RIO DE JANEIRO -- Mandy Bujold and Mikaela Mayer barely missed out on the debut of womens boxing at the London Olympics.The Canadian flyweight and the American lightweight both stuck with their sport after that qualifying disappointment, and they both celebrated victories in their long-awaited Olympic debuts Friday.They both realize theyve accomplished no small feat, given how their sport has grown in the ensuing four years.When you watch the girls fight and you watch the guys fight, theres really no difference, Bujold said. I think the girls actually go for it more, because weve got the two-minute rounds. Its all excitement.Four years after the womens boxing tournament was the best thing in the London ring, the encore has begun in Brazil. With fast-paced bouts and charismatic fighters, Riocentro Pavilion 6 buzzed with excitement when women led off both sessions, starting with a thrilling first bout.After peppering her larger, favored opponent with punches for four furious rounds, Ukraine light flyweight Tetyana Kob celebrated by doing the splits while her hand was raised by the referee in victory.The competition has just shot through the roof, Mayer said moments after dominating Micronesias Jennifer Chieng. You go to a tournament, and if you want to get that gold medal, there arent a lot of pushover fights. These girls are experienced. Theyve got Olympic medals.Just as professional womens MMA rapidly became vital to that sports image and health over the past four years, the smaller world of amateur boxing has realized that its female competition is one of its most important assets.The International Boxing Association (AIBA) aggressively backed the womens sport for years, and President Ching-Kuo Wu is determined to add more fighters and weight classes to the next Olympics. The current field is only 36 boxers in three weight classes, due to IOC restrictions on the total number of Olympic athletes, but Wu wants five womens weight categories at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, calling it vital for equality.All three gold medalists from London are back to defend their titles in Rio fights featuring four two-minute rounds, rather than the three three-minute rounds fought by men. The women are still wearing headgear, while the men fight increasingly bloody bouts without the protection, but AIBA is expected to remove the gear from the women next year as well.AIBA is getting much, much better at showcasing the women and really appreciating the talent we have, Bujold said after beating Uzbekistans Yodgoroy Mirzaeva to reach the quarterfinals. I love seeing it, because Ive grown up in this sport. Seeing it grow, seeing it get into the Olympics, and now seeing the elite women out there (in Rio), its amazing.Olympic committees around the world responded to the success of womens boxing in London by pumping money into their national programs -- and USA Boxing used that to its entire teams advantage. After Claressa Shields gold medal and Marlen Esparzas bronze, the Americans secured funds from the USOC to hire Walsh as womens head coach, but he oversees all eight men and women on the Olympic team.The (womens) sport has grown immensely, said veteran coach Billy Walsh, who helped Irelands Katie Taylor to the first Olympic lightweight gold medal in London. The last world championships in May, the standard was fantastic, and its only getting better each year.The world still hasnt changed completely, however. Cuba, the most successful Olympic boxing nation behind only the U.S., still hasnt sent a female fighter to the Olympics. A competition gap also exists among nations with more established boxing cultures, even at the top level: Shields hasnt lost a fight in four years since London, although her dominance is a reflection of her singular talent as well.But the worldwide growth of womens boxing isnt slowing down. A record 236 boxers from 73 nations fought at the womens world championships in Kazakhstan earlier this year.Its so hard to qualify for the Olympics now, Mayer said. No one is just there, trust me. If youre there, you know how to hold your own. Qualifying is the toughest part. At this level, we are professionals. These are not amateurs. Armani Watts Super Bowl Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Travis Kelce Super Bowl Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. http://www.officialkcchiefspro.com/Mitchell-schwartz-chiefs-jersey/ . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Cameron Erving Super Bowl Jersey . 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David Gallop has trumpeted the Tim Cahill effect as a turning point for the game in Australia as the FFA ramps up negotiations over its next A-League broadcast rights deal.The games governing body is hoping to land a bumper deal on the back of the excitement generated by the Socceroos greats return to Australia.Cahills wonder goal in his Melbourne City debut on Saturday went viral across the football-loving world and gave the code a boost when it needed it most.The FFA has begun the next stage of broadcast rights negotiations and is courting the major commercial television networks.While FFA chief executive Gallop predicted a deal would take months, he couldnt be more pleased with the hype generated by the first fortnight of the 2016-17 season, in particular the response to Cahills arrival back in Australia.The timing is good for us, were showcasing the game and the future of the game, he said.The future of the game is that its going to get bigger and bigger.We know that its got a massive participation base but weve got to grow that into fans of our clubs and demonstrate to media companies that that investment willl not only pay dividends now but it will pay dividends into the future as this sport, the world game, gets bigger and bigger in Australia.ddddddddddddWhile its only early days, Gallop trumpeted the fact A-League crowds are up 33 per cent on the same time last year while television ratings are up 44 per cent.The round one Sydney derby was attended by a competition record crowd of 61,880 and watched by 142,000 people on Fox Sports.The weekends Victory v Melbourne City clash attracted 43,188 fans to Etihad Stadium and was watched by another 132,000 on TV.Gallop said Cahills popularity had the potential to grow the pie for the game which would have ramifications for Australian soccers next broadcast deal as well as the expansion of the competition.I think the exciting thing is when you look across the competition youre seeing wonderful football being played, Gallop said.Australian players, imported players, the headline act (Cahill) getting a wonderful goal, theres a lot to look forward to. 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