Because Russians and Belarusians are allowed to take part in the title fights in amateur boxing, many nations have decided not to start.
About a dozen nations will not compete in the women’s amateur boxing world championships in New Delhi, India, starting March 15, and most likely in the men’s title fights in Tashkent, Uzbekistan afterwards. These include the USA, Poland, Great Britain, Ukraine and Germany.
The reason is clear – even if not everyone openly pronounces the word “boycott”: At the World Championships, Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to start under their national flag and, if they win, they can also hear the national anthem. As if the war of aggression in Ukraine, which has been going on for more than a year, would not exist.
Russian Kremlev is president of the world association
A closer look at the structures in the world association IBA makes it clear why the sanctions recommended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are falling there. The Russian Umar Kremlev is in charge as president, and the sponsor Gazprom, which is controlled by the Russian government, has plenty of money flowing into the association’s coffers. And the IOC, which is currently facing a lot of criticism under certain conditions because of the planned return of Russia to the world stage of sport, Kremlev is only too happy to wipe one out.
The IBA has been suspended in the IOC since 2019, and the association around President Thomas Bach complains, among other things, about the dubious management of the association, a lack of financial transparency and the lack of integrity in the arbitration processes. As a result, boxing was removed from the Olympic program for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The qualification for Paris 2024 and the Olympic fights in France’s capital are in the hands of a task force set up by the IOC – just like at the Olympics in Tokyo.
DBV justifies the waiver of participation in terms of training tactics
The German boxing association DBV officially justifies the waiver of the World Cup with theoretical training reasons. Sports director Michael Müller emphasized in February that the German boxing squad wanted to concentrate entirely on the European Olympic qualifying tournament in June in Kraków, Poland.
But it is also clear that if the World Cup had started, the Federal Ministry of the Interior would not have paid for the so-called posting costs. The regulation of the ministry responsible for sport still applies, stating that no subsidies are paid if Russians and Belarusians take part in competitions without restrictions. For example, the German squad chess players have to do without subsidies in corresponding tournaments.
Foundation of a new world association?
In order to save the future of Olympic boxing, numerous national federations want to found a new world federation. It is no accident that they are the same ones missing from the World Championships in India and Uzbekistan. According to reports, facts will be created for this at the end of March, after an IOC meeting in Lausanne.
Meanwhile, the IBA has offered the boxers of the associations boycotting the World Cup the opportunity to still take part in the title fights. You could do this under a neutral flag.