Page 19 - atoday

SPORTS A19
Wednesday 2 March 2016

No headgear rule for male
boxers cleared for Rio Olympics

STEPHEN WILSON AIBA President Ching-Kuo The IOC said there was no
AP Sports Writer discussion of Wu’s separate
LAUSANNE, Switzerland Wu said, although fight- proposal to allow profes-
(AP) — For the first time in sional fighters to compete
more than 30 years, male ers are more prone to cuts at the games in Rio.
boxers won’t be wearing Wu announced last week
protective headgear at without the head guards, that he intends to change
the Olympics. AIBA’s qualifying struc-
The International Box- the change will result in a ture to allow pro boxers to
ing Association, known compete for gold medals
as AIBA, adopted the decrease in concussions. in the multi-day Olympic
change for amateur fight- tournament in August. He
ers three years ago, and “AIBA provided medi- has called a special AIBA
the decision was widely meeting in May to vote on
considered a formality for cal and technical data his proposal, which has re-
this year’s games in Rio de ceived mixed reactions in
Janeiro. that showed the number boxing circles.
The move received official World Boxing Council presi-
clearance Tuesday when of concussions is lower dent Mauricio Sulaiman
the International Olym- has sharply criticized the
pic Committee executive without headgear,” IOC idea, saying AIBA “does In this Aug. 12, 2012, file photo, Britain’s Freddie Evans is hit by
board said it was up to not have a clue of what a punch from Kazakhstan’s Serik Sapiyev during a welterweight
AIBA to apply its own rules spokesman Mark Adams boxing means and repre- 69-kg gold medal boxing match at the 2012 Summer Olympics
and the IOC would not in- sents.” in London.
terfere. said. “They have done a
Associated Press
lot of research in the last

three years. The rule will go

ahead for Rio.”

Boxers have worn head Sulaiman, the head of pro Wu said it is up to each na-
boxing’s most prominent tional boxing federation to
guards in every Olympics governing body, also pre- determine whether it wants
dicted “dangerous mis- to enter pro fighters. If so,
since the 1984 Los Angeles matches between experi- he said, the fighters must
enced professional fighters go through a qualifying
Games. and amateur boxers” if the process to earn their spot in
pros take AIBA’s invitation. the games.
They were scrapped for

male fighters at the 2013

world championships and

2014 Commonwealth

Games.

Rays’ March 22 exhibition vs
Cuba in Havana is finalized

Workers paint the walls outside the Estadio Latinoamericano
baseball arena in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, March 1, 2016. On
the same week as the visits by Obama and The Rolling Stones,
the Tampa Bay Rays are expected to play the first Major League
Baseball exhibition game in Cuba since 1999, part of an extraor-
dinary string of events in a country that spent the Cold War iso-
lated from the United States and its allies.

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The the constructive role af-
Tampa Bay Rays’ exhibi- forded by our shared pas-
tion game against Cuba’s sion for the game, and we
national team in Havana look forward to experienc-
on March 22 has been fi- ing Cuba’s storied baseball
nalized, Major League tradition and the passion of
Baseball’s first trip to the its many loyal fans.”
communist island nation Manfred drew the Rays on
since the Baltimore Orioles Nov. 13 from a bin of teams
played there in 1999. that wanted to make the
MLB and the players’ as- trip. U.S. teams played
sociation announced the spring training games in
game Tuesday. It will be Cuba before Fidel Castro’s
televised by ESPN and ESPN revolution but none ap-
Deportes. Baseball Com- peared there from March
missioner Rob Manfred says 1959 until the Orioles faced
“during a time of historic Cuba’s national team in
change, we appreciate Havana in March 1999.