ABAP to bid for Olympic qualifier

MANILA, Philippines - The minimum bid is $50,000 for a country to host an Olympic boxing qualifier and ABAP president Ricky Vargas said recently the Philippines is prepared to make an offer for one of two Asian eliminations leading to the London Summer Games in 2012.

There are three qualifying tournaments for Asian fighters to make it to the Olympics. The first is the World Championships and the next two are the Continental tournaments. Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia hold two Continental qualifiers each while Oceania stages only one.

For the Olympics last year, the first qualifying event was the 2007 World Championships in Chicago where the Philippines’ Harry Tañamor booked a ticket to Beijing by claiming the silver medal in the lightflyweight division. He was one of 24 Asians to earn outright slots. A total of 80 fighters qualified for Beijing from the World Championships.

The two Asian qualifiers were held in Bangkok, Thailand, and Astana, Kazakhstan. It was reported that Bangkok paid $200,000 to host the first qualifier on Jan. 24-Feb. 3 and Astana $100,000 to host the second on March 15-25. No Filipino qualified from either tournament.

In all, 62 Asian fighters competed in 11 weight categories from lightflyweight to superheavyweight in Beijing. China and Kazakhstan had 10 entries each, Thailand eight, Uzbekistan seven, India and South Korea five each, Mongolia four, Iran and Tajikistan three each, Japan two and North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan and the Philippines one each.

Six Asian countries took medals. China showed the way with four, including two golds. Mongolia (one gold, one silver), Thailand (one gold, one silver), Kazakhstan (one gold, one bronze), India (one bronze) and South Korea (one bronze) also claimed medals.

In the run-up to London, the World Championships will be held for 12 days in August 2011 in Busan, which beat Dublin for the hosting rights. The Continental tournaments will be held from January to April in 2012.

Although the qualifiers are still three years away, Vargas said he is making known ABAP’s intention early to give notice of the Philippines’ interest to host one of the two Asian Continental tournaments.

Wu said the target is 286 boxers for London.

If women’s boxing is included in the Olympic calendar, Wu explained the quota will not change, only the mix. Without women boxers, there will be 286 male fighters in 11 weight categories. With women boxers, there will be 246 males in 10 weight categories. Wu said if the IOC approves women’s boxing during its Congress in Copenhagen in October, there will be five weight categories with eight fighters each for a total of 40 females.

Vargas said the Philippines is supporting AIBA’s campaign for women’s boxing. At the World Women’s Championships in Ningbo City last year, the Philippines captured a silver and two bronzes. The next world tournament is set in Barbados in September 2010.

Vargas also said the Philippines is interested in hosting the third AIBA Boxing Academy. The cost of setting up the Academy, however, is steep. The first Academy will be inaugurated in Becancour, Canada, in September but the new facility will be completely in November next year at a budget of $35 million. The second Academy will be built in Podolsk, Russia, at a budget of $71 million.

Wu called the Boxing Academy “one of AIBA’s most important strategic projects.” He said cities interested to host the Academy will go through a bidding process.

Wu said the Academy intends to standardize a curriculum where the courses will range from refereeing, judging, language, administration, medical and physical fitness. The Academy will invite athletes in the youth, junior and Olympic levels.

“AIBA believes that the best way to develop the sport is to educate and prepare athletes, officials and leaders to perform at the highest level,” said Wu in the book Rising To Lead. “The Academy will comprise a state-of-the-art center of excellence offering the most fully integrated educational and physical training programs in order to lead the development of boxing around the world.”

Vargas assured Wu that the Philippines will actively participate in AIBA’s sanctioned tournaments – the World Men’s Championships, World Cup, President’s Cup, Youth World Championships, Junior World Championships, World Women’s Championships, Continental Championships and the Olympics. The World Series of Boxing, AIBA’s first professional event, will be launched in September next year.