Announcing the initiative on Tuesday, the Hungarian federation said the aim of the new competition is to share the values of boxing with a wider audience while offering fresh inspiration to young athletes and fans around the world.

Conceived as an intercontinental team event, the organisers describe the Papp Cup as extending beyond sporting results alone.

By bringing together competitors from Europe and the Americas, the event is intended to strengthen connections across continents through a format that places collective achievement at the centre.

Team-based contests at the highest level remain relatively uncommon in boxing, where athletes typically compete for individual success. The Papp Cup seeks to offer a different experience for one evening, with elite boxers entering the ring as part of a shared effort.

For decades, Europe and the Americas have been regarded as the two main centres of Olympic-style boxing, producing generations of Olympic and world champions, influential coaches and many of the sport’s leading figures.

According to the federation, the event also aims to create opportunities for athletes, coaches, referees and sports officials to come together, strengthen professional ties and build new international relationships through their shared connection to boxing.

Speaking about Budapest’s role as host, István Kovács, president of the Hungarian Boxing Federation, said the Hungarian capital has repeatedly demonstrated its standing in international boxing in recent years.

Budapest has hosted several continental championships and elite world championship events and is also home to one of boxing’s longest-running and most respected memorial tournaments. He said staging the inaugural Papp Cup offers another opportunity to place Olympic-style boxing at the forefront of international attention.

Elise Seignolle, president of the Panamerican Boxing Confederation (PBC), said the competition reflects what she described as the core values of Olympic boxing.

“By bringing together the best boxers from Europe and the Pan-American region, we are creating a unique platform that celebrates both competition at the highest level and the values that unite our sport.

We are proud to be part of the birth of a new tradition that inspires athletes, strengthens international cooperation, showcases the best of Olympic boxing, and we are already eagerly looking forward to the gala in Budapest,” she said.

Lars Brovil, president of the European federation, also expressed support for the initiative, saying his organisation remains fully committed to the development of Olympic boxing and welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the new event.

The competition is named after László Papp (1926–2003), one of Hungary’s most celebrated sporting figures and a respected name throughout the boxing world. Beyond his achievements in the ring, Papp became known for the qualities that shaped his reputation outside sport, including fairness, sportsmanship and personal integrity.

Papp made boxing history as the first athlete ever to win Olympic gold medals at three consecutive Games, claiming titles in London in 1948, Helsinki in 1952 and Melbourne in 1956 — an achievement that secured his place among the sport’s most influential figures.

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