IOC still playing coy on Tokyo ring fling
TOKYO — The International Olympic Committee will “work hard” to keep boxing in the 2020 Games in Tokyo despite freezing preparations over a governance crisis in the sport, the body’s chief said on Saturday.
On Friday, the IOC said it was halting preparations for boxing at the 2020 Games and had launched a probe into the sport’s troubled governing body — the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA).
Speaking at a press conference, IOC president Thomas Bach declined to promise that boxing would be part of the 2020 Games, but said “we will make all efforts to protect the athletes as we always do.”
He said the IOC had “received a request from the national boxing federation of Japan pleading to have an Olympic boxing tournament. We’re absolutely in line with this request,” he added.
“We want to have one and this is why we will work hard.”
But Bach said there were ongoing concerns about AIBA, particularly its head — a controversial Uzbek businessman linked to organized crime by the US Treasury Department.
AIBA meanwhile said it was “pleased” that the IOC’s executive board had “acknowledged” its progress, despite the virtually unprecedented decision by the body to freeze progress to include boxing in 2020.
AIBA head Gafur Rakhimov also rejected the suggestion that his listing by the US Treasury Department impacted his ability to run the organization.
“I can assure the IOC that the situation with US authorities based on false allegations by the previous regime in my country and is being addressed. My legal team is working hard to correct this,” Rakhimov said on Friday.
The IOC’s decision poses logistical problems for the organizers of the 2020 Games, freezing all official contact between AIBA and 2020 organizers, as well as ticket sales, test event planning and finalizing the competition schedule.
But Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said on Saturday that while “official level contact” was halted, working-level contact with AIBA would continue.
“We will liaise, we will keep our collaboration, coordination,” he told reporters after a meeting with the IOC’s executive board in Tokyo.
“We will make efforts in preparation so that we have no delay in responding to the eventual decision which might come to implement the competition (of boxing),” he added.
“Venue preparation will proceed accordingly.”
The IOC’s final decision on whether to include boxing in the 2020 program is not expected until next June, Muto said.