World Boxing will host its inaugural world championships in Liverpool next year, the governing body said on Tuesday, as it continues efforts to establish itself as the sport’s recognised international federation.
World Boxing, launched in 2023, has 44 members and is looking to fill a leadership void left by the embattled International Boxing Association (IBA).
The IBA was stripped of recognition last year by the International Olympic Committee, which has not included the sport on the Los Angeles 2028 Games programme yet and has urged national boxing federations to create a new global boxing body to replace the IBA.
Ireland boycotted the IBA’s 2023 World Championships over governance concerns but are currently still affiliated to them, so are unlikely to compete in Liverpool unless the IABA (Irish Athletic Boxing Association) opt out of the association in the meantime.
A vote to change the IABA constitution, which would have allowed a change of federation, narrowly failed to get the required 75% at an EGM held in August last year.
President of the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI), Sarah Keane, stated last month that a new national body may need to be set up if the IABA did not sever its ties with the Russia-led IBA.
World Boxing’s championships will feature both men’s and women’s competitions simultaneously, unlike the two separate tournaments organised by the IBA.
Boxers will compete in ten weight categories, which will be finalised later this year.
The championships will take place from 4-14 September, 2025.
“Liverpool is a globally famous city with a proud heritage in boxing and it will be a fantastic place to host our first ever Elite World Boxing Championships,” the body’s president Boris van der Vorst said.
“This will be a superb showcase for the sport of Olympic boxing, particularly as it will be the first time ever that the men and women’s competition will run alongside each other as part of the same Championships.”
The IBA will also be organising two world championships in 2025, with the men’s tournament taking place in Astana, Kazakhstan, while the women’s competition will be held in Belgrade, Serbia.