The International Boxing Association holds elite World Championships for men, women and youth boxers.


Men's World Championships

The International Boxing Association (IBA) can trace its men's World Championships back to the first edition in Havana in Cuba in 1974.

On that occasion the gold medallists included Cuban Teófilo Stevenson, who would end his career as a triple Olympic champion at heavyweight.

Tashkent in Uzbekistan is now due to host the next edition of the flagship event, in May 2023, with the competition on a two-year cycle.

This will be the 22nd World Championships held and prize money is set to double.

Serbian capital Belgrade held the most recent edition of the Championships in 2021 after it was moved from New Delhi in India.

Eighty-eight countries and 510 boxers were represented at the Štark Arena.

Cuba topped the medal table with three golds and two bronze medals, in front of Kazakhstan who ended with two golds, two silver and a bronze.

Twenty-five countries won medals in all.

Belgrade staged the Men's World Championships last time out in 2021 ©IBA
Belgrade staged the Men's World Championships last time out in 2021 ©IBA

For the first time in the IBA's history, medal winners were awarded prize money.

Gold medallists received $100,000 with silver medallists earning $50,000 and bronze medallists taking home $25,000.

The overall prize purse was $2.6 million and belts were also awarded to the champions for the first time.

White gloves replaced the traditional red and blue as the event's official gloves.

This was to "symbolise the fresh start, fairness and transparency of major events" under the IBA banner.


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Women's World Championships

Scranton in the United States hosted the first Women's World Championships in 1991.

The latest edition was the 13th to be held and took place in New Delhi in 2023.

With the event on a two-year rotation, the Championships returned in India after the 2022 gathering in Istanbul was held a year late due to COVID-19.

New Delhi 2023 was the first event where digital evaluation and bout review was introduced.

Hosts India topped the medal table after winning four golds.

China won three golds, a silver and three bronze medals to finish second.

India was the last host of the Women's World Championships in 2023 ©IBA
India was the last host of the Women's World Championships in 2023 ©IBA

Bouts took place at the at the K.D. Jadhav Indoor Hall.

As with the men's event in Belgrade, medallists were awarded prize money for the first time in history.

Gold medallists in all 12 categories received $100,000 while silver medallists earned $50,000band bronze winners gained $25,000.

Prize money is due to be doubled for the 2025 World Championships, in a host to be confirmed.


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Youth World Championships

The latest edition of the Youth World Championships took place in La Nucía in Spain between November 14 and 26 in 2022.

Spain was awarded the event in September 2022 and competition took place at the Ciudad Deportiva Camilo Cano arena.

It was the first global level boxing event in Spain, in the 100th year of the Spanish Boxing Federation.

The Youth World Boxing Championships is normally held every two years.

Nearly 600 boxers aged 17, 18 and 19 from 73 countries took part in the event in Spain.

Twenty-five sets of medals were on offer in total - 13 for men and 12 for women.

The Youth World Championships last took place in La Nucía in Spain in 2022, where Uzbekistan topped the medal table ©IBA
The Youth World Championships last took place in La Nucía in Spain in 2022, where Uzbekistan topped the medal table ©IBA

Uzbekistan topped the medal table, winning five golds, three silvers and two bronzes.

India won more medals overall with 11 - but they only claimed four golds to sit second in the standings.

Thirty-eight countries were represented on the various podiums.

The 2022 Youth World Boxing Championships was the fourth edition of the event in a row where men and women competed alongside one another, having done so in Kielce in Poland in 2021, Hungarian capital Budapest in 2018 and Sofia in Bulgaria in 2014.

Separate youth events for men and women date back to 1979.