It’s right the time to congratulate all of the users of our app not only with an international Boxing Day, but also for being part of the most dedicated and passionate boxing community around! Your support and love for the sport continue to fuel the growth of our Boxing Showtimes app and of boxing worldwide.
Today as we come together to celebrate, there is no better time to reflect on the rich history of this incredible sport. And to start we need to answer one question: what is this holiday and why is it exactly today?
International Boxing Day, launched in 2017, has been celebrated on August 27 since 2021, but this year marks a particularly significant milestone: the 50th anniversary of the International Boxing Association's premier event, the World Boxing Championships. The event, which first took place in 1974 in Havana, Cuba, has since become a cornerstone of the sport, with Cuba emerging as one of boxing's most dominant forces.
To commemorate this historic occasion, the IBA Champions' Night series will return to where it all began—Havana. This special event will feature a lineup of four Olympic champions and will be the first professional boxing event in Cuba since the 1950s, following the lifting of the ban on professional boxing in 2022.
"There were professional fights in Cuba in the 1950s, but this will be the first time we will be fighting as a team," said Alberto Puig, President of the Cuban Boxing Federation, during a press conference for the IBA Champions’ Night Havana.
Cuba's relationship with professional boxing has been complex. The country halted professional sports in 1961, allowing only amateur competition until partial reforms in 2013. It wasn't until 2022 that the ban on professional boxing was fully lifted, paving the way for this landmark event. Headlining the night will be two-time Olympic and five-time world champion Julio Cesar la Cruz, who will face Madiyar Saydrakhimov of Uzbekistan for the IBA Pro World Champion title in the 92kg division.
As people worldwide prepare to celebrate, this year’s International Boxing Day serves as a reminder of how far the sport has come since that inaugural World Championships in Havana, and the crucial role Cuba has played in its evolution.
We, as boxing fans ourselves, want to honor that feast too! That’s why we are giving out a limited on time promo code to purchase premium in our app: use ”iloveboxing” in the next 24 hours to get a discount and enjoy all things boxing!
Explore our daily news, dive into the boxing event calendar, relive the best highlights, discover a wealth of content including boxer biographies, fight records, histories, and much more!
Stay tuned, something special is on the way 😉
Keep swinging,
Boxing Showtimes Team