By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Preliminaries of the first Kuwait Boxing Championship will end on Friday with nine matches in all weights. Kuwait's boxer Khalid Al-Shimmari expects a tough match as he clashes with his Ukrainian opponent Nikita in the 91 Kg category, while his teammate Mansour Al-Shimmari will have a competitive match with his Bahraini opponent Sayyed Fadhel in the 51 Kg category.

KBF Chairman welcomes Umar Kremlyov

The opening ceremony was held on Thursday in the presence of the president of International Boxing Association Umar Kremlyov, president of Asia Boxing Federation Pichai Chunhyajra, president of Arab Boxing Federation Yousef Al-Kazem, president of Kuwait Boxing Federation Mohammad Mansi and other senior sports officials. The ceremony was followed by six matches out of nine as three boxers withdrew after medical check-up and weighing.

Head of Referees Committee Mijbel Al-Azmi

There will be 100 boxers from 20 countries participating. President of International Boxing Association Umar Kremlyov said the association is keen on extending all types of support to Kuwait Boxing Federation to ensure the success of the first Kuwait International Boxing Championship.

Meanwhile, head of the referees committee Mijbel Al-Azmi said the total number of referees is 17 as the international rules will be applied in this tournament, and bouts will be of three rounds - three minutes each. Manager of the Saudi team Mohammad Alem said Kuwait International tournament is one of the most important tournaments in 2022 adding that "it is expected to see strong and exciting competitions as a large number of ranked boxers are participating."