Boxing facing an uncertain Olympic future

The International Olympic Committee has frozen planning for the boxing tournament at the Tokyo 2020 Games and started a process that could see it completely cut ties with the International Boxing Association (AIBA).

Amateur boxing’s governing body has been on the ropes for several years as it has struggled to answer questions about its finances, governance and refereeing standards but its relationship with the IOC reached crisis point when the AIBA elected Gafur Rakhimov as president earlier this month.

The Uzbek businessman was named interim president in January, having previously been a vice-president, but he has also been on a United States Treasury Department sanctions list since 2012 for alleged involvement with a global crime network.

Despite his repeated denials of any links to organised crime, the IOC sent several strong hints to the AIBA that there would be grave consequences if it left Rakhimov in charge, including withholding the federation’s share of the funds generated by the Olympics and also banning the 67-year-old from attending October’s Youth Olympic Games.

None of that prevented his election, though, so the IOC has dramatically upped the ante by setting up an ‘ad-hoc inquiry committee’ to investigate its numerous concerns about the federation.

At a meeting in Tokyo yesterday, its executive board agreed to maintain all the sanctions it imposed in July and decided to: “Freeze the planning for the Olympic boxing tournament at Tokyo 2020.”

The board did lift its ban on funding for individual boxers but only if the money goes directly to the athlete and not via a national boxing federation.

It also prohibited AIBA from using any of the Olympic brands, including the rings, or any Tokyo 2020 logo.

However, in a move that may well reassure potential Olympic boxers, the IOC issued a statement that said it will “make all efforts to protect the athletes and ensure that a boxing tournament can take place at Tokyo 2020 regardless of these measures”.