AIBA adds three weight categories for men, two for women
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has decided to add three weight categories for men and two for women in its competitions from August this year, saying that it will allow a greater pool of boxers to fight. From the current ten, the men's weight categories have now gone up to 13 with the minimum weight reduced to 48kg from the current 49kg.
Which categories have been added?
The featherweight (57kg) has been added back along with the addition of light middleweight (71kg) and the cruiserweight (86kg). The bantamweight has been brought back to 54kg from the current 56kg. The women's divisions have gone up from 10 to 12 with the addition of light flyweight at 50kg and light middleweight at 70kg. The decision was taken after the widespread consultation of stakeholders.
Weight divisions for Olympics
Currently, the Olympic Games have men's boxing in eight weight divisions and women's competition in five categories. The eight men's Olympic categories are 52kg, 57kg, 63kg, 69kg, 75kg, 81kg, 91kg, +91kg, while the women's event is held in 51kg, 60kg, 64kg, 69kg and 75kg. These weight divisions were notified in 2019 for the upcoming Tokyo Games before it was suspended by the IOC.
Move will ensure more boxers enter the field: AIBA President
AIBA President Umar Kremlev had spoken about increasing the number of weight divisions to ensure more boxers can enter the field in a recent press conference with global media. "This innovation will help boxing to develop from grassroots to elite. The changes have been made for the safety of boxers by ensuring easier weight management and a more level playing field," the AIBA stated.
The spread between various weight categories for women
The minimum weight for women remains the same at 48kg. The spread between the first four weight categories is now 2kg. Between the fourth and eighth it is 3kg, between eight and ninth it is 4kg, from the ninth to the tenth it is 5kg, and from the tenth to the eleventh it is 6kg. The heavyweight weight class remains the same at +81kg.
The spread between various weight categories for men
The spread between the first five categories in the men's competition has been kept at 3kg, between the fifth and seventh at 3.5kg, between the seventh and ninth it is 4kg, and between the ninth and tenth it stands at 5kg. The difference in weight between the tenth and twelfth categories is 6kg. The super heavyweight category starts from 92kg and has no limits.
Here are all the categories
The new weight categories for men are Minimum weight (48kg), Flyweight (51kg), Bantamweight (54kg), Lightweight (60kg), Light Welterweight (63.5kg), Welterweight (67kg), Middleweight (75kg), Light Heavyweight (80kg), Heavyweight (92kg), Super Heavyweight (92kg). For women the categories are Minimum weight (48kg), Flyweight (52kg), Bantamweight (54kg), Featherweight (57kg), Lightweight (60kg), Light Welterweight (63kg), Welterweight (66kg), Middleweight (75kg), Light Heavyweight (81kg), Heavyweight (+81kg).
