Oceania Boxing Championships set to begin in Gold Coast – Loop PNG

It is the last of the five Continental Championships that serve as direct qualification routes to the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) World Boxing Championships, due to be held in the German city of Hamburg between August 25 and September 2.

The two finalists in each of the ten weight categories will secure their places in Hamburg.

Action is due to begin today with finals scheduled for Thursday (June 29).

Vanuatu number one Boe Warawara will be aiming to defend his continental bantamweight title.

He went on to compete at the 2015 AIBA World Championships in Doha, losing in the round-of-16, and last year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Warawara lost his first round bout to Russia's Vladimir Nikitin in Brazil.

Australian super heavyweight Joseph Goodall won silver at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and will have his sights set on gold.

Australia's AIBA Youth World Championship bronze medallist Sam Goodman is due to compete at bantamweight, while his compatriot, former AIBA junior world champion Clay Waterman, will enter the light heavyweight event.

New Zealander David Nyika impressed at heavyweight with the British Lionhearts during the recent World Series of Boxing season and will be full of confidence heading to the Gold Coast.

Papua New Guinea's defending flyweight champion Charles Keama and Rio 2016 Olympian Thadius Katua will also be hopeful of success.

Katua won the gold medal at the 2015 Pacific Games on home soil in Port Moresby but was knocked out of the lightweight event at Rio 2016 in the round-of-32.

Fiji's hopes rest on the shoulders of their Rio 2016 Olympian Winston Hill.The 23-year-old lost in the round-of-32 in Brazil and will compete in the welterweight competition this week..

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Oceania Boxing Championships set to begin in Gold Coast - Loop PNG