THE opening ceremony is done, the draw is in and the first bouts are underway at the AIBA menโs World championships at the Stark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.
For some boxers itโs been a long wait to get to this moment. Great Britainโs Harris Akbar had been biding his time during the last Olympic cycle. Now he gets his shot at one of the major international tournaments. Heโll have his first bout at the Worlds on Friday (October 29) at 71kgs.
โIt was just waiting and believing in myself. For the past couple of years obviously being behind Pat McCormack, there wasnโt much I could do. Iโm just glad GBโs given me this chance. My first major as a senior, I cannot wait for it to be honest. More than anything Iโm excited,โ he tells Boxing News.
But sparring with McCormack over the years developed him. โThe most important thing it gave me was a lot of belief in myself. Because I was doing really well in sparring and they took me over to Tokyo to help him prepare for the Olympics. If Iโm here helping the likes of him, whoโs number one in the world and went on to win Olympic silver, the next person whoโs going to be in front of me is not going to be nowhere near as good and I should be able to go out and be the better man at the end of the day. I think more importantly what he gave me is a lot of belief, I think. A lot of belief and confidence,โ he said.
The stint in Tokyo also fuelled his ambition. โIt gave me a lot more hunger towards the next Olympics. Thatโs what it gave me. I want it so bad now. Thatโs all Iโve been thinking about since I came back,โ Harris continued. โIโve prepared more than ever and Iโm ready for whoever they put in front of me.โ
With new weight classes in this event, Akbar had the option of going at 67kgs but chose to move up two kilos to 71kgs. โIโve realised how much I like drinking water! I can eat a bit more, what Iโve done is put on a bit more muscle,โ he says. โI could be the faster man as wellโฆ This is my first time at 71kgs as well, weโll see how it goes.
โI think itโs just a matter of performing, a matter of boxing to your best ability now.โ
If Akbar progresses, he could come across the very best in the sport. โIโm a competitive fighter. Iโm not really worried about whoโs in front of me. I know Iโll give anyone problems. So itโs a matter of just performing on the day really,โ Harris said. โTheyโre not going to bring anything to the table I havenโt seen.
โIt doesnโt matter whoโs in front of you, youโre a world level competitor. All of us are world level competitors thatโs going. We donโt care whoโs in front of us, weโre there to box, and box as well as we can, and weโre always aiming to win.โ
Akbar has a lot of faith in this new look GB team. โWe train harder than the fights,โ he said. โItโs been tough, real tough. Weโve been doing altitude training, hard runs, hard spars. We did a multi-nation camp where Germany, France, Scotland, Wales came in. Itโs just been tough but itโs been really smart preparation and thatโs the main thing behind it.
โTo show people at world level, we will surprise a lot of people. We will surprise a lot of people.โ
His GB teammates will be in action through the week. Niall Farrell has a great opening bout against French featherweight, Olympian Samuel Kistohurry on Thursday (October 28). Super-heavyweight Delicious Orie boxes on Thursday (October 28) against Mexicoโs Luis Gรณmez Meneses. Light-heavy George Crotty meets Kyrgyzstanโs Omurbek Bekzhigit Uulu on Saturday (October 30).
In this event they are boxing for England. It means a Scotland team can enter this competition. Scottish welterweight Tyler Jolly boxes on Thursday (October 28). At 54kgs Matthew McHale meets Russiaโs Kurban Bairanbekov on Friday (October 29). Middleweight Sam Hickey and light-welterweight Reese Lynch will be in action on Saturday (October 30).
Ireland also have a new team gaining experience at the elite level. Their featherweight Adam Hession takes on Russian Eduard Savvin on Thursday (October 28). Light-heavyweight Kelyn Cassidy boxes Mexicoโs Said Olvera Arriaga on Saturday (October 30) and on the same day light-flyweight Ricky Nesbitt goes in with Uzbekistanโs Nodirjon Mirzakhmedov.
Donโt miss next weekโs issue for reports from the action at the World championships so far.
It hasnโt been a smooth beginning to the tournament. Kosovoโs boxing team was not allowed to enter Serbia. Kosovo and Serbia have had strict border restrictions in place after Kosovo declared independence in 2008. This incident has prompted the IOC (the International Olympic Committee) to question AIBAโs conduct in bringing these World championships to Serbia. โIt appears that AIBA has not applied the necessary due diligence before allocating this tournament to Belgrade, despite the fact that the IOC has repeatedly advised the international federations of the necessity of such due diligence,โ the IOC stated.
โTherefore this incident, which is detrimental to the athletes of Kosovo, adds to the grave concerns that the IOC has with regard to the governance of this suspended international federation.โ
AIBA had been trying to resolve the situation with the event hosts. They point out that it was detailed in the host city agreement, which the local organizing committee signed, that entry must be permitted. โAIBA is saddened by the political situation that has prevented the Kosovo boxing federation from participating,โ they stated. โAIBA believes that sport should transcend politics and help break down barriers. Our World championships is an event where all countries are invited to come together and celebrate unity, diversity and friendship.โ