Vietnam Boxing: Choose IBA or World Boxing

The International Boxing Association (IBA) - formerly the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) founded in 1920 - is one of the oldest sports governing bodies in the world but is also the first international organization to be expelled from the Olympic movement in 2023.

Declining position

Established shortly after the 1920 Summer Olympics, AIBA - or IBA - has 198 national member federations, jointly managed by 5 continental federations (Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, North America). Boxing is also one of the earliest and longest-standing sports in Olympic history since 1904, with only one absence at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

The IBA’s standing in the boxing community has been waning in recent years. Its role as governing body for boxing at the Summer Olympics was suspended in 2019 when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) cited the IBA for a number of governance and financial problems, not to mention independent reports that the organization had “manipulated” dozens, if not hundreds, of matches at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

The IOC had to set up a temporary unit to oversee boxing competitions at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, but that's not the end of the story. In 2023, the IBA banned two female boxers, Imane Khelif (Algeria) and Lin Yu-ting (Taiwan - China), from participating in the World Championships because they failed gender testing, but both still attended the 2024 Olympics and won gold medals.

The public was in an uproar, and the media even had a fierce confrontation over the incident, which was later suspected to be "manipulated" by the IBA. Considered to have "added fuel to the fire", IBA president Umar Kremlev announced that he would reward Carini (who lost to Khelif in the quarterfinals) with $50,000, plus $50,000 for his coach and the Italian Boxing Federation; and Sitora Turdibekova, the boxer who lost to Lin Yu-ting, would also be "compensated" with a similar amount.

Boxer Ha Thi Linh (right) competes in boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics (Photo: REUTERS)

New World Boxing Organization

The IBA has sparked a wave of criticism against the IOC over “fairness in competition and athlete safety,” even launching a social media campaign of insults against the IOC and its president, Thomas Bach. The IOC chief has taken a hard line on removing the IBA from the sport, while encouraging the boxing world to rally around a new governing body, possibly World Boxing.

This will be the premise for boxing to have the opportunity to return to the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 and the following years. "Boxing can only participate in the Olympics if the IOC has a reliable partner. National and continental boxing federations, therefore, must have their own choice" - Mr. Thomas Bach emphasized.

In 2020, a group of national boxing federations launched the Common Cause Alliance and pledged to continue supporting boxing internationally. This alliance later evolved into an amateur boxing federation under the new name World Boxing, which now has 37 members worldwide.

The IOC has sent a letter to the Olympic Committee and the National Boxing Federations, asking them to consider whether to follow the IBA or World Boxing. This drastic move has forced the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) to convene an extraordinary meeting on August 31 in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) to consider joining World Boxing, as a way to affirm the Asian boxing movement's steadfast support for the IOC in its pursuit of Olympic aspirations.

According to Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Boxing Federation (VBF), VBF will send Mr. Nguyen Van Hien, Standing Member of VBF, to attend this meeting to listen and collect opinions from the Asian boxing movement. This will be the basis for VBF to have an official document, submit to the Department of Sports and Physical Training as well as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for the policy as well as approval of joining the new organization World Boxing, ensuring the right to participate in all official international competitions of Vietnamese boxing in the future.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/quyen-anh-viet-nam-chon-lua-iba-hoac-world-boxing-196240820230139019.htm