The final franchise agreement for the Moscow franchise of
the World Series of Boxing was signed yesterday between Mr Ivan
Khodabakhsh, Chief Operating Officer of the World Series of Boxing
SA and Mr Yury Fedorov, President of the Ring Stars company, at the
offices of AIBA, the International Boxing Association, in
Lausanne.
Ushering in a new era in boxing, the World Series of Boxing (WSB)
is a new global boxing league that is an initiative of AIBA, the
International Boxing Association. The WSB will bring together the
best of the Olympic and professional boxing worlds from November
2010. Not only will it be the first truly global professional-style
boxing tournament, it will also allow all participants to retain
their eligibility to participate in the Olympic Games.
The Russian company Ring Stars has secured the rights for the
Moscow-based franchise in a region that has significant potential
for developing the domestic market. The company has considerable
experience in organizing sports events at international level, as
well as managing professional sports teams and has a large audience
and fan base.
Since AIBA is the world governing body for boxing recognized by
the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which fully supports the
WSB, boxers competing in the WSB will keep their eligibility to
participate in the Olympic Games. They will also be able to take
part in selected other international tournaments. But the main
benefit for the boxers is that they will enjoy world-class
conditions for training, including the latest developments in
sports medicine, the best training locations, top-quality nutrition
and attractive financial conditions.
The four Asian WSB franchises were signed earlier this year at the
AIBA Executive Committee in Xiamen, China. The franchise holders
are Astana (Kazakhstan), Baku (Azerbaijan), China and Delhi
(India).
In the European conference, Rings Stars is the first entity to
sign a final franchise agreement, with the city of Istanbul set to
follow by the end of the month. The WSB has also set a final
deadline of the end of March to select its preferred partners from
the remaining European candidates of France, Italy and the UK. For
the Americas conference, negotiations are ongoing with a number of
interested investors.
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