International Boxing Association

The International Boxing Association (IBA), previously known as the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), is an international sports organization that sanctions amateur (Olympic-style) boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships. IBA consists of five continental confederations: AFBC, AMBC, ASBC, EUBC, and OCBC. The association includes 203 national boxing federations.^[2]

International Boxing Association

Abbreviation	IBA
Formation	29–30 November 1946
Type	Sports federation
Headquarters	Lausanne, Switzerland
Region served	Worldwide
President	Umar Nazarovich Kremlev^[1]
Main organ	Congress
Affiliations	ASOIF, GAISF
Website	IBA.sport

The IBA was recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the international governing body for the sport of boxing until 2019, when the IOC suspended its recognition of the federation;^[3] in 2023, the IOC formally stripped the IBA of its status.^[4]

There are five confederations of IBA: African Boxing Confederation, American Boxing Confederation, Asian Boxing Confederation, European Boxing Confederation, Oceania Boxing Confederation.^[5]

Names

• from August 24, 1920 – the International Federation of Amateur Boxers (Fédération Internationale de Boxe Amateur, FIBA);
• from November 28, 1946 – Amateur International Boxing Association, AIBA;
• On November 22, 2007, as part of the AIBA reform, the name was changed to the current one,—International Boxing Association – but the abbreviated name was decided to stay the same;
• In December 2021, the abbreviated name was changed to IBA in an attempt to rebrand the organisation and distance itself from the former administration.

Competitions

Under the leadership of President Wu Ching-kuo, who ran AIBA from 2006 to 2017, the organization divided its competitions into three categories as part of Wu's overarching goal to govern boxing in all its forms:

• AIBA Open Boxing (AOB), formerly known as amateur or Olympic boxing
• AIBA Pro Boxing (APB), a professional boxing league
• World Series of Boxing (WSOB), a semi-professional team tournament

Wu's two professional ventures were abandoned by AIBA largely due to the organization's financial woes, which led to Wu's resignation in November 2017. AIBA Pro Boxing staged bouts only from late 2014 to 2016, and the World Series of Boxing abruptly ceased operations amid mounting financial losses after its 2018 season.^[6][7]

History

1920-2009

During the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, representatives from the national associations of England, France, Belgium, Brazil and the Netherlands met in a preliminary consortium for the foundation of an international boxing federation: The Fédération internationale de boxe amateur (FIBA). The official foundation has been celebrated on 24 August. Right after, international competitions appeared in the boxing arena, allowing amateurs to compete in well-known tournaments.

In November 1946, a consensus was met to give way for the boxing governing body to regain the loss of credibility due to the behavior of some leading officials in World War II.^[8] The FIBA was dissolved and the English Amateur Boxing Association in partnership with the French Boxing Federation decided to create AIBA; the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur. The President of the French Boxing Federation, Emile Grémaux, was elected to the position of President.^[9]

Sixty years later, AIBA continued to govern boxing in the Olympic Games without using the word "amateur". Until now, amateur boxing has been present on all continents with continental championships as well as World Cups and World Championships organized by AIBA.

2010-19

The organization has been involved in multiple corruption scandals including on several editions of the Summer Olympic Games.^[10][11] In December 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) expressed concerns about the governance of AIBA under Wu's leadership,^[12] and reaffirmed these concerns at an IOC Executive Board decision in February 2018.^[13] In June 2019, the IOC voted to suspend its recognition of AIBA as the governing body for the sport, stripping AIBA of any involvement in the Olympic Games. The IOC oversaw the qualification events and the boxing tournament at the 2020 Olympic Games through a task force chaired by Morinari Watanabe (JPN), President of the International Gymnastics Federation.^[3][14]

2020-22

On December 12, 2020, Umar Kremlev was elected as AIBA President, gaining 57.33% of the vote.^[15] The IOC had concerns, but Kremlev declared himself "the most clean candidate" and promised reforms.^[16][17][18] On December 13, 2020, AIBA adopted a new constitution.^[19][20][21] In 2021, Olympic champion, two-time World champion István Kovács was appointed General Secretary of AIBA.^[22] Later that year, AIBA appointed Professor Ulrich Haas to lead the AIBA's Independent Governance Reform Group.^{[23][24][25][26]}

Under the new leadership, five new committees were created: the Coaches Committee, the Champions and Veterans Committee, the Competition Committee, the Women's Committee, and the Medical and Anti-Doping Committee.^[27] In the process of Umar Kremlev's reforms, AIBA increased the number of weight categories in amateur boxing for men and women to 13 and 12, respectively. The prize money for the World Championships was set at $100,000 for gold medal, $50,000 for silver and $25,000 for both bronze medals. A program of financial assistance to national federations was also introduced.^[28][29][30]

On April 7, 2021, AIBA's new management signed a cooperation agreement with Gazprom, because of which the Russian company received the status of the organization's General Partner.^[31][32] AIBA stated they had paid off all debts, including a $10 million debt to the Azerbaijani company Benkons LLC.^[33][34][35] On May 28, 2021, AIBA signed an agreement with the international military sports council CISM.^[36][37][38] In the same year, the organization signed an agreement with the International Testing Agency (ITA).^[39]

To reveal the facts of manipulation at the boxing tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and corruption of the past AIBA administration, Canadian lawyer Professor Richard McLaren was appointed by AIBA to conduct a three-stage investigation.^[40][41][42] In September 2021, an independent report found that bouts leading up to and during the 2016 Rio Olympics were manipulated for money (up to $250,000), the perceived benefit of AIBA, or to thank National Federations, their Olympic committees, or hosts of competitions for their financial support and political backing.^[43][44][45] In December 2021, AIBA's National Federations implemented a series of constitutional amendments which included changing the abbreviated name to the IBA.^[46]

The International Olympic Committee has been concerned about the IBA under Kremlev's leadership.^[47] Kremlev has ties to Vladimir Putin, has moved much of the IBA's operations from Lausanne, Switzerland to Russia, has spent heavily on apparent self-promotion, and has opposed independent appointment of judges and referees.^[47][48] The IOC has also been alarmed by the fact that the IBA's only sponsor is a Russian company that supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[47] In September 2022, the IBA voted against a presidential election, cementing Kremlev's position as the organization's president.^[47]

In late September, the IBA banned Ukraine's national federation, telling the Ukrainian junior boxing team they must compete under the IBA flag at the European championships in Italy. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) expressed serious concern over and stated it would conduct a full review about the decision in December.^[49] Ukrainian boxers refused to follow the requirements.^[50] On October 4, the IBA cancelled its previous decision and allowed Ukrainian boxers to compete under their flag.^[51] A day later, the IBA cancelled an IOC-imposed ban on boxers from Russia and Belarus from earlier that year in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian and Belarusian boxers were allowed to compete with national flags and anthems in events with immediate effect.^[52] On October 6, Finland and Sweden announced that they would boycott IBA events with Russian or Belarusian boxers.^[48][53] In November 2022, the IBA signed a cooperation agreement with the WBA.^[54]

2023-present

In February 2023, USA Boxing announced its decision to boycott the 2023 World Championships (organized by the International Boxing Association) where Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete with no restrictions, also accusing the IBA of attempting to sabotage IOC-approved qualification pathway for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Poland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Ireland, Czechia, Sweden and Canada later joined the U.S.^[55] Rival World Boxing was launched in April 2023 with its interim board including officials from member organizations of the Common Cause Alliance.^[56][57][58]

The IBA subsequently lost its IOC-recognized status in June 2023.^[59]

Presidents

• Émile Grémaux (France), 1946–1959
• Lieutenant-Colonel Rudyard Russell (Great Britain), 1962–1978
• Colonel Don Hull (USA), 1978–1986
• Anwar Chowdhry (Pakistan), 1986–2006
• Kaner Doganeli (Turkey), 2006, act.p.
• Ching-Kuo Wu (Taiwan), 2006–2017
• Gafur Rakhimov (Uzbekistan), 2017–2019
• Mohamed Moustahsane (Morocco), 2019–2020, int.p.
• Umar Nazarovich Kremlev (Russia), 2020–present

Headguards

AIBA changed its rules in 2016 to ban headguards in AOB Elite Men competitions (19–40 years old) at the national, continental and international levels. Headguards are still mandatory for all other category competitions, including women's boxing at all levels. The Boxing Task Force for the Tokyo Olympics maintained the ban on headguards for men, but Roy Jones Jr. and other prominent boxers have argued for their reinstatement in future tournaments.^[60]

Events

• Olympic Games
• IBA World Boxing Championships
• Youth Olympic Games
• Youth and Junior World Boxing Championships
• Boxing World Cup (inactive)
• World Series Boxing (inactive)

See also

• Val Barker Trophy
• Boxing Association of Korea
• World Boxing

References

1. . 12 December 2020. Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
2. "AIBA Presidential Candidate Wants Better Communication".
3. "IOC bans AIBA from boxing at 2020 Tokyo Olympics". The Independent. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
4. "International Boxing Association stripped by International Olympic Committee of status". BBC Sport. 22 June 2023.
5. https://www.iba.sport/iba-family/confederations/
6. Morgan, Liam (21 July 2019). "World Series of Boxing set to collapse as AIBA confirm event is "inactive"". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
7. "Worldseriesofboxing.com". Retrieved 3 July 2021.
8. "AIBA Boxing History". International Boxing Association. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
9. (PDF). Library.la84.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
10. Mike Meehall Wood (23 October 2018). "Is Boxing About To Get Itself Removed From The Tokyo 2020 Olympics?". forbes.com.
11. . asahi.com. 2 December 2018. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
12. Grohmann, Karolos (6 December 2017). "IOC stops payments to boxing federation AIBA". Reuters. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
13. Butler, Nick (4 February 2018). "Boxing faces Tokyo 2020 Olympic expulsion unless governance problems addressed". www.insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
14. "Tokyo 2020 confirm boxing test event schedule after IOC decision". Inside the Games. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
15. "Russian Umar Kremlev elected AIBA president". timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
16. "Kremlev celebrates six months as AIBA President and pledges more reforms". insidethegames.biz.
17. . Archived from the original on 2020-12-12. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
18. "Umar Kremlev elected AIBA president despite IOC concerns". 12 December 2020.
19. "AIBA Congress 2020 summary: the new President and Constitution". sports.uz.
20. "IOC says AIBA has not cleared up doubts yet - Francs Jeux". 16 September 2021.
21. "NEW AIBA PRESIDENT ELECTED - Irish Athletic Boxing Association". 14 December 2020.
22. "Olympics gold medallist boxer István Kovács appointed as AIBA Secretary-General". www.sportsindiashow.com.
23. "CHANGING COURSE AND ROUSING HOPE: THE NEW FACE OF AIBA". www.eurosport.com.
24. "Olympic Champion and two-time World Champion Mr. Istvan Kovacs of Hungary is the new AIBA Secretary General | ASBCNEWS".
25. "István Kovács appointed Secretary General of AIBA - Irish Athletic Boxing Association". 23 March 2021.
26. "Ulrich Haas Archives - The Ring".
27. . Archived from the original on 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
28. "Пять новых комитетов созданы в Международной ассоциации бокса". tass.ru.
29. "Boxing: AIBA announces USD 100,000 prize money for world championship gold-winners". thebridge.in.
30. "New AIBA President waives allowances as launches reform process". 29 December 2020.
31. "AIBA to offer prize money to medalists at amateur world boxing championships". www.espn.com.
32. . Archived from the original on 2021-04-06. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
33. "Boxing-AIBA says pays off $10 million debt, signs Gazprom as sponsor". www.reuters.com.
34. "AIBA says it's debt-free now, launches inquiry into 'past judging corruption' | Boxing News - Times of India". The Times of India.
35. . Archived from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
36. "CISM & AIBA Sign The Historical Agreement". milsport.one.
37. "AIBA to collaborate with International Military Sports Council | Boxing News - Times of India". The Times of India.
38. "एआईबीए का अंतरराष्ट्रीय सैन्य खेल परिषद के साथ समझौता".
39. "AIBA has started its reforms". www.infobae.com.
40. "Bout manipulation existed at Rio 2016 Olympics says independent report". www.reuters.com.
41. "McLaren Independent AIBA Investigation" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 30 September 2021.
42. "McLaren hired by AIBA to investigate Rio 2016 Olympic boxing tournament".
43. McLaren, Richard (2021-09-30). "Independent Investigation of the AIBA Boxing Competitions Prior to and During the Rio Olympic Games 2016" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
44. "Manipulation system in place at Rio 2016". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
45. "Rio Olympics: More than 10 boxing bouts manipulated for 'money', reveals investigation; AIBA promises clean-up". The Indian Express.
46. Knox, Sarah Marie (18 December 2021). "AIBA Becomes IBA As Extraordinary Congress Embraces Widespread Reform". Eurosport. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
47. Carpenter, Les (27 September 2022). "Boxing's governing body nixes new election, jeopardizing Olympic future". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
48. "Venäläiset ja valkovenäläiset takaisin nyrkkeilykisoihin – järkyttyneet ruotsalaiset ilmoittivat jo boikotoivansa, Suomen liitolla pohdinnat käynnissä". Yle. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
49. "IOC to review IBA after surprise Ukraine ban, junior sanctions". Reuters. 2022-09-30.
50. "Збірна України з боксу відмовилася виступати на юніорському чемпіонаті Європи під нейтральним прапором". Dzerkalo Tyzhnia. 2022-09-27.
51. "IBA allows Ukrainian boxers to compete under their flag". IBA. 2022-10-04.
52. "IBA allows return of Russian, Belarus boxers with flags and anthems". Reuters. 2022-10-05.
53. "Suomen nyrkkeilijöiden kisamäärät romahtavat – lajiliitto toivoo Venäjää koskevaa boikottiaaltoa". Yle. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
54. Milano, Jesús (2022-11-28). "WBA signs cooperation agreement with IBA". WBA. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
55. USA Boxing accuses IBA of trying to "sabotage" Olympic qualifiers
56. "Fresh twist in boxing saga as new body, World Boxing, launches to save sport". The New Indian Express. 14 April 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
57. "IBA slams 'black sheep' breakaway body as schism roils boxing". Al Jazeera. 2 May 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
58. "Breakaway group aims to save boxing's Olympic status". ABC News. Associated Press. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
59. "International Boxing Association stripped by International Olympic Committee of status". BBC News. 2023-06-22. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
60. Beacham, Greg. "Kremlev confident AIBA will return to Olympic role in Paris". apnews.com. Retrieved 21 August 2021.

External links

• Official website