Dylan Bettencourt
Olympic boxing has been delivered a devastating blow, sending it crashing to the canvas with fans unsure if it can survive the count.
On Sunday delegates of the sport’s world governing body the International Boxing Association (IBA) voted against a leadership challenge to the incumbent Russian president Umar Kremlev.
The proceedings were delayed by close to an hour due to a power cut in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.
However, with that out the way the Russian president was backed to continue by 106 votes to 36 at the congress – a decision that many believe will destroy all hope of the sport taking place in the 2028 Olympic Games, The Times reported.
After his victory Kremlev delivered a strong message with ideas of a new future for the organisation without the Olympics, saying: “We shouldn’t say Olympic boxing, we should say IBA boxing.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) displayed “extreme concern” with the circumstances around the congress.
“Following these disturbing developments, the IOC will have to fully review the situation at its next meeting,” the IOC said in a statement.
The congress was held because Dutch delegate Boris van der Vorst had successfully appealed against a decision to prevent him from challenging the current president.
Van der Vorst was deemed to have broken campaign rules by the Boxing Integrity Unit but the decision was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The IOC has in the past raised concerns over the IBA’s leadership under Kremlev and has left boxing off its initial list for the 2028 Olympics set for Los Angeles.
The IBA will not organise the boxing event in the Paris Olympics, instead it will be managed by a IOC-appointed task force.
However the IOC seems to not want to repeat the same procedure in the 2028 Olympics which further indicates boxing at the Olympics may be a thing of the past after 2024.
Image source: @TheNewYorkTimes
