21st AIBA Men's World Boxing Championship. From 24th October to 6th November, more than 500 boxers from 88+ countries will participate in what promises to be the most spectacular competition in the history of the AIBA World Boxing Championships.

New weight categories, larger prize pool, Val Barker trophy

The 21st AIBA World Boxing Championship shows promise to be the most exciting one yet. 500+ athletes will compete in 13 weight classes, more than ever before, which means we can expect equal matchups. The new draw system will no longer favor better boxers, pairing them with weaker competition at the start of the tournament. Now, even the early stages will have interesting and equal matchups, and it will be no surprise to see some of the favorites get eliminated early.

Because of the number of participants, some categories will require each boxer to go through four or five matches to earn a chance for a medal. We can expect to see exciting matches and unpredictable results, to the thrill of the boxing fans worldwide.

AIBA made sure that boxers have the right type of motivation - medal winners will share $2.6 million. This prize pool is by far the biggest in any amateur boxing competition hosted by AIBA so far. Furthermore, medals are entirely made from pure gold, silver, and bronze, and champions will also get belts.

An opening ceremony to be remembered

The audience at the Belgrade Štark Arena (which will also hold all of the upcoming matches) enjoyed a truly spectacular opening ceremony. A performance showcased the history of boxing. From the Greek and Roman fist fighting to 648 BC, when fist fighting was added to the ancient Olympic games, to the first organized boxing match in 1681, and to the 19th century, where boxing was made into a competitive sport and reintroduced to Olympic games in 1904.

The first AIBA boxing championship happened in Havana, Cuba, in 1974, and ever since then, AIBA has remained the organizer of the most significant boxing events. The second World Championship was also organized in Belgrade in 1978, and the Serbian capital got the honors to be the first city to host this fantastic competition twice. Fighters of the former Yugoslavia won six silver and one bronze medal back in 1978. Serbian boxers today aspire to repeat that success, hoping that having the local crowd behind them will push them to the winner's podium.

Captains of each of the national teams carried their national flags and were greeted by the crowd. A special AIBA Fair Chane Team with participants forced to leave their countries due to conflicts was also presented, showing that AIBA also cares about the parts of the boxing family who are going through tough times.

During his speech, AIBA president Umar Kremlev said that the organization worked hard to make the 21st World Championship the best one in history. That is not only because of the prize pool, Val Barker trophy, medals, and belts but also because of the fair conditions, new weight classes, and rules that will ensure everyone will get a fair chance to show the world the results of years of hard training.

Besides president Kremlev, Serbian Minister of Youth and Sport Vanja Udovičić, the President of the Serbian boxing association Nenad Borovčanin, and the boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. also gave speeches as well as several other AIBA ambassadors. After the speeches, there were a plethora of artistic performances celebrating boxing as a sport, accompanied by local bands and celebrities, to the thrill of the audience in the Štark arena, as well as those watching the live broadcast on Serbian national television.

Belgrade is (again) the boxing capital of the world

As it was previously announced during the International boxing day celebration in August, Belgrade was selected to host the AIBA World boxing championship for the second time. Previously, Belgrade was the boxing capital back in 1978, when former Yugoslavia hosted the event. This makes the Serbian capital the only city in history to host the AIBA World championship more than once. As the Minister of Youth and Sports of Serbia Vanja Udovičić said during his speech, this is a tremendous honor for the country of Serbia.

The AIBA world championship and the International boxing day are excellent opportunities to grow the sport in Serbia. AIBA will work with the Serbian boxing association to promote the sport further. The crown of this cooperation will be the Serbian national boxing center, which will gather local talents and hopefully become an incubator of future champions, as President of Serbian Boxing Federation Nenad Borovčanin said.

"Boxing teaches us not only how to throw a punch, but how to take one punch too, and how to get up from the floor and continue fighting fair. It teaches us to stand in front of our opponents and watch them right in the eyes. It teaches us never to cheat and hit below the belt and never to hit our opponents from the back. Boxing teaches us never to give up and to always give our best effort in the ring, as well as life. It is not brutal fighting, boxing is a form of art."