Candidate plays down Oly threat

An Uzbek businessman who is standing to lead the International Boxing Association (AIBA) on Friday played down threats the sport will be chucked out of the Olympics if he wins a weekend vote.

Gafur Rakhimov, previously interim president and one of two candidates for the permanent position, has been linked to organised crime by the US Treasury Department. He has vigorously denied the allegations but in October the International Olympic Committee (IOC) froze relations with AIBA and refused to accredit Rakhimov for the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.