Boxing’s Olympic future takes major blow following vote in Dubai

The future of boxing as an Olympic sport has suffered a major setback.

The Asian Boxing Confederation voted 21-14 not to join World Boxing at an extraordinary congress in Dubai on Saturday.

While 19 delegates subsequently supported a motion from the floor to become ‘independent’ and deal directly with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the legality of this motion is in doubt.

The Asian Boxing Confederation’s Board of Directors had recommended to members to support cutting ties with the International Boxing Association (IBA) and link up with World Boxing, which is aiming to secure recognition as the international federation for boxing.

Boxing has been left off the programme for the Los Angeles Games in 2028 by the IOC who ran the tournament at the Paris and Tokyo Games following the suspension, and ultimately the derecognition of, the Russian-led IBA.

The IBA are appealing this IOC decision in a court in Switzerland, having lost their initial appeal to the Court for Arbitration in Sport.

The IOC have stated if they can partner with a new credible organisation, boxing will be restored to the programme for the LA Games, despite all the negative publicity the sport endured because of the gender row and the inconsistent judging and refereeing during the Paris Games.

Forty-two countries have left the IBA and joined World Boxing, including eight countries from Asia, among them India, Taiwan and South Korea.

Asian countries dominated boxing at the Paris Games, with Uzbekistan topping the medals’ table with five gold in the men’s competition. China finished second with three gold and two silver in women’s boxing.

Politically both are closer to Russia than the United States and western Europe, which is at the forefront of the movement to establish World Boxing, as are other national federations in Asia.

So, it wasn’t a surprise they voted not to leave the IBA, but the margin was.

The president of the Olympic Federation of Ireland, Sarah Keane, revealed during the Paris Games that the OFI will be withdrawing recognition of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association if they remain as members of the IBA.

The vote in Dubai is a stunning blow to World Boxing and could lead to the IOC having second thoughts about recognising them, which in turn puts paid to the chances of the sport being restored to the LA Games.

Predictably, the IBA welcomed the decision. A statement read: “It reflects the years of IBA’s hard work invested in boxing development worldwide and true unity of the IBA Boxing Family.

“Pluralism of opinions means true democracy, and the IBA appreciates the variety of views from National Federations. However, the majority decides, and IBA supports the decision taken.” (Irish Independent)