A key decision for world boxing was made on Thursday. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided not to return recognition to the International Boxing Association (IBA), which is headed by Russian Umar Kremlev. Now it’s final — the selection for the 2024 Olympics and the boxing competitions in Paris will not be held under the auspices of the IBA, but under the control of either a special IOC commission or some other boxing organization. In addition, a recommendation was issued to remove the IBA from the boxing tournament of the 2028 Olympics.
The IOC's verdict is based on the recommendation of the executive committee of the organization on June 7. Then it was said that the association did not fulfill the conditions of the IOC put forward in December 2021.
“We have no problems with boxing as a sport and with boxers,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “We support boxing as one of the leading sports in the world. In all countries of the world, boxing plays an important social role. If only we had problems with boxers, we would not compete (at the Games) in Tokyo because the IBA was already suspended.Unfortunately, we have serious problems with the IBA due to its leadership.We believe that boxers deserve to compete under the auspices of the federation, which preaches the principles of honesty and transparency».
The results of the vote were disappointing for the IBA — 69 votes in favor of the IOC proposal, 1 against, 10 abstentions.
In an independent course, the Kremlin was elected the Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation in 2017, and in a short time he clearly made himself known in the boxing world. In 2019, Russia held two world championships at a high level at once — the men's in Yekaterinburg and the women's in Ulan-Ude, and the national federation proved to be a reliable and self-confident partner. In December 2020, Kremlev was elected President of the International Boxing Association.The IOC in February 2022, after the start of the CBO, recommended that international federations remove Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in international starts. Almost all organizations followed the IOC's lead, including the IBA. But six months later, all the federations continued to swim in the waters of Bach, and the IBA rebelled. In October, the International Boxing Association allowed Russians and Belarusians to compete under the national flag.
In March, Russians won one gold, one silver and one bronze at the world championship, and in May men won two gold and four bronze medals world championship. Boxing is the only sport in which Russian athletes competed under their own flag.
Line of contentionSuch independence was not included in the plans of the IOC, accustomed to the fact that all federations habitually take under the hood. Moreover, the organization has had certain claims against the IBA for several years now. The Federation has been deprived of IOC recognition since 2019, and the tournament at the Tokyo Games was held under the guidance of a special commission. financing of sports by Russian state-owned companies.
But to a greater extent, apparently, the leadership of the IOC was not satisfied with the figure of the Kremlin. Ambitious, independent, uncontrollable person. And the worst thing is Russian. The time bomb was supposed to go off sometime.
Burning bridges The IBA leadership understood what to expect from the IOC session. And struck first.
The Kremlin said a week before the summit: «The IOC members are on the verge of making a serious historic mistake for the Olympic Movement. Despite the difficulties we are facing, I want to assure you that the IBA will remain independent and firm in respecting Rule 25 of the Olympic autonomy and independence of each international federation in the management of its sport We will not allow our independence to be compromised, we will not allow divisions within our organization.»
The head of the IBA also noted that he has no difficulties with the IOC or the Olympic movement, but there are problems with certain individuals who «try to destroy boxing for personal gain and hide under suits and ties in their imaginary pocket corporations.»
br>The IOC responded harshly on Tuesday. «The IOC Executive Board condemns the aggressive and threatening statements of IBA President Umar Kremlev against a number of people from the IOC. Hate speech and derogatory remarks against people working for the IOC who perform their professional duties, as well as against the IOC as an organization, are simply unacceptable,» stated in the statement.
After such curtsies, it was pointless to count on any compromise. IOC Director General Christophe De Koepper was ruthless.
“We gave the IBA time to correct their mistakes and be able to meet the requirements. This concerns transparency and trust, but this was not done,” the IOC representative emphasized. «We have not been able to meet our guidelines. First of all, this concerns the management and financial activities of the IBA. Based on the budget for this year and next, we saw that their money is still coming from Gazprom, which is not in line with the new recommendations of the IOC.»
“The IBA has shown a complete lack of respect for the principles of international sport ahead of the 2024 Olympics. They have shown a lack of understanding of what we want to see from them. In order to protect the interests of the sport, we have decided to give the IBA a second chance in 2019. The IBA nevertheless failed to meet our demands «Years later, they did practically nothing to change the situation. In the end, we came to the conclusion that the IBA should not organize a boxing tournament at the Paris Olympics,» concluded De Koepper.
What next? In this situation, the IOC two ways to qualify for the Games and the tournament in Paris. First: tested — to entrust everything to a special commission of the IOC, as at the Games in Tokyo. Second: to bet on a new organization created in April — World Boxing. Its establishment was declared by the national federations of Great Britain and the USA, and Germany, the Netherlands, the Philippines and Sweden expressed their desire to join. But the organization is only making its first steps, there are a number of important procedural issues that will take some time. And before the Games in Paris, a little more than a year.
Therefore, the first option looks more realistic and tactically correct. And the second, taking into account the political situation, is potential and strategic. Isn't this the organization that Bach had in mind when he spoke of «honesty» and «transparency»?
However, there is one important nuance. Kremlev knows how to take a punch, and the IBA will certainly not give up without a fight. But are the forces equal?