FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Boxing - Women's 57kg - Victory Ceremony - Roland-Garros Stadium, Paris, France - August 10, 2024. Silver medallist Julia Szeremeta of Poland makes a heart-shaped gesture. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/File Photo
(Reuters) -Polish boxing has rediscovered its knockout punch – this time in women's gloves, according to one of the sport's domestic icons Dariusz Michalczewski.
And the Gdansk-born former world champion says the key to the women’s continued success is the return of a domestic boxing league after a 20-year absence.
The 57-year-old told tabloid Super Express that Poland's female boxers are now delivering the medals that have long eluded their male counterparts.
"They bring medals from the (Olympics) Games, World Championships, Europe or, as recently, from the World Cup," he said, suggesting the men should take note.
The revival of Poland's boxing league represents crucial infrastructure for sustained success, the boxer added. "There was constant contact with the front line, regular solid checks every week," Michalczewski said of the league's previous incarnation which hit the canvas in 2003.
Poland revived its league after a 22-year hiatus, with the country's sports minister Slawomir Nitras hailing the move as a boost for Olympic boxing in the country. The new league features eight teams competing home and away across nine weight categories, with each matchday including two women's bouts.
Michalczewski, a world champion at light-heavyweight and cruiserweight in the 1990s, said now is the perfect time for authentic boxing's comeback.
"People want to watch something cool, and not these morons who talk a lot and then don't show anything," he said, referring to celebrity match-ups he described as "freak fights".
"We are a fighting nation, boxing was our national discipline at one time and hopefully it will be the same soon."
The World Boxing Cup wrapped up in Brazil earlier this month after a six-day tournament.
Poland topped the women’s standings with two gold medals, three silvers and two bronze medals for a total of seven. The Polish men finished seventh with a silver and two bronzes, behind table-topping Uzbekistan, India, Brazil, England, France and Kazakhstan.
(Editing by Christian Radnedge)
