By Carlos Kambaekwa
WINDHOEK
Gone are the days when amateur boxers would be trading blows with their heads covered in head guards, gone are the days when boxing fans would be subjected to seeing very little action, if any, with boxers toy-toying whilst waiting for the bell to signal time out.
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) at its last Congress in Santo Domingo, South America, resolved to introduce new rules to the sport, aimed at making boxing more exciting to the paying customers.
Amateur boxers will be no longer required to wear head guards during fights and the World’s boxing authorities have also extended the duration of rounds from 2-minutes to three minutes, while the mandatory four round bouts would revert to the old system of three rounds.
The new changes will become effective after this year’s Beijing Olympics in China. However, the nerve wrecking “computer scoring system” would remain unchanged at least for the time being.
The recommendations were made at the AIBA Congress in 2006 in the Dominican Republic and approved by the Members during the World Championship in Chicago, USA, in October, last year.