The World Series of Boxing versus AIBA Pro Boxing Olympic qualifiers will be held at a new date to be confirmed, according to the competition calendar of the International Boxing Association.

The tournament, which has 26 Olympic berths on offer, was originally scheduled for May in Sofia, Bulgaria.

But it will now be run in June or July at a host city to be confirmed. The American and African Olympic qualifiers get underway in Argentina and Cameroon this weekend.

So far, sixty boxers have qualified for Rio 2016.Four of that total, Paddy Barnes, Michael Conlan, Steven Donnelly and Joe Ward, are Irish.

286 boxers compete at each Olympics.

 
Remaining Olympic qualifiers

Americas (Men and Women) Buenos Aires, Argentina (March 11/19)
Africa (Men and Women) Yaounde, Cameroon (March 11/19)
Asia/Oceania (Men and Women) Qian’an, China (March 25/April 2)
Europe (Men and Women) Samsun, Turkey (April 9/17)
AIBA World Elite Women’s Championships Astana, Kazakhstan (May 19/27)
Final AOB qualifier (for Men) Baku, Azerbaijan (June 14/26)
APB V WSB – TBC (end of June or start of July)

Please note that Squad Training for the Development Teams (Men & Women) Intermediate Finalists and Senior boxers will take place in Crumlin BC at 11.00am every Saturday onwards until further notice.

Training is for upcoming international events.

Team Ireland fly out Thursday for the Gee Bee multi-nations in Finland.

The tournament begins Friday with quarter-finals in Helsinki.

It’s expected that 16 nations, the hosts,  Australia, Belarus, Belgium, England, Estonia, France, Jordan, Italy, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Slovakia and Sweden will compete at the 35th edition of the tournament.

Please click here for website and here for entries.

Irish squad

49kg Stephen McKenna (Old School)

52kg TJ Waite (Ormeau Road)

60kg Sean McComb (Holy Trinity)

64kg Dean Walsh (St Josephs/St Ibars)

75kg Michael O’Reilly (Portlaoise)

91kg Darren O’Neill (Paulstown)

Coaches: Zuar Antia, Noel Burke

Physio: Ursla Brooks

R&J: Jim Murrin

Team Ireland and staff at Dublin Airport today

Team Ireland jetted out from Dublin Airport this afternoon ahead of the Nikolay Pavlyukov Youth multi-nations in Anapa, Russia.

Known as the mini-World Championships, the tournament begins in the Black Sea holiday resort of Anapa on March 11th.

Ireland’s eight-strong squad will train with Russia, Cuba, Azerbaijan and Australia and a number of other nations in the lead up to the opening bell for the multi-nations, which Irish coach Billy McClean believes will attract over thirty countries.

He said: “The boys will train with Russia, Cuba, Azerbaijan and Australia, all the top nations. The training camp and the tournament, which is one of the most prestigious in the world at this level, will be an invaluable experience for our young and talented squad.”

Michael Nevin, a European Schoolboy, Junior and Youth champion, won silver at the 2015 edition of Nikolay Pavlyukov Youth multi-nations, while Willie Donoghue won gold and Stephen McKenna claimed bronze.

Irish squad

52kg Shane Flavin (Paulstown)
56kg Aaron McKenna (Old School)
56kg James McGivern (St Georges)
60kg Paddy Donovan (OLOL)
64kg Kieran Molloy (Oughterard)
69kg Michael Nevin (Portlaoise)
75kg Kevin Keogh (Marble City)
81kg Brian Kennedy (St Marys D)

Team manager: Gerry O’Mahony
Coaches: Billy McClean & Fergal McKenna
Physio Orla O’Rourke
R&J: Larry Durand

The Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) invites you the official launch of our ‘Let’s KO Bullying’ Campaign which is set to take place in the Ringside Club (National Stadium), Tuesday 8th March 2016 at 12.45pm.

The IABA’s ‘Let’s KO Bullying’ campaign, which is endorsed by the IPSCC as part of National Cyber Bullying Awareness week, aims to highlight the importance of spreading an anti-bullying ethos amongst all our affiliated clubs and members throughout Ireland. We have created short impactful video with our top athletes which will be showcased on the day.

We will also be tying in to the good work that Michael Carruth and his team are doing on the Startbox programme with over 200 schools and 2500 active participants in Dublin each year. Tuesday, 8th February also officially marks 150 days from the start of the Rio Olympic Games.

Some of Ireland’s leading Olympic hopefuls and coaches will be on hand to help officially launch the initiative and answer any questions you might have about their Rio Preparations. We would be delighted if you could attend on the day and show your support for such an important issue