Our amateur boxers set for world comp
Fiji’s two-time Commonwealth Games boxing representative and Pacific Games silver medallist, Jone Davule, will soon fly to Tashkent, Uzbekistan with gym mate Mikaele Ravolaca for the biggest fight and prize money in their amateur careers. The International Boxing Association (IBA) has revealed the Men’s World Boxing Championships 2023, which will take place in Tashkent from April 30 to May 14 is offering the most lucrative prize money for amateur boxers.
Our boxers will be coached and managed by incoming national boxing coach Cam Todd who coached David Tua to the junior and senior world amateur championship and to an Olympic Games bronze medal in Barcelona Spain.
Fiji will be represented by Davule fighting in the featherweight division (54-57kilogrammes) and newcomer Ravolaca in the bantamweight division (51kg -54kg) A total of 668 boxers from 113 countries are set to compete across 13 weight categories at the Men’s World Championships. The field includes seven world title holders who will be looking to come out on top again.
They are France’s Sofiane Oumiha at lightweight, Japan’s Tomoya Tsuboi and Sewon Okazawa at bantamweight and welterweight respectively. Azerbaijan’s
Loren Alfonso at cruiserweight, Saken Bibossinov of Kazakhstan at flyweight and Cuba’s Yoenlis Hernández and Julio César La Cruz at middleweight and heavyweight respectively.
The event will feature the world’s
top boxers, including seven defending world champions, competing for a doubled prize money fund of US$5.2m (FJ$11.5m).
The gold medallists will receive $200,000 USD (FJD$ 442,000), the runners-up $100,000 USD ($221,000) and each of the 3rd places is awarded $50,000 USD (FJD$110,000).
Our elite boxers jet out to Hong Kong and Tashkent via Istanbul on April 27.