In the fight for the future of Olympic boxing, several national associations, including the German Boxing Association (DBV), have founded the new international association World Boxing.
The new association should “ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic movement,” said World Boxing on Thursday evening. DBV sports director Michael Müller sits on the interim executive committee of the new association.
World Boxing, which includes the federations of the USA, Great Britain and the Netherlands, was founded in “response to the ongoing problems with the existing international governing body of Olympic boxing”, according to World Boxing, which recognizes “its failure to address long-standing concerns of the IOC in relation to sporting integrity, governance, transparency and financial management”.
Hope for recognition by the IOC
World Boxing is now seeking recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). “The loss of Olympic status poses an existential threat to the sport of boxing, which will have negative repercussions at all levels, from grassroots clubs to the higher levels of professional boxing. World Boxing aims to do just that prevent,” said Tyson Lee, president of the US association.
World Amateur Federation suspended by IOC
Olympic boxing is on the rocks right now. The amateur world association IBA, led by Russian President Umar Kremlev, has been suspended by the IOC since 2019 due to “lack of financial transparency” and “lack of integrity in the arbitration processes”. Boxing has already been removed from the Los Angeles 2028 program, and a task force set up by the IOC organized the competitions in Tokyo 2021. The same is planned for Paris 2024.
The IBA responded to the creation of World Boxing, announcing action to protect its “autonomy as the official worldwide governing body and global home of boxing”.