Brazil’s Robson Conceição voted AIBA Boxer of the Month

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has named Brazilian lightweight sensation Robson Donato Conceição its final Boxer of the Month for 2015. The AIBA World Boxing Championships bronze medalist, who also competed in Cycle I of AIBA Pro Boxing (APB), capped an excellent year by winning gold at the Rio Olympic Test Event at the start of December, putting himself in pole position for a Rio 2016 medal having booked his quota place with third place in Doha.

Early career

Born in 1988 in Salvador, Bahia, Robson Conceição began boxing at the age of 12. Five years later he showed his potential with flyweight gold at the 2005 Brazilian National Boxing Championships aged just 17 years-old.

In 2007 he joined the Brazilian national squad, competing at the Beijing Olympics a year later and the 2009 AIBA World Championships in Milan, before registering his first major title at the 2011 World Military Games, securing a place at London 2012 in the process. Having won four preparation tournaments ahead of London, his hopes of success were only dashed by Team GB’s Josh Taylor and a partisan home crowd who proved too much to overcome.

Brazilian lightweight sensation Robson Donato Conceição

The road to Rio

Following an impressive 2013, when he took silver at the Almaty AIBA World Championships in Kazakhstan and the AMBC American Confederation title in Chile, Conceição joined World Series of Boxing for Season IV, finishing the campaign unbeaten. Another impressive AMBC Championships in 2014, this time in Vargas, Venezuela, saw him defeat Cuba’s three-time World Champion Lazaro Alvarez to take gold, confirming his ascension to the world stage.

Third place in Doha at the 2015 AIBA World Championships was enough to secure the Brazilian a deserved Olympic berth at Rio 2016. After beating rivals including Russia’s WSB boxer Adlan Abdurashidov and Great Britain’s EUBC European Confederation Champion Joseph Cordina, the lightweight star only lost out to Azerbaijan’s former World Champion Albert Selimov in the semi-final.

The first Brazilian to qualify for Rio 2016, Conceição underlined his Olympic potential at the start of December with a comprehensive win at the Rio Test Event in the city’s Riocentro venue. A tight semi-final triumph over Great Britain’s promising Luke McCormack and a final victory over Uzbekistan’s APB Champion Hurshid Tojibaev gave a precious taste of victory that Robson Conceição will be desperately hoping to repeat infant of his adoring home fans in August.

International Boxing Association (AIBA) has named Brazilian lightweight sensation Robson Donato Conceição its final Boxer of the Month for 2015

Date of Birth: 25/10/1988
Place of Birth: Salvador, Bahia
Height: 175cm
Residence: Salvador
Stance: Orthodox
Achievements:

2015 – Rio Test Event, Gold medal
2015 – Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships, Doha (QAT), Bronze medal
2015 – AMBC American Confederation Boxing Championships, Vargas (VEN), Gold medal
2014 – South American Games, Santiago de Chile (CHI), Gold medal
2013 – Almaty 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships, Almaty (KAZ), Silver medal
2011 – Pan-American Games, Guadalajara (MEX), Silver medal
2011 – World Military Games, Rio de Janeiro (BRA), Gold medal
2009 – AMBC American Confederation Boxing Championships, Mexico City (MEX), Gold medal
2008 – 2nd Pan-American Olympic Qualification Tournament, Guatemala City (GUA), Gold medal

International Boxing Association (AIBA) Executive Committee convenes in Qatar…,

International Boxing Association (AIBA) Executive Committee convenes in Qatar to confirm Hamburg as host city for 2017 World Boxing Championships

At a meeting of the AIBA Executive Committee on Tuesday morning, AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu confirmed that the German city of Hamburg has been successful in its bid to host the 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships.

Following lengthy analysis of three bids, it was decided that Hamburg would be the perfect stage for the next edition of the competition, following in the footsteps of great cities including most recently Doha, Almaty, Baku and Milan.

“Hamburg proved its appetite for boxing when it held the APB finals in September, and the country’s capacity for hosting major sporting events like the AIBA World Boxing Championships is clear. After the phenomenal success of this year’s tournament in Doha and the important legacy we will leave for boxing in the Middle East, we will return to Europe in two years’ time for another thrilling showcase of boxing,” said Dr Wu.

Mr Jürgen Kyas, AIBA Executive Committee Member and President of the German Boxing Federation, was thrilled with the decision, saying; “The Qatar Boxing Federation has done an outstanding job in Doha, and this underlines the confidence AIBA has in our federation’s capacity to organise an event of this magnitude. We are already looking forward to hosting the world’s most exciting boxing tournament, and the World Boxing Championships Hamburg 2017 will be of huge importance to the continuing growth of German boxing.”

Following the meeting, AIBA Vice President and EUBC President Franco Falcinelli was swift to add his words of support for the city. “With Hamburg being awarded the 2017 World Boxing Championships, Europe is proud of hosting this major event for our sport in Germany for the third time after Munich in 1982 and Berlin in 1995. I’m confident it will be an amazing Championships in a city with a long boxing tradition​,” said Mr Falcinelli.

Michael Neumann, Senator of the Ministry of Interior and Sports of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg was thrilled with the news. “It is a great success for us and we will take the opportunity to show the world what we are capable of. My city is very grateful to AIBA for their decision,” said Mr Neumann.

Uzbekistan shine and Qatar make history on an action-packed second day of the AIBA World Championships

The second day of the AIBA World Boxing Championships saw 44 bouts of top-quality boxing and a very special guest at Doha’s Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, with the winners in five categories going through to the last 16.

As the total number of match-ups over the opening two days of competition reached 83, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, President of the Association of National Olympic Committees, was welcomed to ringside by AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu.

Uzbekistan shine and Qatar make history on an action-packed second day of the AIBA World Championships

Emphatic flyweight performances by Kazakhstan’s Olzhas Sattibayev and Venezuela’s Yoel Finol were superseded by a pair of crowd-pleasing knockouts midway through the first session of the day.

Egyptian Walid Said Mohamed’s had Eumir Marcial on the canvas in the very first round of their bout, and the Filipino welterweight couldn’t get back up before the referee’s ten-count. Morroccco’s super heavyweight Mohammed Arjaoui then scored a technical knockout in the third round of their super heavyweight bout.

One of the day’s big surprises came late on, as US national champion Steve Nelson was knocked out of the light heavyweight competition by Morrocco’s Hassan Saada, but the day belonged to Uzbekistan. The strong team secured three victories in total, including Elshod Rasulov’s amazing battle with Venezuela’s AMBC American Champion Albert Ramirez.

“I know it was only my first fight here in the championships, but I am happy to beat such a big rival as the Venezuelan. I’ve had some injuries in recent years but now I feel in top form. The atmosphere of the championships is excellent and I hope I can reach my goals in Doha,” said Rasulov after the bout.

Uzbekistan, Mongolia and Russia are the only countries to remain unbeaten after two days of competition, while hosts Qatar have now notched up two World Championship wins for the first time following Nuraydin’s victory over Bosnia’s Bosnjak.

Thursday sees the second preliminary round get underway, with all eyes on the big match-up between Cuba’s 2015 Panamerican Games winner Andy Cruz and Russia’s European Games gold medallist Bakhtovar Nazirov.

Flying Finol Progresses On The Second Day Of Thrilling Action At The AIBA World Championships in Doha

The second day of the AIBA World Championships got underway in Doha with an afternoon session that delivered big names, stylish boxing and two knockouts

Early on Wednesday afternoon, 19-year-old Venezuelan flyweight Yoel Finol went into the ring as favourite against Zarip Jumayev, and the Turkmenistan’s number one’s strong combination punching wasn’t enough to stop Finol’s waves of attacks.

Flying Finol progresses on the second day of thrilling action at the AIBA World Championships in Doha

“I thank God for winning my opening bout in Doha. I felt great through the whole bout and I tried to keep my opponent under pressure… but I know this was only the first step,” said Venezuela’s WSB boxer Finol short after the bout.

The big Moroccan Mohammed Arjaoui had his Venezuelan opponent Edgar Mata Munoz on the canvas in the third round of their super heavyweight bout, and the referee had no choice but to award the 28 year-old gold medal hope a win by technical knockout.

It was the second knockout of a big-hitting session of boxing, following Egypt’s Walid Said Mohamed’s despatching of the Filipino welterweight Eumir Marcial with the referee’s ten-count coming in the very first round.

Netherlands’ WSB boxer Enrico La Cruz, one of the most promising Europeans in the lightweight class, could not overcome Italian legend Domenico Valentino, who has claimed five medals in the last five editions of the AIBA World Boxing Championships, including the gold in 2009.

Earlier in the session, Georgia’s EUBC European Confederation Boxing Championships silver medallist Otar Eranosyan suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of Ukrainian wildcard Tymur Beliak, before Qatar’s Hakan Murst Nuraydin delighted the home crowd by defeating Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Dzemal Bosnjak in the light heavyweight category.

Global Boxing Elite In Awe Of ‘Spectacular’ Doha

258 boxers from 74 countries have arrived in Doha for the first-ever AIBA World Boxing Championships held in the Middle East for the very first time, and with competition officially starting on Tuesday 5th october, the best boxers on the planet are raring to go.

Several of the leading contenders for world titles got to see the state-of-the-art Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena in Al Sadd for the first time on Saturday, the venue in which they will compete for gold medals and the ultimate prize of qualification to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games between 5-15 October.

GLOBAL BOXING ELITE: Germany’s Hamza Touba (left), next to Artur Biyarslanov and his coach from Canada, Egypt’s Hussein Bakr Abdin Hosam with his father and coach, Mohammed Flissi and his coach from Algeria, super heavyweight favorite Joe Joyce from Great Britain next to his coach, Qatar’s Hzam Nabah and coach Juan Carlos Gonzalez, and Team US far right, with Nico Hernandez in the middle behind the flag.

Nico Hernandez (USA) and his teammates were impressed by the beautiful venue and training facilities. “I am here to fight and win. I am ready for my first fight on Tuesday. Everything has been done to provide optimal conditions for boxers to perform to the best of their ability”, says the bronze medalist at the American Confederation Boxing Championships in Vargas.

“We arrived 3 days ago and were amazed by the venue and the state of the art training facilities which will give us the perfect conditions to box”, says Hamza Touba (GER), 52kg who won the bronze medal at the European Games in Baku this. “I came here to win and to qualify to Rio”, adds the 23 years old boxer.

One of the highlights of Doha 2015 will be the bouts in the super heavyweight category. Joe Joyce, representing Team Great Britain, is chasing his country’s first gold medal since 2007 in Doha: “To walk in here and see the sheer scale of this arena is amazing. Everything here is top-notch, all shiny and spectacular. It’s going to be great to see this place packed with people, and I hope to put on a real show. Hopefully I’ll perform to my potential, and get to leave Qatar with a gold medal in the bag.”

Tickets are priced between QR10-50 and can be purchased online at http://www.virgintickets.qa and in Virgin Megastores in Villaggio Mall and Landmark Mall, as well as at the venue throughout the World Championships.

Seconds Out Before Doha 2015 As 260 Boxers Are Gearing Up For Gold

Today was announced the official list of confirmed boxers who will be competing in AIBA World Boxing Championships in Doha on 5-15 October 2015 following in the footsteps of legends Félix Savon and Zhou Shiming. Top boxers in ten weight categories from 73 countries will be contesting World Champions titles.

“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, Qatar, to compete in an astounding venue. For the 1st time, all boxers had to qualify to the World Championships ensuring that boxing fans will enjoy the most remarkable show the Elite of the boxing world has to offer“, said AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu.

Kicking off on 5 October at the state-of-the-art Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, the World Boxing Championships represent ten days of boxing action with 260 boxers taking part in this historic event, including 94 boxers from Europe, 66 from Asia, 51 from Americas, 32 from Africa and 17 boxers from Oceania region. Beyond the iconic gold medal, boxers will also be competing for 23 Olympic quota places to Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The current medal table leader Cuba are coming to the World Championships with a ten-men-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 Lázaro Alvarez (60kg), Daniyar Yeleussinov (69kg), Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (75kg), Julio César la Cruz (81kg) and Mahammadrasul Majidov (91+kg).

Ali Bin Hamad Al-Attiya Arena

“Doha is ready to welcome all of the boxers and officials to AIBA World Boxing Championships Doha 2015 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 respectively.

AIBA World Boxing Championships will be broadcast live in key markets on free-to-air channels, including BBC, Fox Africa and RAI Italy.

APB Heavyweight Champion Will Be Determined By Egorov vs Russo III

The APB World Championship Matches continues on Friday night in Moscow, Russia where Heavyweight (91 kg) Champion Aleksey Egorov defends his title for the first time against the number one contender Clemente Russo (ITA).

Boxing fans around the world can view the action from 19:00 (GMT +3) at https://www.youtube.com/user/AIBAproboxingTV while the event will also be broadcasted by TV Boetz.

Egorov established himself as the most dominant APB Heavyweight by winning all four of his matches, and he became the Inaugural Champion after a close points win over Russo last January.

That was the second time Egorov had beaten Russo in this competition, and though each bout proved to be incredibly narrow, they both took place in Italy which makes Egorov’s victories over such an outstanding competitor even more impressive.

The 24-year-old Champion is proud of his current APB achievements, but is firmly focused on adding to his superb reputation.

“I’m looking forward to this fight. I have been training hard and I’ll be ready to succeed. My first two matches with Russo were not easy at all. The audience was very supportive to him and I had to overcome the pressure, which I eventually did,” he said.

“Fighting in Italy isn’t much different than fighting anywhere else, and I got used to it. During the second fight, I even had supporters in the Italian audience. For our third match, I never pursue knockouts but it’s an awesome way to end a match, I would not be against ending the fight with a knockout.”

For the first time in the trilogy, Egorov will enjoy home advantage against Russo, but his decorated opponent has arrived in Moscow in tremendous form.

Cycle I victories over Anton Pinchuk (KAZ) and Roman Golovashchenko (UKR) have revitalised Russo’s APB career, and after a career which has seen him earn many major honours, a pro World Championship is finally in his grap.

The Italian has won two AIBA World Boxing Championships and two Olympic Games silver medals, but believes that becoming APB Champion would be: “a great achievement for me to reach, especially because I have dedicated two years of training for it. This would be one of the most important milestones for me to accomplish.”

Aleksey Egorov defends his title for the first time against the number one contender Clemente Russo

Unlike their first two matches which took place over six and eight rounds respectively, the title match will be a 12 round battle, which the challenger is more than happy with.

“I’m not nervous about the 12 rounds. Egorov is very skillful and strong, but I’m ready to go to Russia to win,” he confirmed.

The longer distance will suit the attributes of the two athletes, as they both have tremendous stamina and train intensely all year round.

Egorov uses a pressure heavy style with plenty of jabs that allows him to control matches, while Russo’s elusive movement and fluid footwork should open gaps during the bout.

A boxing match between two world class Heavyweights is always met with keen interest, but with the prestigious APB belt adding even more cachet to this contest, the event has the potential to be one of the most captivating moments of the year.

Doha 2015 World Boxing Championships Plans On Track – AIBA

The International Boxing Association Executive Committee meeting closed in Doha, Qatar today following a vast number of discussions and plans delivered throughout two days of working sessions.
AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu said: “I am very happy with the progress that we have been able to see in Doha in terms of the preparations to the AIBA World Boxing Championships. Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena is a state of the art venue and I am confident that we will witness an excellent event here”.

AIBA’s Corporate Social Responsibility Program ‘HeadsUp!’ was presented by the AIBA Executive Director, and it is due to be officially launched at the World Boxing Championships in Doha.

“Boxer’s health is a key priority for the International Boxing Association. The decision to remove headguards for all AIBA elite competitions was made following the vast number of studies on the boxers’ safety. However it is very important to continue educate our athletes and officials on the benefits of this rule change and this is why AIBA is going to launch ‘Heads Up!” campaign”, said AIBA Executive Director Mr Karim Bouzidi.

On the eve of the 90 Days To Go milestone to the AIBA World Boxing Champions Doha 2015, which will be marked on 11 July 2015, the progress report on its preparation was delivered by the Local Organising Committee during the Executive Committee meeting.

Qatar will be ready to deliver the AIBA World Boxing Championships on 8-18 October at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, Qatar Boxing Federation (QBF) President Mr Yusuf Ali Al Kadim informed the Executive Committee: “The Local Organizing Committee is working day and night in a remarkable team spirit among its staff members,” he said.

“This is reflected in the progress reports that we receive regularly and which indicate that we are on time as set in our plans.” he added.

The boxers will be able to qualify to AIBA World Boxing Championships Doha 2015 by competing in the following continental competitions – EUBC European Confederation Boxing Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria (August 7 – 15), AMBC American Confederation Boxing Championships in Vargas, Venezuela (August 17 – 22); OCBC Oceania Confederation Boxing Championships in Canberra, Australia (August 29 – September 1), ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Bangkok, Thailand (August 26 – September 5) and AFBC African Confederation Boxing Championships in Casablanca, Morocco (August 18 – 22).

AIBA Executive Committee meets in Doha, Qatar

AIBA Executive Committee meets in Doha, Qatar for three days of intense working sessions

The International Boxing Association Executive Committee meets in Doha, Qatar on 7 – 9 July 2015 in order to review business plans of the AIBA Confederations’ strategic development under the principles of good governance and transparency. The members will also discuss the development plans for key AIBA Commissions, such as Women, Athletes & Youth, Medical, Coaches as well as Referee and Judges Commission.

AIBA President Dr Wu at AIBA Executive Committee meeting in Doha, Qatar

“I would like to extend a warm welcome to the AIBA Executive Committee members and wish all of them fruitful discussions. It is my firm belief that by mutual dialogue and strong commitment to the development of the sport of boxing on all its levels, we will be able to ensure that our National Federations, athletes, coaches and other key stakeholders benefit from the decisions made in Doha”, said AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu.

Doha will be the venue for AIBA World Boxing Championships on 8-17 October 2015. Therefore the progress report on the Championships preparation will be delivered by the Local Organising Committee and a special venue visit will be held after the Executive Committee meeting.