The International Olympic Committee has warned Russia’s amateur boxing president that it still has “significant concerns” about the leadership, integrity of the judges and the financial sustainability of the organization he oversees, in a striking intervention just days before his re-election he follows .
The letter to International Boxing Association (Iba) President Umar Kremlev, who has thanked Vladimir Putin for his support in the past, also questions the sport’s readiness for the Paris 2024 qualifying cycle – reminding Kremlev that boxing is currently is not in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics because of her problems.
The timing of the IOC’s letter, which was sent out on Tuesday, is particularly noteworthy as Kremlev’s influence on the sport will be questioned by his Dutch rival Boris van der Vorst on Friday in Istanbul.
The Kremlin is seen as the favourite, although many are increasingly concerned about having a Russian president following the invasion of Ukraine. The fact that Gazprom, the majority Russian state-owned energy company, provides most of the sport’s finances only adds to these concerns.
Last month the Kremlin claimed the Iba had “built trust” with the IOC. However, an unusually powerful letter from the IOC seen by the Guardian casts doubt on that claim.
“First, we must reiterate that the IOC’s recognition of the International Boxing Association remains suspended,” the letter said. “Boxing is not currently included in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics sports program, with concerns remaining in the key areas of governance, financial sustainability and the demonstrated integrity of the refereeing and judging systems.”
The letter from the IOC also suggests that Iba has not provided clear answers on his Paris 2024 qualifying plans, to the boxers’ detriment. “Without these details, they face challenges in final planning of finances, schedules, logistics and, most importantly, training cycles,” the letter warns.
“Furthermore, we would like to express our particular concern about the potential selection of events that may not provide fair eligibility criteria and may result in discrimination.”
The IOC withdrew recognition from Iba – then called Aiba – in June 2019 over concerns about judging and judging performance, financial stability and governance. A string of allegations of rigged decisions at the Rio 2016 Olympics and financial mismanagement followed under former President CK Wu, who resigned despite denying the allegations.
Boxing at the Rio 2016 Olympics was overshadowed by allegations of rigged decisions and mismanagement. Photo: Peter Cziborra/Reuters
In 2018, Uzbek Gafur Rakhimov – who has been described by the US Treasury Department as one of his country’s “leading criminals” and “an important figure in the heroin trade”, allegations he denied – was then chosen to head up the sport.
Since his election in 2020, Kremlev has positioned himself as a reformer and last year asked Canadian law professor Richard McLaren to investigate historic verdict and corruption cases in amateur boxing.
However, his rival in Friday’s election, Van der Vorst, told the Guardian the reforms had been superficial and boxing needed to change fundamentally if it was to remain an Olympic sport.
“Boxing is still very much under threat,” he told the Guardian. “And many national associations are worried about the future. They fear that if there is no Olympic recognition for boxing, the sport of boxing will enter the Dark Ages. GB Boxing, for example, has a high-performance program in Sheffield with a budget of £11.5m.
“There must be an alternative for the current Russian leadership. It’s not good for the image of our sport to still have sponsorship contracts with the Russian state company Gazprom. In fact, it is very harmful.”
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Van der Vorst also questioned whether the McLaren investigation had led to any fundamental change. “I am not aware of anyone who has been investigated and sanctioned as a result of the McLaren report,” he said. “At least there have been no public announcements.
“What I see is still the old culture with people who shouldn’t be involved in Olympic boxing. We need a leadership change.”
Before the invasion of Ukraine, Kremlev was one of three Russian presidents of the Olympic federations. Alisher Usmanov has since resigned as chairman of the International Fencing Federation after being placed on a European Union sanctions list. However, Vladimir Lisin remains President of the International Shooting Sport Federation.
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