Wu, a senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, exclusively told insidethegames in September last year that he is targeting having at least five weight categories at the Olympic Games in Japan’s capital.

That would be an additional two on top of the three that featured at London 2012 - flyweight, lightweight and middleweight - as women’s boxing made its Olympic debut.

Sports are also being encouraged to foster gender equality, with Agenda 2020 reforms empowering the IOC to "work with the International Federations to achieve 50 per cent female participation in the Olympic Games". 

Wu has made clear that he wants to maintain the number of men’s events at the current 10 and bring the number of women’s closer to that mark.

"People realise it’s important not only for the development of the sport but also for the gender equality" Wu said here at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in Kazakhstan’s capital.

"We are one of the few Olympic sports where the [number of] women’s athletes participating in the Games cannot compare with the men’s quota.

"I think it is a duty for me and for AIBA to really do our best to increase the categories."

AIBA executive director Karim Bouzidi admitted it would be "amazing" for women’s boxing if five weight classes can be reached for Tokyo 2020.

He also noted that AIBA had increased the Summer Youth Olympic Games quota for women’s boxers, and reduced it for men, "to show that it’s really important to have this balance".

Irish lightweight Katie Taylor and British flyweight Nicola Adams - the first woman in history to win an Olympic boxing gold medal - are likely to be among the best-known boxers at Rio 2016.

This is owing partly to the continued tendency of successful male Olympic boxers, such as Amir Khan and James DeGale, to turn professional and sacrifice Olympic eligibility.

Like Taylor and Adams, American middleweight Claressa Shields is also an Olympic champion and will be bidding to defend her crown this summer.