AIBA Pro Boxing and WSB boxers crowned at the African Confederation Boxing Championships as 30 African boxers earned quota places for Doha World Boxing Championships
August 26th, 2015 / All
An exceptional end to the 2015 AFBC African Confederation Boxing Championships produced ten excellent bouts in Casablanca, where hosts Morocco and Algeria secured nine of the ten gold medals on offer.
“Africa enjoys a wealth of talented boxers and these championships have highlighted the quality and vitality of the African boxers especially those participating in our AIBA’s Pro Boxing and WSB competitions. I will be eagerly looking forward to the African stars’ performance in the upcoming AIBA World Boxing Championships in Doha. Casablanca was a perfect choice for this event as Morocco is one of the traditional boxing nations with truly passionate boxing fans”, said AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu.
The tournament brought together the best boxers of the African continent, each of whom had made their name in AIBA’s three marquee formats of boxing.
“This 17th edition of African Boxing Confederation Championships featured the best boxers in Africa and I am very happy that we had such a great number of boxers and countries participating. Africa is a very strong boxing continent and our sport continues to thrive here with many local boxers becoming real international stars thanks to AIBA competitions”, said the President of African Boxing Confederation Mr Kelani Bayor.
10 boxers who competed in Season V of the World Series of Boxing (WSB) won medals across six separate weight classes, while fighters from AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) claimed seven podium places, including five gold medals.
World Series of Boxing Season V Boxer of the Season Mohammed Rabii continued his remarkable form with a superb triumph in the Welterweight division, while AIBA Pro Boxing’s Mohamed Flissi looked back to his menacing best after clinching Flyweight (52 kg) gold.
There was additional success for Egypt’s Hossam Hussein Bakr Abdin, who was the only non Algerian or Moroccan to triumph, while Super Heavyweight (91+ kg) sensation Mohammed Arjaoui was supreme in his home games.
The exceptional medal tallies of both the APB and WSB boxers was especially impressive considering they all had to revert to the 3 rounds (x3 min) format after having competed in 8 rounds x3 min and 5 rounds x3min AIBA matches.
“I’m very happy to have won the gold medal and to have become African Champion. WSB is different from AOB, 3 rounds with stronger rhythm, but WSB helped me gain a lot of experience that I used well in AOB”, said Mohammed Rabii after the competition.
Morocco claimed five gold medals on the final day of competition, while Algeria reached the top of the podium four times.
The tenth title went to Egypt, while among the developing African nations, Togo was also able to achieve a great bronze medal in Casablanca.
A total of 148 boxers from 24 countries registered to take part in the Championships, which also served as a qualification event for the AIBA World Boxing Championships, as the top three boxers from each weight class earned their quota for Doha 2015.
Gold medal winners in Casablanca
49 kg: Imad Ahyoun, Morocco
52 kg: Mohamed Flissi, Algeria
56 kg: Mohamed Hamout, Morocco
60 kg: Reda Benbaziz, Algeria
64 kg: Abdelkader Chadi, Algeria
69 kg: Mohammed Rabii, Morocco
75 kg: Hossam Hussein Bakr Abdin, Egypt
81 kg: Abdelhafid Benchabla, Algeria
91 kg: Abdeldjalil Abouhamada, Morocco
+91 kg: Mohammed Arjaoui, Morocco