Boxing bouts fixed at ’16 Olympics

Boxing bouts for medals at the 2016 Olympics were fixed by “complicit and compliant” referees and judges, an investigation reported on Thursday. Investigator Richard McLaren was appointed by the International Boxing Association, known as AIBA, and found AIBA officials selected referees and judges to ensure that bouts could be manipulated in Olympic qualifying and at the Rio de Janeiro Games. He also found signs the 2012 Olympics in London were affected. “Key personnel decided that the rules did not apply to them,” said McLaren, who added there was a “culture of fear, intimidation and obedience in the ranks of the referees and judges.” The investigation identified “in the vicinity of 11 (fights), perhaps less,” including fights for medals, McLaren said. Senior AIBA officials used their power to select referees and judges and turned the commission which was supposed to ensure they were assigned fairly into “a mere rubber stamp,” McLaren said. Referees and judges were told who should win a bout. McLaren wasn’t able to identify who was responsible for running the scheme and selecting winners. None of the refs or judges from 2016 worked this year’s Olympics in Tokyo after being suspended by AIBA.