Press Release

World Boxing approves applications from four new members at its second annual Congress in Colorado USA

World Boxing has approved applications from the National Federations (NFs) for boxing in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Guatemala and Laos to take its membership to 55 countries.

The news came at the end of World Boxing’s second annual Congress (3 November 2024) which was held in Pueblo, Colorado, following the conclusion of last week’s successful U19 World Boxing Championships.

The addition of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which are two of the world’s leading boxing nations, is a major coup for World Boxing and significantly increases the footprint of the new International Federation (IF) in Asia where it now has 15 members. 

Uzbekistan has been one of the leading boxing nations at the last two Olympic Games and topped the medal table in Paris with five golds.  Kazakhstan is widely regarded as a powerhouse in the sport.

The President of World Boxing, Boris van der Vorst, said: “On the date of our second Congress, it is fantastic that World Boxing is able to welcome four new countries whom I am sure will all play an important role in our mission to ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement.

“Only last week we announced seven new members to take World Boxing past the milestone of 50 countries. To be able to announce four more members – including two major powers in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan – so soon after this, is a sign of the growing momentum shift in international boxing. 

“It is clear that there has been a change in impetus and that more National Federations want to join World Boxing as they recognise it is the only way to keep the Olympic dreams of their boxers alive.”

The announcement of four new members was the main news from World Boxing’s second Congress, which was attended in person or virtually by representatives from 43 member countries.

No elections were scheduled however members held discussions and votes on a series of measures which included:

• The approval of minutes from World Boxing’s Inaugural Congress in 2023
• The approval of 27 new full members since last year’s Congress
• Discussion and approval of amendments to the World Boxing Statutes
• Discussion and approval of updated Competition Rules

The Congress also included a speech by the President, Boris van der Vorst, and reports from the Secretary General, Simon Toulson, and the Chairs of the Committees for Sport and Competition; Medical and Anti-doping; and Finance and Audit.

The agenda and all of the papers from World Boxing’s 2024 Congress are publicly available HERE. 

World Boxing was launched in April 2023.  On 7 May 2024, it held its 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 the President of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan, Gennadiy Golovkin, to support the process of developing a pathway to make sure that boxing is restored to the Olympic programme for Los Angeles 2028.

The U19 World Boxing Championships in Colorado was World Boxing’s first global championships. Its next one will be the 2025 Elite World Boxing Championships for men and women which will be held in Liverpool, England, in September 2025.

World Boxing, the International Federation established to ensure boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement, now has 51 members after it approved seven new applications from the National Federations for boxing in Andorra, Belgium, Iraq, Lithuania, Madagascar, Kyrgyzstan and Thailand. 

All of the applications have been approved by World Boxing’s Executive Board and significantly enhance its global footprint. Madagascar is the third African nation to join after Nigeria and Algeria. Iraq is the second Arabic country to become a member.

The addition of the Thailand Boxing Association, whose President Mr. Pichai Chunhavajira has been the President of the Asian Boxing Confederation since March 2022, boosts World Boxing’s influence in the region, where it now has 11 members including India, Japan, Bhutan, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines and Singapore. 

The announcement of the seven new members comes in the same week that World Boxing is staging its first global championships, the U19 World Boxing Championships, at the Pueblo Convention Centre in Colorado USA, 26 October – 2 November 2024. 

The Championships will be followed on Sunday 3 November 2024 by World Boxing’s second annual Congress. 

All seven of the new National Federations 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, able to demonstrate: 

• A transparent and open election process for the appointment of office bearing roles 
• The existence and operation of WADA-recognised anti-doping polices and processes 
• Evidence of a structured, dispute resolution and appeals process that is either fully independent or subject to external input 
• Formal recognition by either their National Olympic Committee (NOC) or Ministry for Sport 
• A solid national and international boxing sports programme 

The President of World Boxing, Boris van der Vorst, said: “To have surpassed the milestone of 50 members is hugely significant for World Boxing and conclusive proof of both the desire for change that exists in international boxing and the widespread acknowledgement by so many National Federations that boxing has to continue to be part of the Olympic Games. 

“I would like to thank all of my colleagues and the other boxing leaders across the world that have worked together with us to reach this significant point in the evolution of World Boxing and I look forward to working with other National Federations as we continue to grow our membership further.

“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 and more countries who recognise that joining World Boxing and is the only way of ensuring that their boxers will be able to pursue their dreams of competing on the biggest stage in sport at the Olympic Games.” 

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 to the Olympic Games.