World Series of Boxing kicks off 19 November
Though November and December have many boxing fans salivating over upcoming fights, for many nothing tops the inauguration of the World Series of Boxing on 19 November.
The WSB is backed by the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) along with IMG Events. It will consist of an international roster of amateur fighters, with bouts taking the form of five three-minute
rounds scored by the official ‘ten point must’ system.
The ‘ten-point must’ system is utilized in professional boxing fights, with amateur bouts, in the Olympics for instance, relying on a different point system to score fights. The professional system allows
the judges to take into account a fighter's aggression, ring control and the power of the shots he lands, whereas the amateur system is strictly a point-based scoring system that counts punches landed.
In combining a professional scoring system with amateur fighters and other global criteria, the WSB hopes to create a formidable cocktail of the good side of professional boxing with a global appeal.
Boxers will fight out of stables or teams that represent cities in North America, Europe, and Asia. Teams will be arranged in conferences, like in many professional sport leagues today, and move towards
finals in which teams advance or are eliminated based on performance.
Ivan Khodabakhsh, the Chief Operating Officer of the WSB, told
The Sweet Science: “We didn’t want to duplicate professional boxing, we wanted to bring professional boxing into the 21st century. So we looked at the elements which were good and we tried to see what were the key factors for other sports which have
been successful.”
Khodabakhsh indicated that part of the rationale in the international team roster is to expand boxing into new global markets.
Despite growing momentum, the WSB has not been outside setbacks, the hardest of which was a withdrawal from the Series by the New Delhi Indian franchise. They were replaced by a Korean team when major
sponsorship backed out of an earlier agreement, leaving them unable to find other financial backing.
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