IBA Boxing is coming back to Montenegro: At the IBA Executive Board meeting held on Friday, 21 June, it was confirmed that Budva has been named the new host city for the 2024 edition of the IBA Youth World Boxing Championships.
This prestigious youth event is scheduled to take place from October 20 to November 6, 2024, organized by the Montenegro Boxing Association.
While Budva has demonstrated its ability to host several continental European tournaments in the past, this will be the first time that the Adriatic city will host one of the IBA's major world championship-level events.
The most prominent of these events was the 2022 Women's European Boxing Championships, held at the Mediterranean Sports Center, followed the following year by the European U22 Boxing Championships. Prior to that, the European Youth Boxing Championships were held consecutively in Budva in 2020 and 2021 respectively, and the city will also host the Youth World Boxing Cup in March 2023.
This will be the fifth IBA Youth World Boxing Championships in which male and female boxers compete together, the first time the events were combined was in 2014 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Around 600 young male and female boxers took part in the 2022 IBA Youth World Boxing Championships in La Nucia, Spain.
IBA President Umar Kremlev said the event is very important for the next generation of elite boxers: “The names that will be heard at the Budva event will quickly become household names in the world of elite boxing. There are already several known success stories based on the championships in La Nucia 2022 and Kielce 2021. We are very much looking forward to hosting an event of the highest standard in Montenegro.”
President of the Montenegrin Boxing Federation Aleksandar Klemenko stressed that preparations are underway.
“It is a great honor for us to be the hosts of this year's IBA Youth World Boxing Championship. Entrusting the Federation with high expectations from the IBA, the Montenegrin Boxing Association will undoubtedly work hard to create the atmosphere of a wonderful and unforgettable sports festival along with the most comfortable environment for all athletes and international delegations. All participants of the tournament will be able to show themselves in a fair and impartial competition based on the principles of absolute equality and fairness. We have already started preparing for this great sports event and will try to give a pleasant surprise to all guests coming to our wonderful city of Budva,” said Klemenko.
