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One of Europe’s most traditional boxing tournaments, the 69th Bocskai István Memorial Tournament, will begin in Debrecen next Tuesday, March 11, 2025. The participation of 200 boxers from 13 countries has already been confirmed.
As announced at the press conference on Tuesday, March 4, almost the Hungarian elite will enter the ring at the Oláh Gábor Street Sports Hall. Three national team boxers will not participate: Olympic 5th place finisher Kovács Richárd, Kiss Levente, and Énekes Dominik.
Ten men’s and ten women’s weight categories will be competed in in Debrecen from next Tuesday to Saturday (March 11-15, 2025). Local pride, last year’s European silver medalist Attila Bernáth, will also put on gloves. The finals will take place on March 15, starting at 6:00 PM.
The daily program starts at 2:00 PM on Tuesday through Thursday and at 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM on Friday.
“The Bocskai, which will be seventy years old next year, is living its golden age, and the federation is determined to keep it that way. According to our plans, this tournament will become a real brand, maintaining its traditionally strong position in the World Boxing competition system. We are thinking in terms of quality, not medals. The Bocskai is the main event of the year, an extremely important preparation stage before the World Championships in Liverpool in September,” István Kovács, president of the Hungarian Boxing Federation (MÖSZ), said. He was referring to the fact that MÖSZ became a full member of the new World Boxing Federation preliminarily recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Saturday.
It is possible that the new head coach of Hungarian boxing will be revealed during the tournament. Out of more than ten applicants, three remain in the running.
Ticket sales for the Bocskai Memorial Tournament have already started.
This year, pensioners and children under 14 can attend for free. The finals of the Bocskai István Memorial Tournament will be broadcast live on M4 Sport, and the other competition days can also be followed on the federation’s YouTube channel.
MTI reported that at the end of the press conference, Lajos Barcsa, Deputy Mayor of Debrecen, and István Kovács signed the contract for the Bocskai István Memorial Tournament.
“I encourage the people of Debrecen to come in large numbers and show that even the Oláh Gábor Street Sports Hall is not big enough. We also discussed with the vice president that an even larger hall might be considered in the future,” the deputy mayor emphasized.
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
