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World Boxing publishes Competition Calendar for 2025

World Boxing has published an initial competition calendar for 2025 which features four World Boxing Cup Events and the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 for Elite men and women.

The calendar is available on the World Boxing website and can be viewed HERE.

The centrepiece of the calendar is the World Boxing Championships 2025 in September in Liverpool, England which will be the first ever global championships for Elite men and women hosted by World Boxing.

It will be preceded by three events in the World Boxing Cup series, which is a new competition format developed by World Boxing whereby elite male and female boxers accrue ranking points over several stages of competition during the calendar year. It is designed to bring greater structure and meaning to the competition calendar in Olympic-style boxing and culminates in a Finals event where the stage winners and other top-ranked boxers compete for the World Boxing Cup trophy.

The World Boxing Cup 2025 follows the 2024 series which featured competitions in England, USA and Mongolia and culminated in a Finals event in England in November 2024.

The first event of the World Boxing Cup 2025 will be the “World Boxing Cup: Brazil 2025 – Foz do Iguaçu” which will be held at the Rafain Palace Hotel & Convention from 30 March – 7 April 2025.

It will be followed by a World Boxing Cup in Kazakhstan in June and a third one in July at a location to be confirmed. The World Boxing Cup season finals will be held in New Delhi, India, in November 2025 following the World Boxing Championships.

The competition calendar for 2025 has been created to ensure that boxers from National Federations aligned to World Boxing have a range of competitive opportunities in the next 12 months.  It will be supplemented by a calendar of smaller competition opportunities delivered by World Boxing member National Federations, which will be published shortly in the Competition section of the World Boxing website.

Elite male and female boxers from the 60 plus National Federations that are members of World Boxing are eligible to take part in these events. National Federations that are not currently members will be able to participate provided their request is approved by the Executive Board of World Boxing.

For the World Boxing Championships and this year’s World Boxing Cup the number of weight classes has been extended to ten each for men and women to reflect World Boxing’s updated competition rules HERE.

The weight classes are:

MEN’S WEIGHTS CLASSES WOMEN’S WEIGHT CLASSES
Category nameWeight classCategory nameWeight class
Flyweight / M50kg47-50 kgLight-flyweight / W48kg45-48 kg
Bantamweight / M55kg50-55 kgFlyweight / W51kg48-51kg
Lightweight / M60kg55-60 kgBantamweight / W54kg51-54 kg
Welterweight / M65kg60-65 kgFeatherweight / W57kg54-57 kg
Light-middleweight / M70kg65-70 kgLightweight / W60kg57-60 kg
Middleweight / M75kg70-75 kgWelterweight / W65kg60-65 kg
Light-heavyweight / M80kg75-80 kgLight-middleweight / W70kg65-70 kg
Cruiserweight/ 85kg80-85 kgMiddleweight / W75kg70-75 kg
Heavyweight / M90kg85-90 kgLight-heavyweight / W80kg75-80 kg
Super-heavyweight / M90+kg90 kg+Heavyweight / W80kg+80 kg+

India to Host World Boxing Cup Finals and World Boxing Congress in November 2025

The World Boxing Cup Finals and the World Boxing Congress in 2025 will be held in New Delhi, India in November 2025.

The decision underscores India’s growing prominence on the global boxing stage and reaffirms its capability to host world-class sporting events.

The World Boxing Cup Final 2025 will be the culmination of the World Boxing Cup series in 2025 and will be preceded by three ranking events which are scheduled to take place in Brazil, Kazakhstan and Germany.   

The competition will take place at the same time as the World Boxing Congress 2025 which will host stakeholders, officials, and dignitaries from the global boxing community. The Congress will include elections for the Presidency and Executive Board and serve as a platform to discuss critical developments, strategies, and the future roadmap for the sport.

The President of the Boxing Federation of India, Mr. Ajay Singh, said: “”It is a proud moment for India to be recognized by World Boxing for hosting such prestigious events. This opportunity not only highlights India’s organizational excellence but also underscores our unwavering commitment to ensuring boxing remains an integral part of the Olympic movement. We are honoured to contribute to the sport’s legacy and look forward to welcoming the global boxing community to India in 2025.”

The President of World Boxing, Boris van der Vorst, added: “I am delighted to announce that India has been awarded the hosting rights for the World Boxing Cup Final and the World Boxing Congress, both scheduled for November 2025.  India is an important leader in the world of boxing and has consistently demonstrated its passion for the sport and its ability to organise successful international events.

“With a proven track record, including hosting global championships, India is a deserving host for these, our most prestigious events. I want to thank India and especially the President of the Boxing Federation of India, Ajay Singh, for his leadership in World Boxing and helping ensure that Boxing remains a part of the Olympics in Los Angeles 2028.

“We are confident that India will deliver an exceptional experience for athletes, officials and fans alike, demonstrating global appeal of boxing. We look forward to an unforgettable celebration of boxing in 2025”.

India’s bid to host these events is expected to inspire aspiring athletes, attract global attention to Indian boxing, and strengthen India’s in the international boxing arena.

The Boxing Federation of India is fully committed to delivering a memorable and impactful experience for athletes, officials, and fans worldwide. Preparations are underway to ensure that the two events set new benchmarks for excellence in hosting international sporting events within the country.

World Boxing reaches 60 members as Executive Board meeting approves five new applications and selects hosts for 2025 World Boxing Cup series and 2027 World Boxing Championships

World Boxing has reached the milestone of 60 members after the applications to join from the National Federations for boxing in Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Jordan, Myanmar and Palestine were approved at the most recent meeting of its Executive Board (12 December 2024).

The five new members have completed a rigorous application process to join World Boxing. They are deemed to be in good standing and, through their statutes and operating processes, are able to demonstrate: a transparent and open election process; the existence and operation of WADA-recognised anti-doping polices and processes; a structured, dispute resolution and appeals process; a solid national and international boxing sports programme; and formal recognition by either their National Olympic Committee (NOC) or Ministry for Sport

The meeting of World Boxing’s Executive Board also confirmed a series of decisions relating to its competition calendar which included:

  • To progress negotiations with the National Federations of Brazil, Germany, Kazakhstan and India to host World Boxing Cup events in 2025. The plan is to hold the first World Boxing Cup of the year in Brazil in March 2025, followed by competitions in Germany, Kazakhstan and India. Dates and venues will be confirmed in January 2025
  • The final World Boxing Cup of the year in New Delhi, India, in November 2025 will also host the third World Boxing Congress, which will include elections for the Presidency and Executive Board
  • Following a bidding process, Astana in Kazakhstan was selected as the location for the 2027 Elite World Boxing Championships for men and women

Full details of World Boxing’s competition calendar for 2025 will be published once it has been approved by the Sport and Competition Committee.

The President of World Boxing, Boris van der Vorst, said: “World Boxing has achieved an enormous amount in the last 12 months and to approach the end of the year with 60 members is a fantastic achievement and conclusive evidence of the widespread desire for change that exists in international boxing.

“The decision of so many National Federations to join World Boxing is a sign of the critical importance of remaining part of the Olympic Movement to the future health and stability of our sport and a recognition that this can only be achieved by countries joining and supporting World Boxing.

“After the huge success of our first World Boxing Cup series in 2024, it is fantastic that we have four such strong bids to host the competition in 2025 and I would like to thank the National Federations of Brazil, Germany, Kazakhstan and India for their ongoing support and commitment.

“It is great news that we have been able to confirm Astana in Kazakhstan as the host of our second Elite World Boxing Championships in 2027 after next year’s first edition which will take place in Liverpool, England in September 2025. I would like to thank the Kazakhstan Boxing Federation for its commitment to World Boxing in agreeing to host both a World Boxing Cup and a World Boxing Championships over the next three years.

“I am also very grateful to the Boxing Federation of India for its ongoing support in bidding to host both a World Boxing Cup and our next Congress in 2025 in New Delhi.

“That we are able to put these dates in place and continue to build our competition calendar is a sign of the increased stability that World Boxing is bringing to the sport for our members and augurs very well for the future.

“The momentum is building and I look forward to announcing more members in the near future as we are continuing to process applications from more countries who want to be part of World Boxing and support our mission to ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement.”

Gennadiy Golovkin, President of the Kazakhstan National Olympic Committee and Chair of World Boxing’s Olympic Commission, added: “It is a great honour and responsibility for Kazakhstan to host the 2027 World Boxing Championship, which will take place in the pre-Olympic cycle. Our country has successful experience in hosting large-scale world sports competitions at the highest level, and I am confident that this tournament will be no exception. Understanding the importance of this World Championship on the eve of the Olympics in Los Angeles, I thank World Boxing for the trust placed in us.”

World Boxing was launched in April 2023. On 7 May 2024, it held the first formal meeting with the IOC which signalled the start of formal collaboration aimed at establishing a pathway for boxing to remain in the Olympic Games.

On 26 September 2024, World Boxing announced that it had set-up an Olympic Commission, chaired by President of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan, to support and assist the process of developing a pathway to ensuring that boxing is restored Games.

Four gold medals for Brazil on closing day of World Boxing Cup Finals 2024

An exhilarating final day of action at the World Boxing Cup Finals 2024 at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, England, saw Brazil emerge as the big winners with four gold medals for Jucielen Cerqueira Romeu (50kg), Luiz Oliveira (57kg), Breno De Carvalho (63.5kg) and Joel Ramos Da Silva (92kg+).

The only reverse on a triumphant day for the Brazilian team came in the women’s middleweight (75kg) contest where South Korean’s Paris Olympian, Suyeon Seong, outpointed Viviani Pereira.

One of the best wins of the day for Brazil came in a high-class men’s featherweight (57kg) final between two Paris Olympians which saw Luiz Oliveira narrowly outpoint (3-2) Shudai Harada, of Japan, to land gold.

Speaking in the mixed zone after the fight, a delighted Oliveira said: “I certainly knew I had won this fight. My opponent is a tough opponent, but I managed to overcome it. And that’s it. Another one for Brazil, another gold. I ended the year with a flourish.

“This has been a very good event organized by World Boxing. A world-class structure and I am very happy. I just want to thank World Boxing, thank my team and thank my family. To all the people who were there cheering for me, thank you very much. Another gold for us – that’s it, the mission is accomplished. We came here, we accomplished it with another gold and from now on that’s the only way it’s going to be.

“My next step is to enjoy a well-deserved vacation, and right after the vacation I’ll get back to work hard, because 2025 promises a world championship and I want to show myself to be the best in the world.”

The next best performing country on the final day was England with three wins as Dione Burman (66kg), Odel Kamara (71kg) and Dimeji Shittu (80kg) struck gold for the hosts.

South Korea secured two places on top of the podium, while Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Mongolia each had a single gold medallist.  No medals were handed out in the heavyweight (92kg) division as the final could not take place owing to injury.

Two of the standout performances on finals day came from Brazil’s Paris 2024 Olympian, Jucielen Cerqueira Romeu, and England’s Dimeji Shittu.

In the women’s featherweight final, Jucielen Cerqueira Romeu, showed her full range of skills to overcome a game challenge from the home nation’s, Vivien Parsons, whose high-octane style had seen her stop her quarter-final and semi-final opponents.

On day of wafer-thin margins in the men’s finals, England’s Dimeji Shittu, delivered the most convincing victory as he won every round of his light-heavyweight clash with Go Wakaya of Japan.

Shittu said: “I am very happy with my performance. I just went in there today and had fun. I didn’t really put too much emphasis on winning, I just wanted to go and enjoy it.

“I have got people from my club here with me. I don’t really box in the UK very often, being part of the GB Boxing squad, but every time my mates are there, it’s always a buzz. I feed off the energy.

“Just being here watching all the other boxers, all the boxing. I love it, man. I can’t get enough of it. Honestly. I just love boxing. I love watching it, I just love the sport.”

The final day of action opened with six women’s contests that saw boxers from South Korea secure two gold medals as Oh Yeonji and Suyeon Seong enjoyed wins at lightweight (60kg) and middleweight (75kg) respectively. 

The two South Korean victories came either side of the only final’s day contest which featured two boxers from the same country as England’s Dione Burman and Kyala Allen clashed at welterweight (66kg). 

A see-sawing bout began with Burman using her height and reach to secure an early advantage, however Allen’s all-action style gave her the better of round two. A close third saw Burman do just enough to edge the win by the narrowest of 3-2 split decisions and secure her second gold medal of the year in the World Boxing Cup.

On the challenge of boxing against a teammate who she trains with on a regular basis, Burman said: “It felt a bit weird but she’s a good girl and it was a good fight. I didn’t let it affect my strategy and I just went in calmly and it was great to get the win.”

The other gold medals in the women’s weights went to Japan’s Hikanu Shinohaira at light-flyweight (50kg) and Haiao-Wen Huang from Chinese Taipei at bantamweight (54kg). 

The men’s competition began with a top-class flyweight (51kg) scrap which was narrowly edged by Mongolia’s Battulga Aldarkhishig who managed to withstand a barnstorming final round from England’s Ellis Trowbridge to hang on for a 3-2 split decision win.

Two Brazilian wins came next as the highly entertaining Breno De Carvalho overcame Shion Nishiyama of Japan in the light-welterweight division to follow Luiz Oliveira’s victory and join his team mate on top of the podium.

The light-middleweight (71kg) final saw Odel Kamara emerge as one of the breakout stars of Finals week as he defeated Japan’s highly experienced Paris Olympian, Sewonrets Okazawa, to take gold.  The bout went to the judges’ scorecards after a clash of heads halted the action in round three however the Englishman had built up a strong lead and was declared the winner.

Demeji Shittu’s light-heavyweight victory over Go Wakaya of Japan was next-up before super-heavyweight, Joel Ramos Da Silva, rounded proceedings off in style for Brazil with a 3-2 win over Italy’s Diego Lenzi to land his country’s fourth gold medal and ensure they were the top performing team on the day.

A full list of the winners from the final day of action is:

WEIGHTGOLDSILVER
Women
50kgHikanu Shinohaira (JAP)Guanxia Xiong (CHN)
54kgHaiao-Wen Huang (TPE)Yesugen Oyuntsetseg (MGL)
57kgJucielen Cerqueira Romeu (BRA)Vivien Parsons (ENG)
60kgYeonji Oh (KOR)Rebeca De Lima Santos (BRA)
66kgDione Burman (ENG)Keylan Allen (ENG)
75kgSuyeon Seong (KOR)Viviani Pereira (BRA)
Men
51kgBattulga Aldarkhishig (MGL)Ellis Trowbridge (ENG)
57kgLuiz Oliveira (BRA)Shudai Harada (JPN)
63.5kgBreno De Carvalho (BRA)Shion Nishiyama (JPN)
71kgOdel Kamara (ENG)Sewonrets Okazawa (JPN)
80kgDimeji Shittu (ENG)Go Wakaya (JPN)
92kg +Joel Ramos Da Silva (BRA)Diego Lenzi (ITA)

All of today’s results and images from the bouts can be viewed here.

Every bout from the four days of action in this week’s World Boxing Cup Finals 2024 can be viewed on World Boxing YouTube channel here.

The World Boxing Cup Finals 2024 was organised by England Boxing in association with World Boxing and GB Boxing and was supported by the National Lottery, UK Sport and Sheffield City Council.

For further updates follow World Boxing on social media:

Home nation leads the way as England goes into the final day of the World Boxing Cup 2024 with seven boxers going for gold

The World Boxing Cup Finals 2024 continued today (Thursday 28 November 2024) at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, England, as 46 boxers from 12 countries competed in 23 bouts.

It proved to be a good day for England as six of their boxers enjoyed victories and means the home nation will have four men and three women in tomorrow’s finals as heavyweight, Isaac Okoh, received a bye in his semi-final to go straight into Saturday’s final.

The women’s 66kg final promises to be a particularly intriguing battle as it will see England teammates Kayla Allen and Dione Burman square off in the lone bout on Saturday’s schedule with two competitors from the same country.

Other nations with a strong interest in the final day of competition include Brazil which has three women and three men going for gold. Japan has five finalists while Korea and Mongolia have three competitors and two competitors, respectively in the finals. China, Chinese Taipei and Italy each have one.

Seven of the boxers that will feature in tomorrow’s finals competed at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris and include Brazil’s Luiz Oliveira and Shudai Harada of Japan who will square off in the men’s 57kg bout. It promises to be an top class contest in what has been one of the stand-out weight classes at this week’s competition in Sheffield.

The finals are set to begin Saturday at 12:00 GMT and will be broadcast live on the World Boxing YouTube channel here where fans can also see every other bout from this week’s action in the inaugural World Boxing Cup Finals 2024.

To stay up to date with all news, schedule, results, and live stream information, click here.

Japan continues to impress on day two of World Boxing Cup Finals with four victories

The World Boxing Cup Finals 2024 continued today (Thursday 28 November 2024) at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, England, with the completion of the quarter-finals.

The action on day two consisted of 24 bouts across six weight divisions, three for men and three for women.

After a successful opening day, the Japanese team continued to impress with four victories and will have six boxers in tomorrow’s semi-finals. Other teams that enjoyed success on day two included Brazil, Thailand, England and Mongolia who each recorded three wins.

All of the boxers that are through to the final two days of competition are guaranteed a medal and will battle it out to determine what colour they will leave with over 26 semi-finals on Friday and 13 finals on Saturday.

Every bout of the World Boxing Cup Finals 2024 will be broadcast live on the World Boxing YouTube channel, linked here.

The World Boxing Cup Finals 2024 consists of 13 weight classes, six for women and seven for men. More than 100 boxers from 20 national federations are competing in Sheffield as they start their journey to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and win gold at the first-ever World Boxing Cup Finals.

To stay up to date with all news, schedule, results, and live stream information, click here.

Opening day of high-quality action at the World Boxing Cup Finals sees boxers from Japan, Brazil and Korea impress

The World Boxing Cup Finals 2024 saw forty-two boxers take the ring on day one of competition at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, England.

Two sessions of high-quality action saw five Paris 2024 Olympians, including three from Brazil, advance to the next round of the competition.

Another country which enjoyed a good opening day was Japan which led the way with five wins from five as it made an impressive start to its first appearance in World Boxing Cup event. In addition to Brazil’s three victories, Korea also nabbed a trio of wins on the opening day of competition.

Tomorrow’s (Thursday 28 November 2024) action will begin at 11:00 GMT and see 24 more bouts consisting of 12 men’s and 12 women’s matchups.

Each bout of the World Boxing Cup Finals 2024 will be broadcast live on the World Boxing YouTube channel, linked here.

The World Boxing Cup Finals 2024 consists of 13 weight classes, six women and seven men, as nearly 20 federations are in contention in Sheffield. Over 100 boxers look to start their Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games journeys and win gold at the first-ever World Boxing Cup Final.

This World Boxing Cup Finals is the first in the new Olympic cycle and were implemented to help competitors solidify positions in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

To stay up to date with all news, schedule, results, and live stream information, click here.

Twenty-one bouts will take place on first day of action at World Boxing Cup Finals in Sheffield following Tuesday’s draw

TWENTY-ONE bouts will take place on the first day of action at the World Boxing Cup Finals 2024 (27-30 November 2024) at the English Institute of Sport Sheffield following Tuesday’s draw.

Thirteen boxers from the host nation, Great Britain, were in the draw, which featured large contingents from Korea with 11 boxers and 10 from Brazil. 

Other countries that will compete in the tournament include China, Chinese Taipei, Pakistan, Italy, Germany, Japan, Mongolia, Panama, Singapore, Switzerland and Thailand.

One boxer who will be looking forward to this week’s tournament is German super-heavyweight, Nikita Putilov, who won gold on his last appearance in Sheffield at the ‘World Boxing Cup: GB Open’ back in January.

He will be joined by one of Brazil’s Paris Olympians, Luiz Gabriel Oliveira, who will compete in the featherweight category.

Wednesday’s schedule and the draw sheets are available below:

Day 1 Schedule
Women’s 75kg
Women’s 66kg
Women’s 60kg
Women’s 57kg
Women’s 54kg
Women’s 50kg
Men’s 92+kg
Men’s 92kg
Men’s 80kg
Men’s 71kg
Men’s 63.5kg
Men’s 57kg
Men’s 51kg

Other event information can be seen at the event website: https://www.englandboxing.org/world-boxing-championships/.

The action will get underway at 11:00 on Wednesday 27 November 2024. The tournament will be streamed HERE on World Boxing’s YouTube channel.

The World Boxing Cup Finals 2024 will be delivered by England Boxing in association with World Boxing and GB Boxing and is supported by the National Lottery and Sheffield City Council.

World Boxing will be posting updates throughout the competition on its social media channels: