Azerbaijan Boxing Federation

Azerbaijan Boxing

The Azerbaijan Boxing Federation (ABF) is the national boxing federation of Azerbaijan and was founded in 1924. The federation is headquartered in Baku and has regional offices throughout the country.

The organization

Profile

The federation describes its vision as bringing national boxing together under one leadership to achieve new successes. Its mission is to raise the profile of Azerbaijani boxing, support national boxers, and safeguard the sport's values and traditions. The federation cites mutual respect, honesty, ethics, responsibility, continuous innovation, transparency, and efficiency as its core values.

At the election conference on 9 February 2022, Sahil Babayev was unanimously elected chairman; he was later re-elected to the position. Nagı Səfərov is secretary-general and Natiq Həsənov vice-chairman, with Fuad Hacıyev and Rövşən Hüseynov as board members.

In addition to the general assembly, the chairman, and the secretariat, the organization has an auditing service and standing committees for champions and veterans, boxing development, arbitration and appeals, trainers, and referees. The office is located at Xəqani Rüstəmov küçəsi, block 1210, AZ-1025 in Baku, email info@abf.az.

Over the years

History

The federation was founded in 1924. Two years later, in 1926, the first Azerbaijani boxing championship took place, and the country’s strongest boxers successfully participated in the Transcaucasian championship. In 1929, an international match against Turkey followed.

Since 1992 the federation has been a full member of the international and European boxing organizations, then known as AIBA and EABA.

Within the sport

Activities and role

The ABF assembles the men's and women's national teams with their own coaching staff and publishes the competition calendar, regulations, and news about the national team. The federation organizes training camps, including with foreign national teams, and sends boxers to European and World Championships.

The country is divided into regional representations, each with its own regional head coach and training venue, including Sumqayıt, Lənkəran, Gəncə, Şəmkir, Naxçıvan, Qarabağ, Siyəzən, Şirvan, Mingəçevir, and Zaqatala.

Connection

Membership and participation

Azerbaijan is registered as a full member of both World Boxing and European Boxing with Sahil Babayev as president and Nağı Səfərov as secretary-general. The federation itself states that it has been a full member of the international and European governing bodies since 1992.

Why this matters

Impact and meaning

Azerbaijani boxers have been among the international elite for decades. At the Olympic Games, this included silver medals for Alfonso Domínguez in Paris 2024 and Lorenzo Sotomayor in Rio 2016, as well as bronze medals in Tokyo, London, Beijing, Athens, and Sydney.

At the World Championships, Məhəmmədrəsul Məcidov won gold in Baku 2011, Almaty 2013, and Hamburg 2017, with further gold medals for Ağası Məmmədov in Bangkok 2003, Cavid Çələbiyev in Almaty 2013, Elvin Məmişzadə in Doha 2015, and Alfonso Domínguez in Belgrade 2021.

At the European Championships, among others, Rövşən Hüseynov in Bursa 1993, Teymur Məmmədov and Salman Əlizadə in Ankara 2011, Məhəmmədrəsul Məcidov in Minsk 2013, and Alfonso Domínguez in Minsk 2019 won the title.

Media and additional information

The abf.az website contains news, a multimedia archive with photos and videos, the calendar, an overview of achievements, regulations, a list of regional representatives, and a page with frequently asked questions. According to the federation, the section on the history of boxing in Azerbaijan is still being updated.