AIBA has announced the official list of boxers who will be competing at its World Championships in Doha next month ©AIBA

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has announced the official list of boxers who will be competing at its World Championships in Doha next month.

Beginning on October 5 at the state-of-the-art Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, the World Boxing Championships will comprise 10 days of action with 260 boxers taking part in the historic event, including 94 from Europe, 66 from Asia, 51 from Americas, 32 from Africa and 17 from Oceania.

Boxers in 10 weight categories from 73 countries will be vying for world titles, as they bid to follow in the footsteps of legends Félix Savon, a six-time gold medal-winning heavyweight from Cuba, and Zhou Shiming, who topped the light flyweight podium on three occasions representing China, 

As well as the much-coveted gold medals, they will also be competing for a total of 23 Rio 2016 Olympic quota places.

"This edition of the AIBA World Boxing Championships will be a key event in the run up to Rio 2016 Olympic Games as the top boxers from all five continents converge in Doha, Qatar, to compete in an astounding venue," said AIBA President C K Wu.

"For the first time, all boxers had to qualify to the World Championships ensuring that boxing fans will enjoy the most remarkable show the elite of the boxing world has to offer."

Boxers will be looking to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Cuba's Félix Savon, a six-time World Championships gold medallist
Boxers will be looking to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Cuba's Félix Savon, a six-time World Championships gold medallist ©Getty Images

Yousuf Ali Al Kazim, President of the Qatar Boxing Federation, added: "Doha is ready to welcome all of the boxers and officials to AIBA World Boxing Championships Doha 2015 and we are confident that the event will be held at the highest level.

"Local fans are looking forward to the event, which demonstrates the vitality of boxing in our region."

The first World Championships were held in Havana, Cuba in 1974 when 274 boxers from 45 countries entered the competition.

Eleven world champions were crowned as the host nation and the Soviet Union won eight medals each. 

The 2015 World Championships will be broadcast live in key markets on free-to-air channels, including BBC, Fox Africa and RAI Italy.

To view the list of officially confirmed boxers for the 2015 World Championships, click here.

The latest schedule for the event can be found here.



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