Olympic boxing faces an impending disaster.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has repeatedly sounded the alarm over the corruption of judges, poor governance and the alarming finances of the International Boxing Association (IBA), the renowned world governing body for sport amateur.
Boxing was left out of the original program for the 2028 Olympics. As it stands, it won’t be at the Games after the next Olympics unless it can meet the criteria the IOC has set. set for reform.
Olympic boxing is overshadowed by an imminent threat
Signs in this regard are cause for deep concern. Earlier this year, the IOC stripped the IBA of the right to administer the Olympic qualification and boxing tournament at Paris 2024, in the same way that a special IOC working group organized the boxing events at the last Olympics.
But leaving the sport off the 2028 Olympics program shows the IOC has no intention of doing so a third time.
The IBA must then reform itself, to the satisfaction of the IOC, otherwise it will be expelled from the Olympic Games after Paris. It would be disastrous for boxing at all levels of the sport.
So far, however, the situation remains dire and the outlook continues to be bleak. This month, the IOC had already written again to warn of “serious concerns regarding the governance of IBA”, stating in no uncertain terms that it was still unable to overturn the exclusion of 2028 Olympics boxing.
The IBA governance crisis deepened when Boris van der Vorst was declared ineligible to stand for election against incumbent IBA President Umar Kremlev. Van der Vorst applied to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn that decision and his case was upheld. The election is expected to be re-run at the IBA Extraordinary Congress in Armenia on Sunday.
Nicola Adams and Anthony Joshua played at London 2012, a groundbreaking Olympics for British boxing
The national federations will have to vote for this new election to move forward, if they do, they will take place immediately afterwards.
It will be a vital test for the IBA and whether it can pull Olympic boxing from the brink.
Van der Vorst of the Netherlands, who is challenging Kremlev for the presidency, is adamant this is a battle to save boxing’s Olympic future.
“It’s clear and don’t take my word for it, just read the IOC’s latest open letter to the outgoing president,” he said. sky sports.
“The next IBA Congress will also determine the legacy of all delegates present. Decisions made at the Congress can ruin the Olympic dreams of boxers, destroy our sport, destroy our own National Federations.
“But we can also save our sport, ensure its sustainable development towards a prosperous future. We can get out of self-destruction mode. This can only happen if we all resist pressure, reject corruption, question promises crazy and stay true to boxing values.”
The IBA’s problems need to be solved and Van der Vorst believes the current management can no longer do that.
Lauren Price was gold medalist in the most successful British Olympic boxing team in 100 years
“As many independent experts investigating IBA have reported in unison: the main problems are caused by the people in boxing, not the regulations. no doubt. That’s the big picture, but in operational terms we need to address the three areas that concern the IOC: integrity of competition, governance and financial sustainability. That sounds like a lot, but we have the regulations in place. You just have to respect it, follow it rigorously, and I am ready to do it,” he said.
“I have already committed to restoring the IOC’s financial contributions to the IBA, releasing additional funds from Olympic Solidarity for boxing and forming the Independent Boxing Integrity Unit to protect boxers and boxing federations. all within 100 days of my election as President. If I cannot complete this, I will tender my resignation. I am confident that I can end our self-defeating confrontation with the IOC, our most important partner and the most reliable.
The Russian Kremlev itself maintains that boxing will remain an Olympic sport.
“There is no way boxing will lose its Olympic status. We will work with the IOC to overcome all obstacles,” he said. sky sports.
“Boxing is one of the oldest Olympic sports, and I believe that past misdeeds should not be the reason for punishing thousands of boxers who have their Olympic dream. We have nothing in common with the former AIBA, we should not be responsible for the wrongdoings of others, I will personally ensure that boxing is free from corruption and other issues.
The IBA has taken steps to allay some of the IOC’s concerns. Richard McLaren, for example, was brought in to look at corruption issues.
Hopes for the next generation of talented boxers rest on the fact that boxing is an Olympic sport (Photo: IBA)
“We have completed about 90% of the planned reforms, and we will maintain our work orientation towards integrity, full transparency and sustainability,” Kremlev insisted.
“We believe that the IOC will evaluate our work fairly. To name a few, we have settled all debts, allocated prize money for major tournaments, increased the weight categories for men and women. women, established a financial support program to help our national federations.In accordance with Professor Dr [Ulrich] Haas recommendations, we changed our constitution. It’s a huge job done in just 21 months. I am certain that IBA’s work will be recognized and appreciated.”
Being able to organize an election for president that is perceived to have been administered fairly will be a crucial test of whether the IBA can reform its governance. But in addition to the corrupt refereeing, the IOC has also expressed concerns about the IBA’s funding sources. He currently depends on Russian energy giant Gazprom for sponsorship.
Kremlev promises: “We will announce new sponsors in a few days. IBA is developing a solid commercial program to diversify its income.”
Amir Khan winning an Olympic silver medal aged just 17 was a major moment for British boxing
He nevertheless acknowledged: “This Congress will be decisive for our governance reforms.”
However, Kremlev criticized the IOC itself, a sign that there is still a long way to go before the IBA and the IOC can establish harmonious relations.
“We were very disappointed with the IOC’s decision to withdraw the right to host the Paris 2024 qualifying and boxing tournament from the IBA. Over the past 22 months, we have made solid progress in governance , finance, arbitration and judging, all of which were not taken into consideration,” Kremlev insisted.
“Of course, there is always room for further improvement, however, this decision is truly life-changing as we have put all our efforts into reforming the organization with the best independent experts involved, and our significant progress has not been recognized and appreciated.
“However, life goes on and we have work to do to ensure the well-being of our athletes and coaches, who are our top priority.”
But the loss of Olympic boxing would be devastating. Its effect would ripple through amateur boxing clubs and the communities they serve and hinder the development of future elite and professional boxers. It would destroy the foundations of the sport as we know it.
The professional success of many of Britain’s top fighters is based on their Olympic achievements
Olympic boxing has an august history in the UK. The professional success of Anthony Joshua, Amir Khan and many others was founded on their achievements at the Olympic Games. Britain had its most successful Olympic boxing team for a hundred years at the Games in Tokyo last year.
England Boxing, the national governing body, underlined the seriousness of the situation.
“The fact that boxing was not included in the original program for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles is another considerable red flag,” England Boxing said in a statement.
“Boxing has a proud and illustrious track record at the Olympics, having been contested at every Summer Games since its introduction to the program in 1904 – and we want that to continue.
“With this in mind, England Boxing’s position is that the urgent changes needed to protect boxing’s status as an Olympic sport are best served by voting for tough presidential candidate Boris van der Vorst.”
For boxing, the sport of Muhammad Ali, female pioneers like Nicola Adams and one of the original Olympic events, missing out on the Games was once unthinkable. It is now an imminent threat, which will become a reality until drastic measures are taken.
Sunday’s IBA Congress will be another crucial moment, but the time to save the sport is running out.