Lausanne, Switzerland (27 October 2023) – National Federations from all over the world are encouraged to register their athletes for the IBA Junior Men’s and Women’s World Boxing Championships that takes place from 24 November – 4 December 2023 in Yerevan, Armenia. The registration lasts until midnight CET on Monday, 30 October. National Federations are encouraged to not miss this opportunity and enlist their young talents through the IBA Database.
The last junior world-scale events were held in 2015 with the men’s tournament in St Petersburg, Russia, and the women’s taking place in Chinese Taipei. This time, the joint event will unite young boxers from around the globe in Armenia’s capital to compete in 13 junior men’s and 13 women’s weight categories.
IBA Secretary General and CEO Chris Roberts OBE said, ‘We are giving more and more opportunities to our grassroots boxers to progress. It is an absolute priority to raise boxers from their young age and bring them to elite level well-prepared for top-tier bouts. That is the reason why we revived the World Championships for 15-16-years-old athletes. Junior boxing is exciting with its passion and emotions, and I am looking forward to witnessing champions crowned.’
In a testament to the power and importance of IBA events for young boxers, Curaçao boxer Christine Francisca, 16, welcomes the opportunity be one of the two team members representing her country competing in the 75kg division. ‘I aim to become a champion. I do feel proud and a little bit responsible for making the sport known, for getting other people to join, to represent my country that normally doesn’t get represented in boxing. Just a little bit of pressure, not too much though,’ Francisca stated.
‘I know about IBA and I am very proud to have a chance of competing at the World Championships. It was surprising for me to see how tight the boxing community truly is. Wherever you go, you can see that the group is very supportive, everybody helps each other. That is something I love very much about our sport. I do feel that it is a family sometimes,’ she added.
