From July 28 to August 13, 286 boxers from all four corners of the globe will be competing in the world's most historic and prestigious sporting competition – the Olympic Games.

This edition, the XXX Olympiad, will be a watershed moment in the history of the sport of boxing with 36 women boxers being able, for the very first time, to showcase their talent and skills as they battle it out for medals in London.

Boxing has been the last Olympic sport not to have both men and women represented and I am delighted that this will not be the case anymore. The London 2012 Olympic Games will be the culmination of an exciting year of qualifications.

Quota places were up for grabs at eight different tournaments worldwide, with the AIBA World Boxing Championships Baku 2011, five Continental Olympic qualifying events, the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships Qinhuangdao 2012, without forgetting the gifted boxers who made their mark in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) inaugural season's Individual Championships.

In May 2011, five WSB boxers became the very first athletes to qualify for the London 2012 Olympic Games, a ground-breaking step in the development of AIBA's professional boxing initiatives.

And this is only the beginning.

In 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, AIBA Professional Boxing (APB) boxers will join AIBA Olympic Boxing (AOB) and WSB boxers in competing at the Olympic Games.

World Series of Boxing Individual Championships 2012 winners with CK Wu

We are proud to have announced the launch of the APB programme, AIBA's first fully professional boxing initiative. Since then, this exciting project has developed at great pace and we are now ready to start in the autumn of 2013. By the end of the London 2012 Olympic Games, more than 100 boxers will have joined APB to compete at the world level.

This is another example of AIBA's drive in fast-tracking the development of the sport of boxing and for the good of the boxers' careers.

We have already entered a new era for our beloved sport, we are currently rewriting history. We need all of your support to make today's hopes the reality of tomorrow.

I hope you look forward to witnessing the cream of the crop take to the ring during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

CK Wu is the President of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member.