Boxers start medals quest

RWANDA’S two boxers start their hunt for medals at the World Boxing Championships which starts today, September 1-13 in Milan, Italy.

Monday, August 31, 2009

RWANDA’S two boxers start their hunt for medals at the World Boxing Championships which starts today, September 1-13 in Milan, Italy.

Rwanda is represented by Sibomana Niyitegeka in the light weight division (60kg) and Maurice Sibomana in light welter (64kg). Their coach is Gashugi Kananura.

The pair has been in training camp in Milan for the last 15 days. The training camp was funded by the World boxing association, AIBA.

As part of the program, AIBA had selected young talented boxers from countries and coaches having financial difficulties to develop the sport.

Meanwhile, the International Boxing Association is taking a big step to improve officiating and judging leading up to the Championships.

The international governing body will be revealing the running scores during matches as well as the accepted scores of the five judges scoring the bouts.

To prepare referees and judges on the changes, the group held its first ever AIBA World Congress for referees and judges in Milan over the weekend.

The overall goal was to provide transparency to boxing fans frustrated by how the sport is officiated at international competitions, including the Olympics.

Previously, three out of five judges scoring a bout had to press a red or a blue button within one second for a point to be awarded to a competitor.

However, the scoring system had its problems and there has been some controversy surrounding the fairness of the system.

Ends