A new international governing body has been established in amateur boxing in response to ongoing issues within the International Boxing Association (IBA).
Backed by Olympic boxing powerhouses such as the United States and Great Britain, World Boxing is seeking recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which excluded the IBA from involvement in the Tokyo Games and intends to do the same in Paris next year.
The Irish Athletic Boxing Association have not yet offered their support for the new governing body as to do so will require the backing of it's members and clubs at a vote.
However, the organisation did issue a statement to say it "notes the establishment" of the body and that it does "share the principles" of World Boxing.
Interim IABA CEO, John Nangle, said: "We advised our members in recent months that decisions lie ahead – those decisions will be in the hands of our over 350 clubs, and will guide how Irish boxing develops at home, and on which international stage IABA boxers take to the ring."
The IBA was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2019 over governance, finance, refereeing and ethical issues and the two have been at loggerheads ever since.
Boxing is not on the initial programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, pending reforms.
World Boxing, which was launched via a virtual press conference on Thursday afternoon, is being led by boxing administrators from federations across the world and says it is committed to keeping boxing "at the heart of the Olympic movement".
A host of countries, including Ireland, boycotted the men's and women's World Championships due to concerns around the governance of the IBA, whose president is Russian Umar Kremlev and whose biggest sponsor is Russian energy company Gazprom.
The IABA welcomed the establishment of the new federation but said that any decision on whether or not to join would require a vote of members.
Last October it lifted a ban on Russian and Belarusian boxers competing under their flags, while on Thursday the IBA insisted the European Games in Poland must be revoked as qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics because athletes from Russia and Belarus have been barred from competing.
Amid all this turmoil, World Boxing is apparently setting itself out as the athlete-friendly alternative, spelling out five key pledges that will ensure this:
- It will keep boxing at the heart of the Olympic movement
- It will ensure the interests of boxers are put first
- It will deliver sporting integrity and fair competitions
- It will create a competition structure designed in the best interests of the boxers
- It will operate according to the strongest governance standards and transparent financial management
World Boxing has also stated that it will have a male and female boxer on its executive boards. Both will have voting rights and will be supplemented by a six-strong athletes committee.
The board will be elected at a congress in November, with World Boxing laying out the make-up of its interim executive board, with representatives from boxing organisations in Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Sweden and the USA.
It will be overseen on a day-to-day basis by interim secretary general, Simon Toulson, who has extensive experience in international sport having previously led the International Canoe Federation (ICF) and the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).
The two athlete representatives are Tokyo 2020 middleweight gold medallist, Lauren Price from Wales, and the USA’s super-heavyweight silver medallist, Richard Torrez Jr.
The executive board includes Matthew Holt, the chief executive of GB Boxing.
"It is vital that boxing continues to remain at the heart of the Olympic movement and to achieve this we need to re-establish a relationship of trust between those that the govern the sport and all of its stakeholders.
"World Boxing aims to deliver this by creating a financially transparent organisation with strong governance structures that delivers sporting integrity and fair competition and acts in the interest of boxers and the sport."
Tyson Lee, President, USA Boxing, said: "The loss of Olympic status represents an existential threat to boxing that will have a negative impact on the sport at every level from grassroots clubs to the higher ends of professional boxing.
"World Boxing aims to prevent this. It will create a sporting structure designed to suit the best interests of boxers and ensure they continue to have the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games."
