A total of 33 places in the boxing tournament at Tokyo 2020 will be up for grabs at the African Olympic qualifier beginning in Dakar, Senegal today, Bestchoicesports.com.ng can report.

The competition at the Dakar International Expo Centre in the Senegalese capital, which concludes on February 29, is the first in a series of boxing qualification events for this year’s Olympic Games.

The qualifiers are being organised by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Boxing Task Force, established after the International Boxing Association was stripped of its recognition as the governing body for the sport in June.
Twenty-two berths will be at stake across the eight men’s weight divisions, with 11 available in the five women’s categories.

Three places in the men’s flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight and light-heavyweight categories will be up for grabs in Dakar.
Two spots will be available in the heavyweight and super-heavyweight divisions.

Nigeria will not participate in the qualifiers due to Nigeria Boxing Federation, NBF’s stand that the federation does not have “medal hopefuls” going into the qualifiers.