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≡ IBA OPEN LETTER ≡
One day after a leading Russian propagandist threatened Germany, France and Great Britain with destruction for their continuing support of Ukraine against the Russian invasion, the Russian-led International Boxing Association asked for the help of U.S. President Donald Trump to get boxing back onto the program of the 2028 Olympic Games to be held in Los Angeles.
The open letter issued on Wednesday starts with congratulations and an endorsement of Trump’s position against transgender men participating in women’s events. Then:
● “IBA provides a platform for boxers to proudly represent their countries and earn a significant income through a substantial prize money fund established for all continental and World Championships. IBA ensures that all earnings are allocated to athletes, coaches, and National Federations, and that the medals won by the athletes, which they have worked towards their entire careers, are made of genuine and quality materials.”
● “Worthy of note, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its current leadership have, unfortunately, led the Olympic movement towards a decline through their short-sighted actions and poor governance. In fact, they have announced in the last 12 months that boxing will not be part of the Olympic program for LA28; it would be very much appreciated if your team could look into this situation.
“It is disappointing to see political agendas influencing sports, discrimination against athletes based on their nationality, and mishandling of funds in the Olympic movement.”
● “It is shameful that the only reward athletes receive for their countless hours of training and numerous sacrifices are medals made of low-quality metals. This is evident by the fact that many athletes have returned their medals to the IOC after the Paris 2024 Games.”
● “The International Boxing Association firmly believes that significant prize-money funds should be available for all sports disciplines at future Olympic Games editions, with the LA28 being the first to lead the way.”
● “With the upcoming renewal of leadership in the IOC in March, IBA expects the IOC to undergo restructuring, revitalization of key positions, and significant governance reforms. This will undoubtedly revive the Olympic movement and enable the provision of fair conditions, competition opportunities, and a prosperous future for the athletes.”
The letter also expresses “our eagerness to collaborate with your administration on initiatives that will promote the development of boxing in the United States” and suggests hosting an IBA World Championship in the U.S. in the near future.
It is co-signed by the IBA’s Russian President, Umar Kremlev, and its British Secretary General, Chris Roberts.
Observed: The message is very cleverly constructed, as it does not call for the IBA to be governing body for Olympic boxing once again, only that it “takes pride in being the sole governing body for boxing that respects the inherent rights of every athlete.”
It also, carefully, does not ask Trump to take any action, but only to “look into this situation,” as a direct intervention in the organization of the 2028 Games would be a violation of the Olympic Charter regarding government interference in the autonomy of sport (and of the IOC’s property rights as the owners of the Olympic Games).
But the IBA falls into its usual call for the IOC “to amend their regulations” regarding gender identity, when in fact the IOC’s 2021 Framework on Fairness, Inclusion, and Non-Discrimination only provides guidelines to International Federations and eschews a “one size fits all” approach.
The problem for boxing at the Olympic level is, in fact, the IBA, which has refused to identify its sources of financing, has held questionable elections, and when it disqualified both Algerian Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Yu-ting Lin at its 2023 Women’s World Championships, did not disclose the medical information which backed such actions, saying only they did not meet the IBA’s “eligibility” requirements (and, neither are transgender athletes). This after both Khelif (2022) and Lin (2018-19-22) had won medals at prior IBA World Championships. They both won Olympic women’s boxing golds in Paris.
So, the IBA was dismissed from the Olympic Movement at a special IOC Session in 2023 and the question of whether boxing will be included at the 2028 Olympic Games is to be decided in the first quarter of 2025.
Although the IOC will elect a new President on 20 March in Greece, Thomas Bach (GER) will remain as IOC President through 23 June, with the new President taking over on 24 June. That means the decision on (1) whether boxing will be part of the 2028 Olympic program and (2) if so, the recognition of 60-member World Boxing to be the new International Federation for the sport will take place while Bach is still President.
Further, the IBA – and many others in Russian sport – will be mortified if World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (GBR) is elected as the IOC President; he has been continuously against Russian participation in athletics since its state-sponsored 2011-15 doping program was exposed and then for its invasion of Ukraine.
Coe is a serious contender, along with former Olympic swim star Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), cycling chief David Lappartient (FRA) and long-time member Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP). Candidates not currently expected to contend include gymnastics head Morinari Watanabe (JPN), Jordan’s Prince Feisal Al-Hussein and ski & snowboard head Johan Eliasch (GBR). All seven will make presentations to the IOC members on 30 January, which could shake up the voters seven weeks in advance of the decision.
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