Historic moment for AIBA, as women boxers take stage in 2015 Pacific Games for the first time
July 14th, 2015 / All
The boxing tournament of the 2015 Pacific Games starts on Tuesday 14 July 2015, as boxers from the Oceania region will compete in this prestigious multi-sport event held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Pacific Games will be a historic milestone for women boxers, as they will compete in the boxing event for the very first time in history of the Games. AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu said: “This is another step forward for the development of women’s boxing in this part of the world and a historic moment for AIBA. Women’s boxing is now taking place in every continent and I’m confident this competition will continue to showcase the best of men and women boxing in Oceania.”
The key moment for women in boxing came when it was added to the London 2012 Olympic Games programme. Since 2012, women’s boxing has been featured at other multi-sport events, like the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, and at the recent 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“We have great nations with true boxing heritage participating in Port Moresby and I am expecting top-notch boxing performances, especially from the teams of Tahiti, New Caledonia and Nauru, who dominated largely the medal count in in the latest edition of the Games”, said Oceania Boxing Confederation President Mr Ted Tanner.
Women will compete across three weight categories, while the men will fight at 10 different weight classes. The three women’s weight classes added to the program incorporate the 51 kg, 60 kg and 75 kg categories.
The ten men weight classes are: 49 kg, 52 kg, 56 kg, 60 kg, 64 kg, 69 kg, 75 kg, 81 kg, 91 kg and 91+ kg.
The semifinalists take to the ring on Friday, July 17, and the 13 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday, July 18.
