Boxing Association
Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), stated that they have met all of the reform criteria and that dropping boxing from the Olympics would be an injustice.
In accordance with the judging and system reforms, Kremlev urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to recognize the Association’s dependable financial system and the inclusion of active and former boxers on the board of directors.
He went on to say that the International Boxing Association is one of the world’s ten most efficient and successful organizations, and that there is no reason for it to be excluded from the Olympics.
“We are not going to allow anyone to remove boxing from the Olympics. Those who seek the exclusion of the IBA from the Olympic Games will be considered criminals,” he said.
Kremlev hoped that rather than exchanging emails, both parties could sit down at the negotiating table and find a solution, as this misunderstanding could be resolved in a day.
The IOC suspended the IBA in 2019 due to financial and governance concerns, resulting in the organization’s exclusion from boxing events during the Tokyo Olympics.
Tensions between the two sports bodies heightened after Russia invaded Ukraine the previous year, further straining their already troubled relationship.
The IBA controversially decided in October to defy IOC guidance and allow Russian and Belarussian boxers to compete under their flags, thereby lifting a ban on them.
“The IBA has fulfilled all the criteria 100 per cent concerning all the questions that were raised in relation to judging and system reforms,” the Russian told Reuters on the sidelines of the ongoing women’s world championship in New Delhi.
“We have no debt, we have a good financial system in place. We have active and former boxers in our board of directors.
“I think that we are one of the 10 most efficient and successful international associations in the world.”
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