The fate of boxing at the Paris 2024 Olympics, already under threat due to various actions taken by the International Boxing Association (IBA) under its Russian president Umar Kremlev, which have been deemed unacceptable by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has been thrown into further turmoil.
With the IOC excluding the IBA from the qualification pathway process for Paris 2024 and a number of Western nations joining a US-led boycott call of the upcoming Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi, along with the Men’s World Boxing Championships, to be held in Tashkent in May, the IBA has taken to grandstanding.
The IBA on Monday designated the two championships as the “main qualification event” for next year’s Olympics, which has not surprisingly been dismissed by the IOC.
Late on Monday, an IOC spokesperson told The Indian Express, “As announced by the IOC in June 2022, the IBA will not be involved in Paris 2024’s boxing qualifications and tournament. The only valid boxing qualification system for Paris 2024 is the one approved by the IOC EB in September 2022. Following an investigation and report by an IOC Inquiry Committee in 2019, recognition of the International Boxing Association was suspended by the IOC. This suspension is still in force today.”
The IBA, meanwhile, stated its Olympic Qualification System (OQS) for athletes to compete at Paris 2024 “was unanimously taken by National Federations at the IBA Ordinary Congress in Abu Dhabi, UAE”.
The IBA further stated: “The announcement of the IBA OQS for Paris 2024, is a necessary step to protect our athletes as the IOC proposed qualification process consisting of one competition is not acceptable and fair for the athletes. To exclude world champions from the upcoming Women’s and Men’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi, India and Tashkent, Uzbekistan from qualifying for Paris 2024 is not acceptable and against the principles of sport and boxing.
“Furthermore, the qualification for Continental Games will be based in the results of the IBA Confederations Continental Championships with the IBA athlete rankings being the basic tool for the final selection of athletes for Paris 2024.
The IBA reiterates its openness to cooperate with the IOC for the benefit of the boxing, its athletes, and the stability and quality of the Olympic Games product. In addition, no other qualification process for Paris 2024 will be accepted by the IBA and the boxing community other than the following: Women’s World Boxing Championships, Men’s World Boxing Championships, and the final last chance to qualify open event taking place in May 2024. IBA and Continental ranking quotas will be used, working alongside our Confederations, plus three Golden Series events, to include Host Country and Universality places.”
Reiterating “its openness to cooperate with the IOC” may be all well and good on paper but the ground reality, as the Indian Express notes, is that the IOC’s clarification notwithstanding, the presence of two so-called qualification pathways is likely to further split an already divided boxing world with one block of nations rallying around USA while the other rallying around the IBA.
