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The International Boxing Association (IBA) accused Olympic chiefs of “outrageous political games” for asking countries to cut ties with the Russian-led body.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the IBA have been at odds for years, with the IOC questioning the IBA’s finances and ethics.
It removed the Russian-led IBA’s position as the sport’s global regulatory organization in June 2023, after initially suspending it in 2019.
Boxing has been organised by the IOC for the past two Olympic Games, having previously been controlled by the IBA.
On September 30, the IOC addressed a letter to national Olympic committees (NOCs) requesting that they sever their affiliations with IBA-affiliated boxing federations.
The letter reminds the NOCs that “boxing is no longer considered a sport on the Olympic Games programme.”
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It states that they should “no longer affiliate, or entertain any institutional relationship with, national boxing federations that are still affiliated with IBA,” but invites them to form relationships with federations tied to a new international boxing authority.
It further stated that the letter was “a testament to the IOC’s outrageous political games” and accused the IOC leadership of attempting to “damage boxing.”
The IBA reports that it has 192 members, six temporary members, and one suspended national federation, with 14 national federations leaving.
Some of them have joined a new group called World Boxing, which was founded last year in response to what it described as “persistent issues” with the IBA, which had cast doubt on the sport’s Olympic future.
The body, which presently has 44 members, selected former middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin as chair of its new Olympic Commission, which is in charge of securing IOC accreditation as the sport’s new regulating body.
It further stated that the letter was “a testament to the IOC’s outrageous political games” and accused the IOC leadership of attempting to “damage boxing.”
The IBA reports that it has 192 members, six temporary members, and one suspended national federation, with 14 national federations leaving.
Some of them have joined a new group called World Boxing, which was founded last year in response to what it described as “persistent issues” with the IBA, which had cast doubt on the sport’s Olympic future.
