The England Boxing National Amateur Championships previously known as the ABA Championships is the premier boxing tournament hosted annually by

England Boxing England Boxing, known until 2013 as the Amateur Boxing Association of England, is the governing body of amateur boxing clubs in England. There are separate organisations for Scotland and Wales with boxing in Northern Ireland being organised on a ...

. The Championships are 'open' class: any

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

who is registered with a club registered with

(aged over 17 years by the 1 October) can enter.

History

The inaugural Championships were held (over one day) on 18 April 1880 at

St James Hall St. James's Hall was a concert hall in London that opened on 25 March 1858, designed by architect and artist Owen Jones, who had decorated the interior of the Crystal Palace. It was situated between the Quadrant in Regent Street and Piccadilly, ...

, London at four weight categories:

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

(57 kg),

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

(60 kg),

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

(75 kg), and

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

(91 kg). 1884 saw the introduction of a fifth weight category (

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

, 54 kg). In 1920 three additional weight categories were introduced taking it to 8 weight categories in all. These extra weights were:

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

(51 kg),

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

(69 kg), and

Light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

(81 kg). In 1920, the London ABA was split into four Divisions to accommodate the number of boxers entering the ABA Championships. The start of Divisional Championships. The following year in 1921 the ABA decided to introduce eliminating rounds and the Country was split into four Regions to assist in identifying a champion. In 1926 the Championships were opened by a Patron of the 'ABA', the Prince of Wales. In 1971, the '

light flyweight Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing. Professional boxing The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920 ...

' category (48 kg) was included in the National Championship for the first time. In 1982, the '

super heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for th ...

category (over 91 kg) was added. Cruiserweight (86 kg) was added in 1998. By 1994, the ABA Championships became a purely English affair as Scottish and Welsh boxers could no longer compete due to disagreements over rules and regulations. In 2012/3 the weights were revised, deleting

light middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...

(71 kg) and cruiserweight (86 kg), also increasing

welter weight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

from 67 kg to 69 kg. So today a total of eleven weight categories are contested. The ABA Champion is automatically selected to represent England in the Four Nations Championship in that year (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales). In 2019 the Championships were renamed the England Boxing National Amateur Championships and the 2020 Championships were cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2022, another re-organisation of the weight categories resulted in the light-middleweight division returning.

Locations

The inaugural Championships were held at

, London on 18 April 1880. In 1926, the Championships moved to the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

London after moving around different venues within the Capital City (St. James Hall,

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

Northampton Institute City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

, Holborn Central Hall,

Royal Aquarium The Royal Aquarium and Winter Garden was a place of amusement in Westminster, London. It opened in 1876, and the building was demolished in 1903. The attraction was located northwest of Westminster Abbey on Tothill Street. The building was design ...

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...

, People's Palace and the Holland Park Ring). From 1946 until 1990 the Championships were held at the

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

. Since 1990 the locations have varied. *1990–1992 (Royal Albert Hall) *1993–1998 (

Arena Birmingham Arena Birmingham (known for sponsorship reasons as Utilita Arena Birmingham, and previously as The Barclaycard Arena and originally as the National Indoor Arena) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham, United Kingdom. It ...

) *1999–2002 (Metrodome Leisure Centre, Barnsley) *2005–2005 (

ExCeL London ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House, Newham, Custom House area of London Borough of Newham, Newham, East London. It is sit ...

) *2004, 2006 (

Wembley Conference Centre Wembley Conference Centre was a conference centre in Wembley Park, London, England, that existed from 1977 to 2006, located next to Wembley Arena. History In the later 1970s, modern multi-purpose halls began opening in British towns and cities. ...

) *2009–2009 (

York Hall The York Hall, officially known as York Hall Leisure Centre, is a multi-purpose indoor arena and leisure complex in Bethnal Green, London, and is situated on Old Ford Road. The building opened in 1929 with a capacity of 1,200 and is now an inter ...

, London) *2011–2011 (Charter Hall, Leisure World, Colchester) *2013–2013 (Rainton Meadows Arena, Sunderland) *2014–2016 (

Echo Arena Liverpool Arena, known for sponsorship reasons as the M&S Bank Arena, and previously Echo Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the city centre of Liverpool, England. The venue hosts live music, comedy performances and sporting events, and ...

, Liverpool) *2017–2017 (

Magna Science Adventure Centre Magna Science Adventure Centre is an educational visitor attraction, appealing primarily to children, located in Rotherham's former Templeborough steelworks. Location The site used to be home to the Steel, Peech and Tozer steel works (also ...

, Rotherham) *2003, 2007–2008, 2010, 2012 & 2018 (

, London) *2019–2020+ ( Manchester Central) *2021–2021 ( University of East London's SportsDock) + 2020 event due to be held in Manchester was cancelled

England Boxing National Amateur Championships (champions)

Super Heavyweight (92+kg)

Heavyweight (- 92kg)

Cruiserweight (- 86kg)

Light Heavyweight (- 80kg)

Middleweight (- 75kg)

Light Middleweight (- 71kg)

Welterweight (- 67kg)

Light Welterweight (- 63.5kg)

Lightweight (- 60kg)

Featherweight (- 57kg)

Bantamweight (currently uncontested)

Flyweight (- 54kg)

Light Flyweight (- 48kg)

References

{{English and British National Champions England Boxing Boxing competitions in the United Kingdom National championships in the United Kingdom