By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) – Amateur boxing’s Russian-led governing body has offered to fund U.S. and Irish boxers wanting to compete in this year’s world championships after their national federations decided to boycott the tournaments.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) also warned in a statement on Friday that it would pursue “strong sanctions against those who initiate and join the participation boycott”.
IBA’s Russian president Umar Kremlev called for a purge of “hyenas and jackals” and said no administrators or politicians were entitled to “deprive” athletes of their dreams of becoming world champions.
“Boxers dedicate their whole life to the sport, while administrators and politicians come and go,” he told an international event in Marrakesh, Morocco.
“Those who are doing this to our athletes are worse than hyenas and jackals, they violate the integrity of sport and culture.
“I urge all my colleagues to clear their organizations of such hyenas.”
USA Boxing announced on Wednesday it would not be participating in the women’s world championships in New Delhi next month and the men’s tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in May.
USA Boxing CEO Mike McAtee wrote to members that participation “would violate not only IOC sanctions reaffirmed as recently as February 2, but also the principles of fair play, integrity, and transparency.”
The Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) said on Friday its boxers, referees and judges would be staying away.
The IBA was stripped of involvement in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and boxing is not on the initial programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, pending reforms demanded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In December the IOC raised the possibility of boxing being excluded from the 2024 Paris Games, accusing the IBA of having “no real interest” in the sport or its athletes.
Qualifying for Paris is being organised by the IOC.
The IBA, backed by Russian energy firm Gazprom, has since October reversed bans on boxers from Russia and Belarus competing with national flags and anthems despite the war in Ukraine.
It says it has been implementing reforms and cultivating a new culture in a sport whose past has been soiled by corruption and controversy.
“IBA invites USA and Irish teams to come to the world championships and participate under their flags and anthems,” it said. “IBA will cover all necessary expenses from the funds of the FSP (Financial Support Programme).”
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)
