KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)

Boxing Federations from Asia voted in Al Ain to break away from the parent body International Boxing Association (IBA) in vain but the hosts and other officials have told Aletihad that they will continue to work towards a bright future of young boxers whose careers are in serious jeopardy. 

Boxing was taken off the Olympic charter due to the International Olympic Committee derecognising the IBA as the main governing body for the sport in June 2023 amid a myriad of issues with the Swiss-based IBA's finances, governance, and ethics. They appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but once the CAS also ruled against the IBA, all the member federations have been in limbo. 

Post the Olympics, a move to form a new body, tentatively called World Boxing, has been gathering steam and Asian federations are key to the process, given that majority of boxers hail from the continent.

 On the sidelines of the Asian Junior Boxing Championships, being held in Al Ain until September 9, a vote was proposed by the UAE Boxing Federation at the Extraordinary Congress of the Asian Boxing Federation (ASBC). The meet was attended by 36 federation officials and chaired by ASBC Secretary-General Ali Salameh, ASBC President Pichai Chunhavajira and his deputy Aziz Kozhambetov. 

"21 countries voted in favour of continuing with IBA, while 14 cast their ballot in favour of joining World Boxing. There was one invalid vote," said Ali Salameh, the ASBC Secretary General, when contacted by Aletihad. An Indian federation official came to the meeting as an observer having filed late in the registration process to attend the meeting. 

Post the outcome, an IBA statement welcomed the decision, but also warned of taking a u-turn. Calling the move "reckless", the IBA reiterated in its statement that World Boxing lacks experience, "has no means to support its members and does not intend to develop boxing." 

Refusing to see this as the end of the road, however, Salameh told Aletihad that he was speaking also on behalf of the UAE Boxing Federation President Anas Al Otaiba and in his own capacity as Executive Director when he said, "The UBF respects the IOC charter and the Olympic movement. We will keep supporting the Asian federation and work together to save the boxers whose careers depend on getting the right direction. 

"We will continue to fight. We have to look at it from a legal point of view on the next course of action," he added while explaining that a two-third majority is what will tip the scales. 

Being a member of the IBA governing board also, Chunhavajira sent in his resignation to exit the world body given his untenable situation. He, too, released a statement, in which he said, "I want to make it abundantly clear that our commitment to the Olympic Charter remains unshakeable. We will fight with everything we have to ensure that boxing retains its rightful place at the LA2028 Games. 

"My full focus and energy will now be devoted to one goal: securing the future of boxing in the Olympics and ensuring that the ASBC continues to play its long-standing, vital role in this sport. We stand at a crossroads, but I am confident that we have many paths available to us. "

"Together, we will explore every option, overcome every obstacle, and do whatever it takes to save not just Asian boxing, but the entire global boxing community. This is a fight we cannot afford to lose, and I am fully committed to seeing it through."