▪️The three have clawed their way to the pinnacle of world boxing officiating through sheer grit, relentless commitment, and heavy personal investment
▪️Boxers will eat with the big spoon in the lucrative IBA Elite President’s Cup tournament
▪️IBA is completely reinventing the game with a brand-new competition model designed to ensure that athletic brilliance receives life-changing financial rewards.
November 6, 2026
After an impressive show in the ring at the IBA Africa Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships in Kinshasa, Kenya’s renowned Star-3 R&J Nelson “Jaluo Jeuri” Otieno is leading the continent’s elite boxing caravan to Istanbul, Turkey, for the USD 3 million inaugural President’s Cup Championships running from November 27 to December 4.
Otieno, Leila and Lone will stand among the crème de la crème of African Star 3 Referees and Judges (R&Js) selected to officiate this high class tournament.
THE PRICE OF GREATNESS: FROM SELLING CARS TO JETS AND GOLD MEDALS
True excellence isn’t given; it is earned in the shadows. Nelson, Leila, and Lone have clawed their way to the pinnacle of world boxing officiating through sheer grit, relentless commitment, and heavy personal investment—dipping deep into their own pockets to fund their journeys through the grueling IBA Classification Courses.
They aren’t the only ones who risked it all for the love of the sport:
The ultimate gamble: Zimbabwe’s legendary Steve Masiyambumbi famously sold his own car just to finance his trip to Dubai for the elite Star-3 certification course.
The payoff: Today, Masiyambumbi practically lives in the clouds, jetting from continent to continent to call the shots at the world’s biggest international boxing spectacles.
We send our maximum respect and best wishes to these world-class African R&Js as they take center stage in Turkey!
BRAVO IBA ON THE MEGA-MONEY BLUEPRINT: BOXERS TO “EAT WITH A BIG SPOON”
The IBA is completely reinventing the game with a brand-new competition model designed to ensure that athletic brilliance receives life-changing financial rewards.
🏆 The grand finale payouts
In Istanbul, boxers won’t just be fighting for glory—they will be competing for a massive fortune. The placement prize money breakdown per weight category is staggering:Tournament Placement Prize Money (USD)
🥇 1st Place (Champions) $80,000
🥈 2nd Place $40,000
🥉 3rd Place $22,000
🏅 5th Place $5,000
Pay-As-You-Win: Cash from the Very First Bell.
The financial rewards kick off long before the medal rounds. To keep the intensity high from day one, boxers will pocket $500 cash for every single preliminary bout won on their march toward the quarter-finals. The moment a fighter punches their ticket to the quarter-finals, they automatically lock in the minimum fifth-place prize of $5,000.
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK: THE 50-25-25 SPLIT
In a historic move to uplift the entire boxing ecosystem, this revolutionary prize money model recognizes that it takes a village to build a champion. The cash won’t just go into the boxer’s pocket; it will be distributed to sustain the sport from the grassroots up:
1) 50% goes directly to the warrior in the ring (The Boxer)
2) 25% goes to the mastermind in the corner (The Coach)
3) 25% goes to the backbone of the sport (The National Federation)
AN OPEN COMPETITION WELCOMING ELITE AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL BOXERS
The IBA President’s Cup 2026 will become the inaugural event of IBA Elite series.
Featuring 14 men’s weight categories, the President’s Cup will be staged as an open international competition welcoming both elite amateur and professional boxers, backed by a total prize money fund of USD 3 million.
The action will take place at the Başakşehir Gençlik ve Spor Tesisleri, a venue already familiar to the international boxing community after hosting the 2022 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. Four years later, the arena will once again welcome boxers from around the world — this time for the opening chapter of IBA Elite.
IBA Elite has been created to provide leading boxers with a stronger and more continuous international competition structure, offering regular opportunities to face high-level opposition and progress on sporting merit.
At the centre of the new system will be the IBA World Ranking, designed to accompany boxers throughout their sporting journey and connect their performances across IBA Elite competitions.
Every result will matter. Ranking points earned through competition will build a boxer’s international standing and play an important role in qualification for future editions of the IBA President’s Cup and the IBA World Championships.
This creates a clear sporting pathway in which performances throughout the season can lead towards IBA’s most important competitions.
IBA Elite will also strengthen the bridge towards IBA Pro, giving outstanding boxers the opportunity to showcase themselves internationally and potentially progress into IBA’s professional competition structure.
