World Boxing on Tuesday welcomed the creation of a new Asian confederation to represent and promote boxing in the region, marking a significant milestone for the Western powers-led body’s ambitions to run the sport globally.
The announcement comes days after 25 out of 36 member federations of the existing Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) voted to remain affiliated with the International Boxing Association (IBA) at an Extraordinary Congress.
The new confederation, which will be aligned to World Boxing, is being created following the decision by Thailand Boxing Association president Pichai Chunhavajira to step down from the ASBC in the wake of decisions made at the Extraordinary Congress.
Asia’s Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, both among the 10 most successful nations in the history of Olympic boxing, this month joined World Boxing.
Boris van der Vorst, president of World Boxing, hailed this development as a “historic moment” in the evolution of the sport. He said: “We are thrilled to take this step towards empowering boxing in Asia. We are confident that the new Asian boxing confederation will thrive and further elevate the sport in the region.”
There is no clarity as of now as to which federations are supporting World Boxing’s efforts to set up a new Asian confederation.
It bears noting though that World Boxing, which was launched in April 2023 and has 55 members, has the active support of the International Olympic Committee.
The IBA was stripped of recognition last year by the IOC, which has not included the sport on the Los Angeles Games programme yet and has urged national boxing federations to create a new global boxing body (read World Boxing) to replace the IBA.
The IOC has said it will decide next year whether to include boxing in the 2028 Olympics. One can take it as a given that said decision is precluded on World Boxing taking control of the sport’s affairs globally,
