Since its inception in recent years, the WBF Amateur Masters Division is expanding around the world with the popularity of International Amateur Masters Boxing continuing to grow.
The WBF provides the opportunity for boxers aged over 41 years and over to continue their dream of championship glory, sanctioning WBF Amateur Masters Championship Titles Internationally.
For former Amateur and Professional boxers, Bucket List Boxers and Corporate Boxers aged over 41 years etc, the opportunity was never there in the past to be recognised as Champions by a World Championship Sanctioning Body until the WBF Amateur Masters Division (AMD) was established by WBF President Mr Mick Croucher.
Mr Croucher had some assistance along the way of course from several members of his team to establish the new division which is headed up by WBF AMD Vice President Mr Kim Gray of Australia. Kim is a true pioneer of Amateur Masters Boxing in the Oceania Region and an active promoter of Amateur Masters Boxing Events and is globally recognised and respected by his counterparts around the world that have contributed to making what Amateur Masters Boxing is today.
As Masters Boxing continues to grow in popularity around the world, the WBF decided to create the new AMD as a platform for older boxers to contest Championship Titles Internationally which has been greatly received by the global Masters Boxing Community that acknowledges that the WBF are the very first World Sanctioning Body to get behind Global Masters Boxing. Other recognised World Sanctioning bodies have certainly supported Amateur Boxing around the world for many years, but none have focused on providing opportunity for the Masters Boxing Community until the WBF.
Boxing Nations around the world that have implemented specialised Masters Boxing Competition vary from country to country in the governance and administration of the sport.
Some countries have adopted and replicated the WBF administration of Amateur Masters Boxing because of its strict guidelines, rules, match making criteria and medical clearance requirements for combatants that the WBF have established.
Safety of all boxers both Amateur and Professional is of paramount importance anywhere in the world. Having said this, the safety of competitors aged over 41 years becomes increasingly more important with obvious risk factors to be taken into account with the physical nature of the sport and the impact on the human body as we age.
The WBF in consultation with medical professionals implemented strict criteria for competitors that are over the age of 41 years ensuring that clearance to compete and contest its championship titles is more comprehensive than that of most medical criteria for normal Amateur and Professional Boxing.
As the sport of Amateur Masters Boxing continues to grow around the world, the WBF has laid the foundation and created the platform to provide the opportunity for Masters Boxers to fight for and be recognised as Champions and to be presented with the globally recognised Blue Championship belt.
The WBF AMD Championship Belt that is presented to its Champions is one that will most certainly be cherished and handed down to the children and grandchildren of Champions and that’s what Amateur Masters Boxing is all about according to WBF President Mick Croucher who was briefly interviewed recently regarding the new division of his organisation.
Question:
Mick, with WBF Amateur Masters Titles being contested in two states of Australia as well as Germany next month (September) and further promotions planned for Poland, the United Kingdom, Barvaria and the Czech Republic in the coming months, what do you put the success and expansion of the WBF Amateur Masters Division down to?
Mr Croucher:
“On behalf of the World Boxing Foundation, I would like to express gratitude and sincere thanks to our worldwide coordinators, stakeholders and active participants that have been behind us with our new division WBF Amateur Masters Division, and the loyalty and respect we have received from these people ensure that we will continue to grow and provide opportunities for boxers of all ages”
Question:
I notice a specific section of the official WBF website that is dedicated to the WBF Amateur Masters Division. With Masters Boxing gaining popularity around the world, what promoted you to create the Amateur Masters Division of the WBF?
Mr Croucher:
“I appreciate the untiring work our Senior Vice President Mr Paul Saunders and the man who first approached us in the beginning, the dynamic AMD Vice President Mr Kim Gray for his tireless work ethic and making this happen. We noticed that Amateur Masters Boxing was growing and becoming more popular Internationally and identified that the Masters Boxing Community was unlike normal Amateur Boxing competition. We understood that if the opportunity was afforded to Masters Boxers to be recognised as legitimate champions that it would be welcomed with open arms among people that may have been involved in the sport their entire lives in one form or another and may have never been given an opportunity when they were younger to fight for a championship title. I think that our Championship Titles are well received around the world and becoming increasingly more popular as you mentioned, and we look forward to improving and expanding as time goes on”