(Reuters) – Amateur boxing’s Russian-led governing body denounced a U.S.-driven boycott of its world championships as ‘political games’ on Thursday and said plenty of boxers from the countries involved were keen to take part.
The United States announced the boycott last week, with Ireland, Britain, Czech Republic, Sweden and Canada following, over the inclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes and perceived governance issues at the world body.
Russian Umar Kremlev is president of IBA while Russian state-controlled energy company Gazprom is the body’s biggest sponsor.
International Boxing Association (IBA) secretary general and CEO George Yerolimpos, who is Greek, said in a letter to national federations that the boycott decisions were “made in a vacuum”.
He wrote of “a steady stream of complaints from athletes, coaches, technical officials, and administrators that do not support this decision and need immediate support in making sure they can attend these events.”
The IBA last week promised to provide financial assistance to anyone from boycotting nations wanting to compete in the championships.
Yerolimpos said boxers could register directly with the governing body.
The IBA said athletes from 77 nations had confirmed their participation at the women’s tournament in New Delhi from March 15-26.
It highlighted previous medallists from Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mozambique and Morocco among those set to attend.
The men’s championships are in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in May.
The Indian Express newspaper quoted the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) as saying it hoped for an amicable solution.
“We are confident that the championship will see the highest ever participation from member nations,” it added.
The IBA allows boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete with their national flags and anthems, counter to International Olympic Committee (IOC) guidance following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls a “special operation”.
The IBA has been at odds with Olympic organisers for some time and was stripped of involvement in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Qualifying for Paris 2024 is being organised by the IOC.
Boxing is not on the initial programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, pending reforms demanded by the IOC following complaints about governance issues.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
