BELGRADE, August 27, 2021 – This year’s International Boxing Day aims to drive home this core message: “There is only one boxing”, whether amateur or professional.
The president of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Umar Kremlev expressed this during a media roundtable held in Belgrade, Serbia as part of global events scheduled to mark the important day on Friday, August 27.
WE ARE ONE He added: “Our task is to be together in everything and today our national federations, sportsmen and sportswomen have demonstrated that we are united. I’m really happy that this manifestation turned out to be a celebration not just for boxers but for regular people, for other sports communities.”
Echoing what the AIBA president said, AIBA secretary general István Kovács added: “The International Boxing Day is not an amateur boxing day or the professional boxing day, we are one family and if you ever in your life step for one minute into the ring you belong to the family and every family deserves to celebrate at least one day a year and thank God we have the chance to celebrate together.
“And it is not just the amateur association celebrating but also the professional association. I already spoke with the World Boxing organisation (WBO) president and he was very happy about the idea of celebrating together.”
INTERNATIONAL BOXING DAY International Boxing Day first took place in 2017 and was internationally recognised by AIBA in 2019. The now AIBA president came up with the idea when he was the secretary general of the Russian Boxing Federation. It used to be celebrated every year on July 22 but was rescheduled to tie in with the first edition of the AIBA World Championships, which were held in Havana, Cuba in 1974 from August 17 to 30. The new August 27 date was confirmed in July 2021.
“Through this day, people will find out what boxing is, what kind of sports culture it is, that we have very strict rules, and we have a very long and rich history… Our task is for every newborn child to know what boxing is because AIBA wants boxing to be developed and such development creates champions and champions create mass interest,” Kremlev explained.
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