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15 Days to go to the start of the 2017 AIBA World Championships in Hamburg

August 11th, 2017 / IBA

The XIX edition of the AIBA Men’s World Championships begin in Hamburg, Germany on 25 August, with 279 of the world’s best boxers coming together for nine days of Elite action in the city’s Sporthalle venue. In total, 85 nations will be represented, up from 69 in Doha two years ago, underlining AIBA’s successful efforts to expand the pool of boxing talent and growth of the sport around the globe in recent years.

“Hamburg is ready, AIBA is ready, and the world is ready to once again witness boxing’s most prestigious tournament put the focus firmly back where it should be, on the sport we love, promote and support. The mixture of defending champions, Olympic champions, experienced athletes and exciting first-time debutants is set to make this one of the most competitive and unpredictable World Championships in memory, and the partners we are working with will make it one of the biggest in AIBA history,” said AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu.

 

For the first time, the sole qualification routes for Hamburg were the five Continental Championships held between April and June this year. Among the biggest names to make it through were the Cuban duo Julio Cesar La Cruz (81kg) and Lazaro Alvarez (60kg), each seeking a remarkable fourth straight title, Ireland’s Joe Ward (81kg), who will arrive fresh from winning a third-straight European title in Kharkiv, and Rio 2016 finalists Hasanboy Dusmatov and Yurberjen Martinez (49kg), both looking to rekindle one of the great modern rivalries at Light Flyweight.

Russia’s Rio 2016 Olympic Champion Evgeny Tishchenko and exciting English prospect Cheavon Clarke will be among the favourites at Heavyweight (91kg), while a tight Middleweight (75kg) competition is in prospect as the likes of India’s Krishan Vikas and Hungary’s Zoltan Harcsa chase their first world title.

“To host the 2017 World Championships is a great honour for Hamburg and for the German Boxing Federation, and the quality of boxers that have qualified, the level of partners and sponsors that AIBA have brought on board and the breadth of media coverage we will be able to achieve make it all the more exciting. We are ready to show what Germany and its boxing team is capable of in and out of the ring, and look forward to putting on a show worthy of the occasion,” said Jurgen Kyas, President of the German Boxing Federation.

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