AIBA Set to Move into Professional Boxing

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) have announced that the governing body for amateur boxing will make a major move into professional boxing.

A new programme, entitled AIBA Professional Boxing (APB), is to be launched in early 2013 and will feature both individual and national team bouts at national, continental and world levels.

It follows the AIBA run World Series of Boxing (WSB) competition which started last year and sees boxers compete without head guards, while being scored by three judges.

Like the WSB, the new APB will allow competitors to retain their Olympic eligibility despite boxing professionally.

C K Wu, the President of AIBA, said at a press conference: “Today, the AIBA Executive Committee has unanimously approved the creation of another revolutionary programme which is the AIBA Professional Boxing programme called APB.

“The main reasons to develop AIBA’s own professional boxing programme are as follows.

“First of all, I would like to change AIBA as the ultimate responsible body for the boxer’s entire boxing career including amateur and professional and would like to give more opportunities to all our boxers to compete and live in a better boxing world with a stable financial status and as respected role models for young generations.

“I would like to make of AIBA the true governing body to support all National Federations and grassroots including clubs by generating more revenues from the APB programme.

“I am also deeply determined to change the image and reputation of our sport with transparency, popularity and social contribution by taking the responsibility of managing the destinies of the sport of boxing in all forms.

“I am determined to launch professional boxing under the umbrella of AIBA so that we will be the true and respected leader of our sport, and not any other organisation.”

Wu is hoping to turn back decades of tradition where boxers turn professional after competing successfully at the Olympics.

The new professional competitions are due to start in 2013.