Boxing union president Kremlev hits out at dissident members

President Van der Vorst of the Dutch boxing federation had founded World Boxing in mid-April with “like-minded” directors including from the United States and Britain. The main objective of the new federation is to keep boxing in the Olympics. It is only formally possible to apply for Olympic recognition if the IOC withdraws it from the IBA.

Kremlev said in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan where the men’s world boxing championships are held, that the IBA is the only international association dealing with boxing. “They say there is always a black sheep in the family, there are always people who go their own way. Some have tried to create an international federation from their garage, why should we care about that?” said the president.

“To those who want to leave and go to another federation, I can only say: we only have one federation. We have the right to run boxing and the IBA has the right to organize tournaments”, Kremlev said. “Some riders thought they wanted to create their own league, but I think it’s clear. Some riders are like hyenas, like predators. They have to understand that they don’t belong in the sport.”

The Russian-led global federation has been suspended since 2019 due to administrative and financial issues. The IBA already decided last October against the wishes of the IOC to allow Russians and Belarusians to participate in tournaments under their own flag.

The IOC took responsibility for boxing qualifying and Olympic matches. Due to the chaos in the boxing world that has plagued the sport for years, the sport has not been included in the preliminary program for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.