(DEC 29)  The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has published details of its revised rules following the recent Executive Conference in Switzerland and among the changes now confirmed, women’s bouts will consist of 3 x 3 minute rounds as with their male counterparts. New rule now reads:

“RULE 6. RULE DURATION AND NUMBER OF ROUNDS:

6.1. In all AOB Elite Men and Women and Youth Boys and Girls Competitions, the Bouts must consist of three (3) rounds of three (3) minutes each.

6.2. In all AOB Junior Boys and Girls Competitions, the Bouts must consist of three (3) rounds of two (2) minutes each.

6.3. For all above listed competitions, the rest time between rounds is one (1) minute.

Some amendments too to qualification system for major tournaments including:

AOB 3-Star Competitions – AIBA International Tournaments

1.9.1.1. All following AOB Competitions are controlled and managed by AIBA, and the rights belong to AIBA:

• World Championships (Men and Women)

• Youth World Championships (Men and Women)

• Junior World Championships (Boys and Girls)

• All Qualifying Competitions for the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games

1.9.1.2. World Championships System:

1.9.1.2.1 From 2017 and onwards, the Elite Men World Championships will be held only with

Boxers who qualified through Continental Championships.

1.9.1.2.2. From 2019 and onwards, the Elite Women World Championships will be held only with

boxers who qualified through Continental Championships

1.9.1.2.3. From 2018 and onwards, the Youth World Championships, Boys and Girls, will be held

only with boxers who qualified through Continental Championships

In other changes it was confirmed that the scores of all five judges will be used across all grades in 2017.

Previously, five judges scored fights, but only three scores were used.

AIBA announced that amongst the most integral rule changes ready to be implemented at tournaments in 2017 will be the use of the independent Swiss Timing electronic draw system to select the Judges for each bout and the use of all five of their scorecards to determine the winner.

The changes to the R&J procedure will provide further transparency to the scoring process, with the Draw Commission replaced by a single Commission Chairman to verify the electronic selection by Swiss Timing. Judges will now be positioned on the four sides of the ring rather than three, and all five scorecards will be used to determine the winner. The scores for each round will only be declared at the conclusion of a bout rather than at the ends of the rounds, and the R&J Evaluators are now formally recognised as International Technical Official positions.

Refined four-year calendar approved:

Important changes to streamline and enhance the competition calendar are approved in order to give greater emphasis to the Continental Championships, reduce costs for NFs and give ITOs more year-round opportunities. From 2019, the Men’s and Women’s World Championships will fall in the same calendar year, with the Men’s and Women’s Youth Championships scheduled for the year before.

“Sport is always evolving, and AIBA continuously strives to introduce changes that will help maintain boxing’s position as one of the most exciting and popular sports in the world. Proposals that our experts on the R&J and T&R Commissions put forward in October have been provisionally agreed upon and road-tested at the recent Youth World Championships in Saint Petersburg. Following that operational success, these important changes can now be introduced to all AOB competitions, and it is satisfying to see the efficiency with which the process has been conducted in such a short period of time,” said AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu.

In a new, and welcome, step forward, women will compete in four weight classes at the Youth Olympics, as opposed to three in the previous Youth Olympics and three in the actual Olympics.

Featherweight is the new Olympic Youth weight.

The four Olympic Youth places for women are fly, feather, light and middle. Men will compete in nine weights in Buenos Aires.

The revised TECHNICAL RULES are here : Link

And AOB OPEN BOXING RULES inc 6.1 here: Link

Rules for other competitions inc WSB here: Link