With the first big tournament of 2018 for the elite men’s and women’s boxers coming up on April 5, here are the five key facts you need to know before the first bell rings in the Gold Coast…
- World-class venue and dreamed location for the first regional multi-sport event of the year
The Australia’s Gold Coast city is an outstanding global city proudly looking towards its future, including as host of GC2018. Known for being the city on the beach with truly epic theme parks, the Gold Coast and its surrounding area has plenty to see and do for the whole family.
All the boxing action will be hosted at the Oxenford Studios venue. With a capacity of 3,000 seats, the arena will see the Commonwealth’s elite boxers jabbing, crossing and hooking their way around the ring to get into the finals.
- 221 boxers coming from 49 countries aiming to compete for the prestigious prize
A total number of 49 nations and 221 athletes will be represented at the twenty-first edition of the Commonwealth Games. On the men’s side, the classic ten weight categories will see 167 boxers. But the new comes from the women’s side, where for the first time six gold medals in six different weight classes will be at stake for the 54 participating athletes.
- Frazer Clarke and David Nyika ready to thrill the Gold Coast fans
At this stage, talk about Frazer Clarke as one of the best boxers in the World is not a big surprise, but the English giant will be making his Commonwealth debut right after recovering from an injury. With Tokyo 2020 clearly targeted, the Gold Coast’s stop will be a great touchstone for him.
After reaching the quarterfinals stage at the 2017 World Championships, Kiwi boxing sensation David Nyika will face the Commonwealth title defense in Gold Coast. Young and extremely talented, the New Zealander has a strong potential to stablish himself in between the best heavyweight boxers on the planet.
- The incombustible Mary Kom to clinch her first Commonwealth medal
AIBA legend Mary Kom has her sights on proving again that age is just a number. At 35, and with an impressive gold medal record including five World Championships, Asian Games and an Olympic bronze medal, the Indian star is ready to finally add a Commonwealth Games metal to the collection.
Other names such as Lisa Whiteside (ENG), Caroline Veyre (CAN), Caitlin Parker (AUS) or Clotilde Essiane (CMR) are among the potential stars to follow in Gold Coast.
- Nicola Adams, Lennox Lewis or Joe Joyce left their mark on previous editions of the Commonwealth games
In its 70 years, AIBA has helped to develop some of the best boxers in history. Names such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Wladimir Klitschko and Teofilo Stevenson began and shaped their careers with AIBA and their Olympic journeys. As for famous Commonwealth past champions, look no further than the likes of the two-times Olympic Champion Nicola Adams, Lennox Lewis and Joe Joyce.
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