Recent Developments Regarding International Boxing and the Olympic Movement

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 20, 2023) —  On April 25, 2023, USA Boxing sent a letter of termination to IBA’s Secretary General exercising USA Boxing’s right under Section 12 CESSATION (Termination) OF MEMBERSHIP.

USA Boxing received numerous notes of support from our membership and the international community for making this first and vital step demonstrating USA Boxing’s commitment to preserving Olympic-style boxing’s place in the Olympic Movement.

Prior to USA Boxing ending its 77-year membership with AIBA/IBA, USA Boxing Board of

Director Elise Seignolle, resigned from her position as an Independent Director of the IBA Board of Directors. Elise did not make a public announcement because she did not want her professional and personal beliefs and values to be a distraction to both the (then upcoming) Men’s World Championships and the looming potential de-certification of IBA by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for failures associated with governance, financial transparency and regulating the field of play.

Contrary to the false claim (https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1136933/elise-resigns-iba) that Elise’s departure from the IBA Board of Directors was due to her ineligibility given USA Boxing’s termination of membership, Elise resigned before USA Boxing terminated its membership. In an email to the IBA Board of Directors, she stated “… as voiced several times over the past months, I have great concerns regarding the ways of working currently in place. I have requested important information over the course of the past months without success…, … since August 2022 I have faced a lot of resistance… and…due to the misalignment between my expectations and the reality, I am forced to resign my position…”

USA Boxing thanks Elise for her relentless support for our membership, her attitude of

servant leadership, and her courage to ‘fight the good fight’ despite continued frustrations.

Additionally, on June 7, 2023, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic

Committee (IOC) recommended to the IOC Session to withdraw recognition of the

International Boxing Association (IBA), in accordance with Rule 3.7 of the Olympic Charter (OC). The report (https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/News/2023/06/2023-06-IOC-Comprehensive-Report-IBA.pdf?_ga=2.249650438.1899969862.1687108096-1043568672.1674561758) of the IOC Director General and IOC Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer spells out in great detail the continued failings of IBA leadership to address the basic principles of good governance, financial transparency, and fairness in the field of play. We encourage our members to read this report, as it addresses the same concerns that USA

Boxing communicated in support of the decision to withdraw from IBA. Despite the

ongoing failures of IBA, the IOC has graciously remained patient with the boxing

community by overseeing Olympic qualification and competition for both the Tokyo 2020

and Paris 2024 Games. The recent decision of the IOC EB is a victory for fair play.

In December 2022, USA Boxing leadership along with other leaders from over 20 like-minded National Federations participated in the General Assembly to form World Boxing https://worldboxing.org/), a non-profit Swiss organization seeking to become the IOC-recognized International Federation for Olympic-style, paralympic style, and e-sport boxing. We worked with World Boxing leadership over the subsequent months to draft robust interim statutes, and in April 2023, World Boxing was publicly introduced (https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2023/04/12/usa-boxing-breakaway-global-organization/) to the global boxing community.

World Boxing seeks to preserve boxing’s place in the Olympic Movement by putting the

needs of the athletes first, delivering fair competitions through sporting integrity, operating

according to strong governance standards, and working collaboratively with the IOC,

National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and the Association of Summer Olympic

International Federations (ASOIF). Given the pending decision at the June 22

Extraordinary IOC Session to withdraw IBA’s recognition, World Boxing’s journey

towards IOC recognition is the only legitimate pathway to preserving boxing’s place in the Olympic Movement.

Despite former IBA Secretary General George Yerolimpos’s urge for USA Boxing “to refrain from contacting any of our affiliated members in any capacity whatsoever,” USA Boxing will continue to champion free speech and engage with leaders of National Federations from around the world. These conversations highlight the growing frustration associated with IBA’s continued disregard for their own rules, retaliatory behavior, and knowingly false accusations towards IOC Leadership.

Just recently, the IBA President called for former (https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1137964/iba-kremlev-says-ck-wu-shot) AIBA President to be “shot”, a claim which should be denounced in the most strenuous terms by all members of the Olympic-style boxing community and all members of the Olympic Movement.

Our ongoing conversations with like-minded National Federations highlight an undeniable truth – the global boxing community is ready for change. In addition to the United States, Great Britain, and Switzerland (who have all publicly declared intentions to join World Boxing), 28 other National Federations have privately stated their intentions to apply. Despite IBA’s continued threats of retaliation against boxers, an additional 18 have reached out to understand the application process. We have every reason to believe that many more will follow. Such a transition can require changes to the bylaws of affected National Federations, and many of these countries are taking the proper, necessary steps to begin the application process.

USA Boxing will continue to provide updates to our members as more information becomes available. We look forward to continuing collaboration with like-minded countries to preserve Olympic-style boxing’s place in the Olympic Movement. We will continue participation in competitions to ensure our High Performance team is ready to compete in the Pan American Games this fall.