As we celebrate International Boxing Day again on 27 August, we commemorate 50 years since the International Boxing Association’s premier event began: the IBA World Boxing Championships.

In 1974, the Men’s World Boxing Championships were held for the first time in Havana, Cuba. Half a century later, the island nation has become one of the dominant forces in the sport.

Marking the occasion, the IBA Champions’ Night series heads to Havana, a line-up that features four Olympic champions and is to be the first professional boxing event in Cuba since the 1950s, with the ban on professionalism lifted in 2022.

‘There were professional fights in Cuba in the 1950s, but this will be the first time we will be fighting as a team,’ said Alberto Puig, President of the Cuban Boxing Federation in a press conference for IBA Champions’ Night Havana.

Cuba halted professional sport in the country and on its athletes in 1961 and partially allowed this in 2013. In 2022, the prohibition was completely lifted.

Headlining this momentous occasion will be two-time Olympic and five-time world champion Julio Cesar la Cruz against Madiyar Saydrakhimov of Uzbekistan for the IBA Pro World Champion title in the 92kg division.

International Boxing Day was launched in 2017 and has been celebrated on 27 August since 2021. It encourages the global boxing family and its stakeholders to come together to share their love for the sport.

It was moved to its current date to coincide with the first World Boxing Championships, which took place from 17 to 30 August 1974.

IBA and the Cuban Boxing Federation have scheduled a grand training session to mark the day that will take place in the central square of Havana. 

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Media contacts:

Elena Sobol, Head of Communications and PR, International Boxing Association: elena.sobol@iba.sport

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