AIBA has marked 150 days to go until the 2017 World Championships in Hamburg by revealing the dates and hosts for five continental competitions that will serve as the only direct qualification route to its flagship event ©AIBA

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has marked 150 days to go until the 2017 World Championships in Hamburg by revealing the dates and hosts for five continental competitions which will serve as the only direct qualification routes for the flagship event.

AIBA says the competitions, due to be held between April and June, will provide an opportunity for a new generation of boxing talent to break through and establish themselves against more experienced names for the first time in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic cycle.

The road to Hamburg begins in Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent, where the ASBC Asian Championships are scheduled to take place from April 30 to May 7.

This will be followed by the AFBC African Championships in the Republic of Congo's capital Brazzaville from May 27 to June 4 and the AMBC American Championships in Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa from June 10 to 18.

The penultimate qualifier is the EUBC European Championships in Ukrainian city Kharkiv from June 16 to 24.

The final one is the OCBC Oceanian Championships in Australian city Gold Coast, hosts of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, from June 26 to 29.

Hamburg were confirmed as hosts of the 2017 World Boxing Championships during AIBA's Executive Committee meeting in Doha in October 2015 ©AIBA
Hamburg were confirmed as hosts of the 2017 World Boxing Championships during AIBA's Executive Committee meeting in Doha in October 2015 ©AIBA

"By becoming the sole qualification route for Hamburg, the importance of these continental competitions has increased dramatically, giving each region's boxers the opportunity to prove themselves against the very best and reach the World Championships," AIBA President CK Wu said.

"We have five unique venues for the qualifiers, including a first AIBA event in Honduras, and we look forward to working with the Local Organising Committees to deliver five first-class showcases of elite men's boxing that will give our athletes the best platform on which to pursue their dreams of gold."

The 19th edition of the men's AIBA World Boxing Championships are set to be held at Sporthalle Hamburg from August 25 to September 3.

The German city will host the top 280 elite male boxers.

Hamburg was selected to stage the event in October 2015, during AIBA's Executive Committee meeting in Qatar's capital Doha.

It was vying to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games at that time, but the bid was ended the following month when citizens voted 51.6 per cent against the project in a referendum.