LAUSANNE: AIBA has ordered an “immediate investigation” into judging decisions of certain bouts at the Asian Boxing Championships held in Dubai.
India was amomg the countries that had sought reviews of controversial decisions made during the course of the tournament.
India had sought a review of defending champion Amit Panghal’s 2-3 loss on Monday in the 52kg class against Uzbekistan’s reigning World and Olympics champion Shakhobidin Zoirov.
BFI had tweeted: “India has contested the R2 decision of the spilt verdict 2-3 and surprise loss of @Boxerpanghal in the finals of ASBC #AsianEliteBoxingChampionships in Dubai against reigning World & @Olympics champion S Zoirov.”
Regarding the probe, AIBA declared: “After liaising with several National Boxing Federations, AIBA anticipates the Refereeing and Judging (R&J) Committee will conduct an immediate investigation into the work of all relevant appointed officials and report their findings to the AIBA Disciplinary Committee as soon as possible, to determine whether there is a case to answer or not. If so, the Disciplinary Committee will empower an immediate independent expert review, to determine whether any incorrect decisions were taken due to lack of competence, manipulation or corruption.”
AIBA further declared: “…that it is determined to resolve issues with boxing Refereeing and Judging, with the help of independent expertise. A full independent investigation of previous issues, including the Rio 2016 tournament, is being commissioned. Any officials found to have contributed to unfair fights will become permanently ineligible to serve at AIBA competitions”.
“Further updates will follow at the conclusion at key milestones in the investigation and reform process,” AIBA has assured.
