Boxing events kicked-off today in Baku, Azerbaijan marking the beginning of 12 days of high-quality boxing competition which brings together some of the best men and women boxers from all over Europe.
AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu said: “Boxing is one of the major sports in Baku 2015 where 278 boxers, of whom 67 women, will face each other in the 12 days of competition and for the 1st time, women will surprisingly compete in 5 categories. I am honored to be here to wish all of them the best of luck in their quest to becoming the first European Games Champions”.
Ireland’s five-time World Champion and London 2012 Olympic gold medalist Katie Taylor will compete at Lightweight (60 kg) in Baku, while Azerbaijan’s reigning Bantamweight (56 kg) AIBA World Champion Javid Chalabiyev represents an excellent opportunity for the host nation to achieve a boxing gold medal.
International Boxing Association (AIBA) has also taken this opportunity to host the Referees and Judges seminar in the run up to the boxing events in order to ensure the highest quality officiating. Baku 2015 will also have three quotas per weight category available for men boxers to qualify for the AIBA World Boxing Championships, which will be taking place in Doha on 2-18 October 2015.
Baku 2015 boxing events will kick-off on Tuesday, 16 June and will finish on Saturday, 27 June with 263 bouts taking place over the period of 11 days of competition. See full events schedule and draw sheets here.