The future pathway for Irish boxing is set to be decided at tomorrow's Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) Extraordinary General Meeting in Dublin.
Delegates from across the country will consider two matters.
The first is a special resolution to amend the current constitution, which would allow more operational control of the organisation, without constitutional restrictions. It requires a 75% majority to pass.
On a broader scale the main focus of the attendees at the National Stadium centres on the motion which could allow the IABA to affiliate with the recently formed World Boxing body. This just requires a simple majority to pass.
In June the International Boxing Association (IBA), run by Russian Umar Kremlev, was expelled from the Olympic movement by the executive board of the International Olympic Commitee (IOC).
The IBA is now no longer recognised by the IOC. It's the first time an international sporting body has been banned by the Olympics.
While World Boxing welcomed the move, an IBA statement described it as "truly abhorrent and purely political".
The IBA’s initial suspension came in 2019 amid ongoing governance concerns.
Should delegates vote in favour of this motion the IABA would also retain an affiliation with the IBA.
Four EGM information meetings were held around the country in order to prepare for Saturday.
They were in Belfast, as 37 clubs attended, Cork, where 14 were present, Dublin with 43 and Roscommon had 18.
The primary aim of the meetings, led by IABA Board of Directors chairperson Niall O'Carroll, was to enable club representatives to gather all the available information. Questioning and debate was understood to be robust.
Among the primary concerns are the IBA’s status with the IOC, future Olympic participation and the current stage of development of the World Boxing body.
USA Boxing, Great Britain Boxing and Boxing Australia were among the first governing bodies onboard.
This week the national federations of Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Honduras and Sweden joined World Boxing, bringing the total number of members to 12.
Gaining support from the African and Asian nations will be key, and potentially very difficult. The impact on underage competitions at Confederation and World level was also raised.
This week World Boxing appointed Australia-based Limerick academic Jack Anderson as their first ethics chief.
Boxing is Ireland's most successful Olympic Sport by a considerable margin. The roll of honour began with John McNally's bantamweight silver medal win at the 1952 games in Helsinki.
Forty years later Michael Carruth became the first Irish boxer to win Olympic Gold. Katie Taylor (London 2012) and Kellie Harrington ( Tokyo 2020) also won Amateur boxing's ultimate prize.
In total, boxing accounts for 18 of Ireland's 35 Olympic medals. Athletics is in second place with seven medals.
The IOC took control of the boxing events at the Tokyo Olympics.
President Thomas Bach has confirmed the sport's participation in the Paris and Los Angeles Games, but questions remain regarding its governance.
Ahead of the EGM, 145 clubs have registered to attend the National Stadium on Dublin's South Circular Road.
