Austrian Boxing Association

The association has existed since 1921 and has therefore represented organized boxing in Austria for more than a hundred years.

On its own website, the ÖBV places this tradition in a long historical line: from the fist-fighting contest introduced in 688 BC at the 23rd Olympiad, in which fighters wore soft leather straps, through the harder Roman cestus, the first English records of bare-knuckle boxing in the sixteenth century and Broughton's rules from 1743, to the Queensberry Rules of 1867 and Olympic recognition in 1904.

The ÖBV organizes the Austrian national, elite, and youth championships, ABC tournaments, training camps, and training courses for coaches and judges, and maintains its own ranking. The federation sends teams to international tournaments such as the Strandja Tournament in Sofia, the Bocskai Memorial in Debrecen, the Youth World Cup in Budva, and the European Championships.

The priorities are athlete development through the clubs in consultation with the federation coach, good training and competition conditions, media attention for performances, and fitness and recreational sport for everyone from beginners to Olympians. The ÖBV fully endorses the anti-doping rules; they are binding for all members.

What is special is the Master Boxing Division for boxers aged 40 to 60, which the federation says is the first initiative of its kind within the European confederation. Boxing takes place in ten weight classes and at beginner, advanced, and master levels, over three two-minute rounds, with a mandatory annual license, competition pass, and medical examination.

Austria is listed as a full member of both World Boxing and European Boxing with Igor Miketic named as its president. On its own federation page, the ÖBV also mentions membership of the IBA and the EUBC.

Within Austria, the federation consists of nine state associations: Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria, Tyrol, Salzburg, Carinthia, Vorarlberg and Burgenland. The structure runs from the clubs through the state associations to the ÖBV as the umbrella organization.

The ÖBV considers promoting boxing and safeguarding and strengthening the sport’s standing in society its highest priority, with ethics in and around sport and the Olympic ideal at its core, as boxing is one of the original Olympic sports. The regional associations serve as the link between the clubs and the umbrella organization and are the first point of contact for anyone who wants to start boxing.