Prize Money To Be Doubled For Next Women's Boxing World Championships

Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association, highlighted the governing body's commitment to women's boxing on Friday by doubling the prize money for the 2025 World Championships.

The gold medalists in the next world championships will receive 200,000 dollars (16,000,000 rupees), according to President Kremlev. He was speaking at the IBA Women and Sports Conference, which took place on the sidelines of the Women's World Boxing Championship in Delhi. The prize money for this year’s event is 2.4 million dollars.

Announcing that the prize money will be doubled for the next edition, Kremley said that in the future he hopes that boxers who finish outside the top three at the IBA women’s world boxing championships will be awarded prize money and not just the ones who finish on the podium.

Women's Boxing World Championships Prize

Kremlev said that his mission and aim as president of the IBA is to facilitate women achieving their full potential, as it is their right. He confirmed that in the future, women's and sports conferences will be held on a regular basis alongside major IBA events. He also praised India for hosting this year's world championships and for its support for women's boxing.

President of the Boxing Federation of India, Ajay Singh, explained the challenges and opportunities that women face in India. Singh described the country as "largely patriarchal" and added that women are taught to be submissive to men.

He added that sports are an excellent venue for showing that women are capable of changing their lives and their families.

One of the board directors of the IBA and chair of the diversity committee, Pearl Dlamini, welcomed the announcement about doubling the prize money and highlighted the task of increasing the numbers of women competing and coaching. Notably, only 4.75 percent of the IBA’s registered trainers are women. "We fight for equity and not quality at IBA," said Dlamini.

Kristy Harris, director on the IBA board and competitive athlete, and many other current and former women boxers spoke at the event. Harris expressed how she disliked the environment when she started out, so she could relate to this topic. She spoke about how in male-dominated sports like boxing, women are often subjected to derogatory remarks. Harris also highlighted the challenge of making boxing a more welcoming sport for women in the future.

The event also included sessions on how sports can foster an environment in which women coaches can thrive as well as how the sport is responding to athletes' physical and mental health needs, among other topics.

The conference happened a day before the finals of the ongoing world championships. The event was held at the K.D. Jadhav Indoor Hall, which houses 6,000 seats.

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