Boxers warned about sanctions when moving to World Boxing: dual membership is not possible

The World Boxing organization, created as a counterbalance to the International Boxing Association (IBA), officially accepted six national federations into its membership. World Boxing is going to apply to all national federations in the near future with an invitation to join. The dispute over the world ring is gaining momentum.

The history of the creation of an organization that can replace the International Boxing Association for the IOC, headed today by Umar Kremlev, is developing. The organization officially included the national boxing federations of the USA, New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, England and the Netherlands. According to World Boxing, the accepted federations have gone through a rigorous application process. And in the fall, in November of this year, the first World Boxing Congress will already be held.

World Boxing’s goal is well-known: to gain recognition from the International Olympic Committee, which has brought years of IBA grievance to what seems to be a desirable conclusion. The International Boxing Association (founded in 1946 and uniting 203 countries!) became the first sports federation in history to be deprived of recognition by the IOC. That is, he closed the “Olympic family” for her.

Back in 2019, the IOC for the first time withdrew recognition from the federation, depriving it of the right to host Olympic tournaments, as well as qualifying ones. The May session of the IOC has already unanimously supported the recommendation of the executive committee to deprive the IBA of recognition status: 69 votes in favor, one against. IOC Director General Christophe de Koepper said that there was no choice, the situation in relations had reached the “point of no return”.

And IOC President Thomas Bach, explaining the tough decision, said that the head sports structure “has no problems with boxing itself, there are no problems with boxers.” That boxing, despite the disagreements between the IOC and the IBA, was at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, will be in Paris 2024. But there are “extremely serious problems with the IBA.” And the unprecedented decision to withdraw recognition is only a consequence of the fact that the IOC “values ​​boxing too much”, whose athletes must be confident in the principles of “integrity and transparency” of the management of the international federation.

The IBA responded by issuing a statement that the IOC had “made a colossal mistake”. And she noted that by depriving the organization of recognition, the International Olympic Committee showed “its true politicized face”, absolutely not taking into account the real situation. Neither the fact that the IBA is among the best sports structures, nor the effectiveness of the reforms that took place in the organization as part of the IOC roadmap, nor the level of tournaments held, nor the financial assistance of the IBA to many countries that needed it …

But a holy place is empty, as you know, does not happen. And even before the official decision of the IOC on non-recognition of the organization, a new structure aimed at the role of the IBA, that is, at the place of the leader of world boxing. World Boxing appeared in the spring, when the boxing federations of the USA and Great Britain announced their withdrawal from the IBA, which, under the leadership of Umar Kremlev, did not follow the recommendations of the IOC to deprive the athletes of Russia and Belarus of the anthem and flag at its tournaments.

The IBA fought, did not pretend that nothing was happening: “Self-proclaimed sports federations and organized coups are not new in sports, and every federation has the means to protect itself, its members and ultimately the athletes. And she drew attention to the fact that “the numerous management reforms carried out by the IBA went unnoticed, and the path to regaining Olympic recognition was a dead end from the very beginning.” She stated that in connection with the creation of a new structure, she retains “the right to demand damages from any person that damages the activities and reputation of the IBA.”

An alternative organization has already been created. It is difficult to say exactly how strictly members were accepted into it. But they were not surprised, they were already known. Dutch boxing federation president Boris van der First (he tried last year to become head of the IBA) said he expects a rapid influx of new entrants into World Boxing. The first meeting of the organization’s congress will be held in November, World Boxing is going to apply to all national federations with an invitation to join the new structure in the near future.

In turn, the International Boxing Association, after it “became aware of attempts to mislead its national federations”, found it necessary to recall the membership rules set out in its constitution and the IBA membership policy on the official website. “Dual membership and affiliation with both the IBA and another international federation” is not allowed. Those federations that ignore the rules may face consequences and disciplinary action.

“We respect the democratic decisions of our members, no matter what they decide regarding their status in the IBA. However, we want to provide correct information, so decisions are based on facts only and not on the spread of disinformation. We support our national federations and have proven it time and time again, we simply call to know and respect our constitution and rules,” said IBA interim general secretary and chief executive Chris Roberts. And encourages national federations to contact the IBA head office for clarification before making a decision. The world ring beats not at all in sports showdowns. Nobody hears the gong.