Boxing makes its Olympic Games debut in St Louis, with bouts taking place across seven weight categories.

1904

The International Amateur Boxing Federation - or Federation Internationale de Boxe Amateur (FIBA) in French - is founded during the Olympic Games in Antwerp, and comprises 11 National Member Federations. Great Britain’s John H. Douglas, the 1908 Olympic middleweight gold medallist and an England cricketer, is appointed President.

1920

The first-ever FIBA Executive Committee is elected at the fifth FIBA Congress in Paris. A decision is made to limit the number of entries to the Olympic Games to one boxer per country per category, while bouts are fixed to three rounds of three minutes instead of two rounds of three minutes and one round of four minutes, as it had been before.

1926

A decision is made at the ninth FIBA Congress in Brussels to have referees officiate from inside the ring, as opposed to sitting outside on a high chair, and to have neutral judges at ringside.

1931

Boxers are allowed to wear a cup protector and a gumshield for the first time at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

1932

The FIBA was dissolved and the English Amateur Boxing Association in partnership with the French Boxing Federation decided to create the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA). At its first Congress in London, attended by 21 countries, France’s Emile Grémaux is elected the first President.

1946

The AIBA Medical Commission is founded at an Extraordinary Congress in London.

1948

The second AIBA Congress takes place in Copenhagen, bringing together 54 National Member Federations. New rules are adopted stipulating that a contest should be stopped if a boxer has been knocked down three times in a round. The light welterweight and light heavyweight categories are introduced, increasing the total number of weight classes to 10.

1950

Bronze medal contests do not feature at the Olympics for the first time in Finland’s capital Helsinki. The two beaten semi-finalists are automatically placed third.

1952

Britain’s Rudyard H. Russell is elected AIBA President at the governing body's fifth Congress in Interlaken in Switzerland. It follows the death of Emile Grémaux three years earlier.

1962

The light flyweight category features at the Olympic Games for the first time in Mexico City, increasing the total number of weight classes to 11.

1968

The seventh AIBA Congress takes place in Paris, bringing together 111 National Member Federations.

1970

Boxing gloves with white hitting surface are used for the first time at the Olympic Games in Munich.

1972

The first AIBA World Championships are held in Cuba’s capital Havana, with 242 athletes from 45 countries taking part. The Soviet Union's N.F. Nikiforov-Denisov is elected AIBA President at the eighth Congress in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. An AIBA fund is set up with the aim of developing boxing around the world; thus Olympic Solidarity becomes part of AIBA’s work.

1974

The United States' Col. Don F. Hull, a graduate of West Point and a World War Two veteran, is elected AIBA President at the ninth Congress in Madrid, where 127 National Member Federations are represented.

1978

The first AIBA World Junior Championships are held in the Japanese city of Yokohama, while the inaugural AIBA World Cup takes place in New York City.

1979

The super heavyweight category is included for the first time at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The wearing of headguards is made compulsory too. 

1984

Pakistan's Anwar Chowdhry, then secretary general of the Asian Boxing Federation, is elected as the fifth AIBA President, replacing Col. Don F. Hull.

1986

The AIBA Vice-Presidents' Bureau adopts principles for the maintenance of boxing as an Olympic sport.

1988

The fifth AIBA World Championships are held in Moscow with 236 boxers from 43 countries participating. An electronic scoring machine is used for the first time to make judges’ officiating more objective.

1989

The AIBA Vice-Presidents’ Bureau adopts a resolution on women’s boxing at a meeting in Tunisia’s capital Tunis.

1993

The 13th AIBA Congress takes place in Beijing, bringing together 187 National Member Federations. A decision is made to use only 10oz gloves in order to increase boxers’ safety, while the upper age limit is extended from 32 to 34 years of age on the basis of measures introduced to improve the protection of the boxers’ health. Furthermore, women’s boxing is recognised.

1994

A new rule stipulates that every boxer must possess an official AIBA competition record book in which they must be certified as fit to box by a qualified doctor.

1996

Chinese Taipei’s C K Wu is elected as the sixth AIBA President at the 16th Congress in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. Wu secures 83 votes against the 79 of Anwar Chowdhry, who by then had served five consecutive terms as President. 

2006

The AIBA Reform Committee, tasked with taking AIBA into a new era, is launched at the Executive Committee meeting in Taiwan with International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board member, Gerhard Heiberg, named as chairman. A new AIBA is born following the approval of the Reform Committee’s recommendations by the 196 National Member Federations at the Extraordinary Congress in Chicago. Changes include the introduction of a new logo, new statutes and new competition rules.

2007

AIBA's Road to Dream programme is launched with the aim of assisting boxers and coaches from emerging countries in training and for further participation in AIBA World Championships by covering all their expenses. Also launched is the World Series of Boxing (WSB) which would see the world's best boxers compete in a unique team format.

2009

The introduction of women’s boxing at the Olympic Games is accepted by the IOC Executive Board.

2010

The creation of AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) is approved allowing fighters to compete professionally while maintaining their Olympic eligibility.

2011

Women’s boxing makes its Olympic Games debut in London. Britain’s Nicola Adams becomes the first female fighter to win an Olympic gold medal, defeating China’s Ren Cancan in the flyweight final. 

2012

Following extensive studies on boxers' safety, including two statistical reviews by the AIBA Medical Commission where more than 2,000 bouts were studied, AIBA decides that boxers in all elite men’s competitions will no longer wear headguards. All available data is said to have indicated that the removal of headguards would result in a decreased number of concussions.

2013

C K Wu officially opens the AIBA World Boxing Academy, an integrated training institute in Almaty, Kazakhstan, which sets the best practice and global standards for boxing education, development and performance. Wu is re-elected as AIBA President during the Congress in Jeju in South Korea where the removal of headguards as a safety measure for elite male boxers is unanimously supported.

2014

German super heavyweight Erik Pfeifer becomes the first APB world champion after beating Moroccan opponent Mohammed Arjaoui in Baku, Azerbaijan. Astana Arlans Kazakhstan win their second WSB title after defeating Cuba Domadores in the Season V Finals.

2015

Controversy around the judging system at the Rio 2016 Olympics engulfs AIBA. All 36 judges and referees used during the Games are suspended while an investigation takes place. No interference in results was found and it was recommended that the Rio judges be reintegrated on a "case by case basis".

2016

C K Wu steps down as President. The International Olympic Committee express concern about the governance of AIBA.

2017

Uzbekistan’s Gafur Rakhimov, who has been an AIBA vice-president since 1998, is formally elected as President. C K Wu and former executive director Ho Kim receive a lifetime ban from AIBA after a report accused them of "gross negligence and financial mismanagement of AIBA affairs and finances".

2018

Following a six-month investigation into AIBA amid concerns regarding its governance, finances and refereeing and judging, the International Olympic Committee suspend AIBA as the Olympic governing body for boxing. Mohamed Moustahsane becomes AIBA Interim President following the resignation of Gafur Rakhimov. Reform and Marketing Commissions are set up to improve AIBA’s governance and reputation.

2019

Umar Kremlev is elected AIBA President during a virtual Extraordinary Congress. Kremlev, who at the time was secretary general of the Russian Boxing Federation and a member of the AIBA Executive Committee, came out on top after three rounds of voting, with the election held remotely. The Russian admitted after his election that “the path to rebuilding AIBA is not easy”, but committed to rehabilitating its credibility and restoring AIBA’s Olympic status.

2020

The International Boxing Association changes the governing body's acronym from AIBA to IBA. A new logo and branding is revealed.

2021

Umar Kremlev is re-elected as IBA President, before his position is confirmed at an Extraordinary Congress in Yerevan.

2022