NEW DELHI: The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) Friday agreed to become a member of World Boxing (WB), the international federation headed by the United States and Britain that was set up last year in opposition to the Russian-led International Boxing Association (IBA).
By aligning with WB against the sport’s current world governing body, which was suspended by the IOC in 2019, IBF joins the Philippines and Mongolia as the third Asian country to align itself with the Swiss-registered body.
The membership application has been approved by BFI’s general assembly, and will be ratified by WB’s executive board. BFI president Ajay Singh recently met with WB’s president and secretary general to discuss ways in which India can support the international federation in growing its membership base in Asia, where the BFI is one of the largest national federations.
Per an official release: “As part of its commitment to the future development of WB, the BFI aims to play a leading role in establishing an Asian confederation and drive the recruitment of other national federations in the region.
“IBF also intends to actively participate in the work of WB committees and all commissions as well as bidding to host WB competitions and supporting WB’s efforts to secure commercial partnerships and generate new income streams.”
It bears noting that while WB was purportedly established to “ensure boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement”, the ongoing machinations have all the hallmarks of Cold War era politics. As far as the IBA’s decision is concerned, that it is driven by considerations of realpolitik is a given, because WB clearly has the full support of the IOC, and official recognition is more about when rather than if.
WB president Boris van der Vorst stated: “India is a very important country in international boxing and we look forward to welcoming the BFI into the growing World Boxing family. This is a very exciting development which will significantly increase our presence in Asia and I look forward to working closely with the BFI in delivering our common goals.
“In both its public comments and during our recent meeting, the IOC has delivered a clear message to all national federations that if they want boxers from their country to have the opportunity to compete at future Olympic Games then they must now join World Boxing. This is the only path that will see our sport remain in the Olympic Games after Paris 2024 and national federations must act now and follow the example of the BFI if they want boxing to have any chance of still being part of the programme at Los Angeles 2028.”
Singh added: “It is absolutely vital to the sustainability of boxing that it retains its Olympics status, so we are delighted to join World Boxing and look forward to working closely with the Executive Board and our fellow members to shape the future development of the sport and deliver a brighter future for boxers across the world.
“The BFI shares the same values and goals as World Boxing and are keen to play a leading role in its development. We also wish to be at the forefront of the formation and hosting of a new Asian confederation to ensure boxing continues to expand and grow its membership on the continent.”
WB was launched in April 2023. On 7 May it held its first formal meeting with the IOC.
For the record, WB currently has 27 members (which will become 28 with the addition of India). Meanwhile, after the exit of BFI, IBA will STILL have 203 members among its ranks. But for how long will other national federations hold out considering the IOC’s publicly committed support to WB, of course remains the big question.
