SINCE Italy in 2009, the World championships have been in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and currently in Doha, the first time the tournament has been held in the Middle East. But the 2017 edition of the competition will return to Europe. Germany will hold the next World championships with Hamburg the host city.

โ€œHamburg proved its appetite for boxing when it held the APB finals in September, and the countryโ€™s capacity for hosting major sporting events like the AIBA World Boxing Championships is clear. After the phenomenal success of this yearโ€™s tournament in Doha and the important legacy we will leave for boxing in the Middle East, we will return to Europe in two yearsโ€™ time for another thrilling showcase of boxing,โ€ย said AIBA president Dr Ching Kuo Wu.

Mr Jรผrgen Kyas, AIBA Executive Committee Member and President of the German Boxing Federation, said,ย โ€œThe Qatar Boxing Federation has done an outstanding job in Doha, and this underlines the confidence AIBA has in our federationโ€™s capacity to organise an event of this magnitude. We are already looking forward to hosting the worldโ€™s most exciting boxing tournament, and the World Boxing Championships Hamburg 2017 will be of huge importance to the continuing growth of German boxing.โ€

Following the meeting, AIBA Vice President and EUBC President Franco Falcinelli was swift to add his words of support for the city.ย โ€œWith Hamburg being awarded the 2017 World Boxing Championships, Europe is proud of hosting this major event for our sport in Germany for the third time after Munich in 1982 and Berlin in 1995. I’m confident it will be an amazing Championships in a city with a long boxing tradition,โ€ said Mr Falcinelli.