The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended on Wednesday to the IOC Session to withdraw recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA), in accordance with Rule 3.7 of the Olympic Charter (OC). The IOC EB also recommended to the IOC Session – in the interest of the boxing athletes and the sport of boxing – to maintain boxing on the sports program of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. To discuss the matter and take a decision, the IOC EB and the IOC President have convened an extraordinary IOC Session to be held remotely on June 22. The IBA has been suspended since 2019 and the IOC itself oversaw the 2020 games in Japan.
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IBA President Umar Kremlev said, “From a disreputable organization named AIBA governed by someone from the IOC’s upper echelon, we committed to and executed a change in the toxic and corrupt culture that was allowed to fester under the IOC for far too long. We have made the International Boxing Association new, transparent, clean…for four years, the IBA has not received a single opportunity to present its achievements at an in-person meeting with the IOC, rather than only exchanging letters and emails instead. We accepted the process and the rules, but in the end, we were not assessed fairly. Now, we are left with no chance but to demand a fair assessment from a competent court.”
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The IBA’s rival, World Boxing, applauded the IOC’s decision. “This is a very significant moment as it provides an opportunity for the sport (subject to the decision of the IOC Session on 22 June 23) to move on from the corrosive leadership of IBA which has brought boxing to a place where its status as part of the Olympic program is in doubt.
“The loss of Olympic status would be devastating for boxing and have damaging long-term consequences, across the globe, for boxers and everyone connected with the sport, from the elite level to the grassroots.
“World Boxing was established to prevent this catastrophic situation from arising and to create a better future and is committed to working constructively and collaboratively with the IOC and all other stakeholders to develop a pathway that will preserve boxing’s ongoing place on the Olympic program.”
What does this mean / it’s not an article it’s a cut and paste of a complex submission by some waffler – use plain English – is the sport in or out – if it’s out it’s the death of amateur boxing. If men (that competed as men) can enter women’s weightlifting and that sport is in the Olympics boxing should get a pass no matter what happened.
USA Olympic boxing is weaker than ever with very little talent. Female’s win 2 fights and they’re automatically olympians.