The AIBA World Boxing Championships held in Bakufrom 22 September – 10 October, 2011, was a massive competition. Altogether 685 boxers among elite men, coming from 127 countries and boxing in 10 weight categories, took part. Boxers from Europe won as many as six gold medals, five silver and ten bronze. The great generation of boxers from Ukraine managed to win four gold medals. Champions in Baku were Oleksandr Usyk(91 kg), Vasyl Lomachenko (60 kg), Taras Shelestyuk(69 kg) and Evhen Khytrov (75 kg). Besides them, two more gold medals went to decorated super heavyweight from Azerbaijan Magomedrasul Majidov, and phenomenal Misha Aloyan from Russia, who boxed in the 52 kg weight category.

This event was also a qualifying competition for the 2012 London Olympic Games. All the bouts were held at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex in the capital city of Azerbaijan. After the European boxers who won six gold medals, two gold went to Cuban great champions Lazaro Alvarez (54 kg) and Julio Cesar la Cruz (81 kg).  Legendary Julio Cesar la Cruz will go to win four more gold medals at the World Championships in the future. Another champion in Baku was Zou Shimingfrom China. That was his third World Championship gold medal, after Mianyang (2005) and Chicago (2007). The last gold medalist was Brazilian light welterweight Everton Lopes.

European boxers who became silver medalists were: Andrew Selby from Wales (52 kg), Luke Campbell from England (54 kg), Denys Berinchyk from Ukraine (64 kg), Teymur Mammadov from Azerbaijan (91 kg) and Anthony Joshua from England (+91 kg).

This World Championships will also be remembered by the fact that many finalists had to fight six times during the competition, which is more than usual. But two boxers that lost in the finals, Denys Berinchyk and Ryota Muratafrom Japan, had as many as seven bouts during the Championships, which is most certainly something that makes the sport of boxing one of the hardest sports on the planet.