June 11, 2009 - The International Boxing Association (AIBA) recently completed its first World Series of Boxing (WSB) Board of Directors meeting on June 7 in Lausanne, deciding on the major direction of WSB and setting its long-term strategy to bring a significant enhancement across all aspects of the sport of boxing.

"I am extremely pleased that we have reached many important decisions and confirmed a program which will boost the success of this magnificent AIBA initiative," AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu, whom the WSB SA Board unanimously elected as its Chairman, said. "Along with the AIBA Boxing Academy, the WSB is another key AIBA initiative focussed on development which will definitely reshape the global landscape of boxing. As we know, the sport of boxing is an individual sport and a sporting series with a team (franchise) competition system for boxing has never existed in the past. The WSB is certainly a challenge; however, it is a visionary project which is dedicated towards the realization of our mission, governing the sport of boxing at all levels," Dr Wu added. 

Pic: AIBA President Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu (2nd from right) with Mr. Julian Brand, Mr. Humbert Furgoni and Mr. Ho Kim (from left to right). 
 
At the WSB Board Meeting, the official registration of the company in Switzerland was reported and all four board members were confirmed with Dr Wu being joined by Dr Humbert Furgoni (WSB Commission Chairman), Mr Ho Kim (AIBA Executive Director) and Mr Julian Brand (IMG Senior Vice President) as members. In addition, Mr Kim was appointed as WSB Chief Executive Officer to ensure all AIBA's principles and policies are directly applied across all levels of WSB management, and Mr Ivan Khodabakhsh was confirmed as the WSB Chief Operating Officer.

As other key decisions, the board confirmed the structure of the WSB SA and its future operation while also agreeing on the role of the WSB Commission which will be responsible for evaluating all boxers, advising the WSB SA on all technical and competition matters, and selecting, assigning and training the officials.

In addition, the board also approved the first draft of the brand development plan proposed by IMG while the PR and Communications plan between athletes, national federations and AIBA will be ramped up over the coming months.

It was also determined that all WSB Referees & Judges, coaches and supervisor candidates will be selected and trained immediately after the AIBA World Championships Milan 2009. The Board also decided that all WSB officials, including the R&Js, will be completely separate from AIBA officials.

The Board also received a WSB franchises sales report and was extremely impressed with the progress. WSB has already secured eight franchises out of the 12 planned for the competition and has received further encouraging responses, guaranteeing higher franchise fees than originally anticipated. Meanwhile, negotiations regarding potential WSB franchise holders continue to gain in intensity.

The following is a list of other major decisions produced at the Board Meeting:
• The WSB logo will be launched at the Opening Ceremony of the AIBA World Championships Milan 2009
• WSB SA will be located in Lausanne, in a building located next to the AIBA Head Office
• WSB SA will have seven staff including the COO until the end of 2009 across five different departments and will increase the number to 15 before its inaugural season in September 2010
• The Board also approved the WSB boxers' selection process including the draft system and guidelines of pricing the boxers
• The overall Business plan outline was confirmed along with a TV and Sponsorship sales plan
• The framework for the Technical & Competition Rules was confirmed and the assignment of developing all rules was given to the WSB Commission

The WSB, which will be based on franchises in 12 cities worldwide, consisting of two main components - a team league competition and an individual championships - will mark a new beginning in the world of boxing by offering a platform to the thousands of boxers around the world who aspire to take part in a professionally organized boxing competition whilst retaining the right to represent their country at the Olympic Games.

The next step for the WSB is a WSB Boxing Selection Commission meeting on June 13-14 to evaluate all available boxers for the franchises.

About the World Series of Boxing SA (WSB SA)

WSB SA is a limited company registered in Switzerland and has been established to own all the commercial and other rights relating to WSB. The ownership of WSB SA is shared by AIBA, as a majority shareholder, with its marketing partner IMG. AIBA, as the world governing body for boxing, has 196 national member federations which operate under its umbrella. IMG creates, manages and delivers sports entertainment and media marketing solutions for clients, federations and brands on a global basis. As the world's largest sports marketing agency, IMG has over 2,750 employees based in 81 offices worldwide. WSB SA will have its own management structure to oversee the development and global promotion of WSB and manage the day-to-day relationships with the franchisees. For more information please visit www.aiba.org.

About the International Boxing Association

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) is a non-profit making international organization, which was founded under the name Fédération Internationale de Boxe Amateur (FIBA) in 1920. In 1946, a new start was given with the launch of AIBA to replace the dissolved FIBA and now, more than 60 years later, AIBA, with its 196 member federations, continues to govern the sport of boxing, working for the benefit of the sport and all its participants, to help boxing realize its potential within the Olympic Movement and the international sporting arena. For more information please visit www.aiba.org

Please click here to obtain WSB homepage.

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For more information please contact:
WSB Chief Operating Officer Mr Ivan Khodabakhsh +41 79 814 97 40
Media contact - AIBA PR and Communications Director Mr Richard Baker +41 79 316 56 09