For the first time ever, IBA Champions Night series will be held on African soil, the President of Africa Boxing Confederation (AFBC) Eyassu Wossen Berhanu announced today.
Ethiopia’s capital city Addis Ababa, the heart of Africa, will stage this pulsating boxing extravaganza on August 17 this year.
Berhanu said the prestigious IBA Champions Night will coincide with the official inauguration of AFBC headquarters which has now moved from Yaounde to Addis Ababa.
Top African boxers will grace the show among them Morocco’s world heavyweight champion Khadija Mardi and Zambia’s colourful African Games champion and Commonwealth Games flyweight bronze medallist Patrick Chinyemba, the only African boxer who has so far won his fight in the Champions Night last year in Dushanbe, Tajikistan where he displayed a masterclass show to outpoint Russia’s Artur Nagapetyan in a six-round encounter.
Berhanu said the IBA Champions Night show is in line with his pledge of changing the face of Africa boxing.
He thanked the International Boxing Association (IBA) for showing confidence in his leadership by accepting to bring the Champions Night series to Africa.
“The slogan for the show is “Unite Africa”, and it will be attended by high ranking dignitaries in our beloved continent, I will be releasing more information on the grand occasion in due course and the launch of our headquarters to be run professionally by able staffers with wide knowledge on boxing.
“As I’ve been saying, the train has left the station, we’re on a mission to bring prosperity and dignity in Africa boxing,” said the Ethiopian billionaire.
“I’m in talks with Ethiopian Airlines, Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola and several other multi-national companies which have shown willingness to support African boxing so that our boxers can benefit as well as improving the standards of the sport. Russia and Kazakhstan are also with us.”
The AFBC headquarters in Addis Ababa is being manned by a distinguished professional, Bililign Mekoya, who was appointed as the interim Secretary-General by the Board of Directors meeting on April 18 this year in Durban, South Africa.
A holder of a Masters Degree in Sports Science, Mekoya has brought on board his vast wealth of experience in sports management, and has also injected more decency and elegance in the secretariat.
✍🏼 AFBC Communications
