By Emily Goddard

Wu poses with the Doha 2015 delegationJuly 17 - Qatar's capital Doha will host the 2015 World Boxing Championships, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) confirmed today.

Represented by a delegation that included Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) secretary general Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the city, located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, saw off rival bidder Bangkok, Thailand, to secure the amateur boxing showpiece at the AIBA executive committee meeting in Jeju, South Korea.

"On behalf of the AIBA Executive Committee, I would like to congratulate the city of Doha for the impressive proposal they have put together," AIBA President C K Wu said.

"The presentation we received today really confirmed the motivation the city and the entire country show in delivering the best AIBA World Boxing Championships ever.

"It is very exciting for AIBA to explore new horizons and we are looking forward to visit Doha in 2015.

"The AIBA EC also thanks the city of Bangkok and the representatives from the Thailand Boxing Association who presented us a very good bid."

The World Boxing Championships are just the latest addition to a growing portfolio of international sports events being held in Qatar.

Doha hosted the the largest Asian Games ever held in 2006Doha hosted the the largest Asian Games ever held in 2006

As well as having already held the 2006 Asian Games and the 2011 Pan Arab Games, the oil-rich nation has also won the rights to host the 2015 World Men's Handball Championship, the 2015 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships, the 2016 World Road Cycling Championships and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Doha's successful bid for the World Boxing Championships is part of a master plan to ultimately host the Olympics and Paralympics – it bid unsuccessfully for the 2016 and 2020 Games and undoubtedly will bid again for 2024.

"We are delighted with the trust and confidence of the AIBA Executive Committee," said Qatar Boxing Federation secretary general Yousif Al Kazim.

"We have no doubt that the AIBA World Boxing Championships Doha 2015 will be one of the best in the history of the sport and that new standards will be set in this brand new region for AIBA.

"The AIBA EC Members know that we will not let them down.

"I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to His Excellency, Sheikh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, QOC secretary general, for his full support and his guidance in this successful bid."

The next World Boxing Championships are set to get underway in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on October 11-27 this year.

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