By Sports Reporter/Doha


The official list of confirmed boxers who will be competing in the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Doha, scheduled from October 5 to 15, was released yesterday. Top boxers in 10 weight categories from 73 countries will be contesting for the honours in the 10-day event.
“This edition of the AIBA World Boxing Championships will be a key event in the run up to Rio 2016 Olympic Games as the top boxers from all five continents converge in Doha to compete in an astounding venue.
“For the first time, all boxers had to qualify for the World Championships ensuring that boxing fans will enjoy the most remarkable show the elite of the boxing world have to offer“, said AIBA president Dr Ching-Kuo Wu.
Kicking off on October 5 at the state-of-the-art Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena, the World Boxing Championships comprise of 10 days of boxing action with over 260 boxers taking part in the historic event—including 94 boxers from Europe, 66 from Asia, 51 from Americas, 32 from Africa and 17 boxers from the Oceania region.
Beyond the iconic gold medal, boxers will also be competing for 23 Olympic quota places to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The current medal table leader Cuba are coming to the World Championships with a 10-strong squad, while Russia will be looking for more medals with seven boxers representing their team. Amongst the headliners in Doha boxing fans will be able to witness reigning champions L?zaro Alvarez (60kg), Daniyar Yeleussinov (69kg), Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (75kg), Julio César la Cruz (81kg) and Mahammadrasul Majidov (91+kg).
“Doha is ready to welcome all of the boxers and officials to AIBA World Boxing Championships and we are confident that the event will be held at the highest level. Local fans are looking forward to the event, which demonstrates the vitality of boxing in our region”, said Qatar Boxing Federation (QBF) President Yousuf Ali al-Kazim.
The first World Boxing Championships were held in Havana, Cuba, in 1974 and a total number of 274 boxers from 45 countries entered the competition where 11 world champions were crowned while Cuba and Soviet Union won eight medals each respectively.
The AIBA World Boxing Championships will be broadcast live in key markets on free-to-air channels, including BBC, Fox Africa and RAI Italy.