International Boxing Association (amateur)

The International Boxing Association (IBA), previously known as the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), is an independent sport organization that sanctions amateur (Olympic-style) boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.

International Boxing Association
AbbreviationIBA
Formation29–30 November 1946
TypeSports federation
HeadquartersLausanne, Switzerland
Region served
Worldwide
President
Umar Nazarovich Kremlev[1]
Main organ
Congress
AffiliationsASOIF, GAISF
WebsiteIBA.sport

It was recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the international governing body for the sport of boxing until 2019, when the IOC suspended its recognition of the federation.[2]

Names:

  • from August 24, 1920 — the International Federation of Amateur Boxers (Fédération Internationale de Boxe Amateur, FIBA);
  • from November 28, 1946 — Amateur International Boxing Association, AIBA;
  • On November 22, 2007, as part of the AIBA reform, the name was changed to the current one, — International Boxing Association - but the abbreviated name was decided to remain the same.
  • In December 2021, the abbreviated name was changed to IBA in an attempt to rebrand the organisation and distance itself from the former administration.

IBA consists of five continental confederations — AFBC, AMBC, ASBC, EUBC, OCBC. The association includes 203 national boxing federations.[3]

Competitions

Under the leadership of President Wu Ching-kuo, who ran AIBA from 2006 to 2017, the organization divided its competitions into three categories as part of Wu's overarching goal to govern boxing in all its forms:

  • AIBA Open Boxing (AOB), formerly known as amateur or Olympic boxing
  • AIBA Pro Boxing (APB), a professional boxing league
  • World Series of Boxing (WSOB), a semi-professional team tournament

Wu's two professional ventures were abandoned by AIBA largely due to the organization's financial woes, which led to Wu's resignation in November 2017. AIBA Pro Boxing staged bouts only from late 2014 to 2016, and the World Series of Boxing abruptly ceased operations amid mounting financial losses after its 2018 season.[4][5]

History

During the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, representatives from the national associations of England, France, Belgium, Brazil and the Netherlands met in a preliminary consortium for the foundation of an international boxing federation: The Fédération internationale de boxe amateur (FIBA). The official foundation has been celebrated on 24 August. Right after, international competitions appeared in the boxing arena, allowing amateurs to compete in well-known tournaments.

In November 1946, a consensus was met to give way for the boxing governing body to regain the loss of credibility due to the behavior of some leading officials in World War II.[6] The FIBA was dissolved and the English Amateur Boxing Association in partnership with the French Boxing Federation decided to create AIBA; the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur. The President of the French Boxing Federation, Emile Grémaux, was elected to the position of President.[7]

Sixty years later, AIBA continued to govern boxing in the Olympic Games without using the word "amateur". Until now, amateur boxing has been present on all continents with continental championships as well as World Cups and World Championships organized by AIBA.

In December 2017, the IOC expressed concerns about the governance of AIBA under Wu's leadership,[8] and reaffirmed these concerns at an IOC Executive Board decision in February 2018.[9]

In June 2019, the IOC voted to suspend its recognition of AIBA as the governing body for the sport, stripping AIBA of any involvement in the Olympic Games. The IOC oversaw the qualification events and the boxing tournament at the 2020 Olympic Games through a task force chaired by Morinari Watanabe (JPN), President of the International Gymnastics Federation.[2][10]

The organization has been involved in multiple corruption scandals including on several editions of the Summer Olympic Games.[11][12]

On December 12, 2020, Umar Kremlev was elected as AIBA President, gaining 57.33% of the vote.[13] The AIBA reform process began immediately after that.[14][15][16]

On December 13, 2020, AIBA adopted a new constitution.[17][18][19]

Under the new leadership, five new committees were created: the Coaches Committee, the Champions and Veterans Committee, the Competition Committee, the Women's Committee, and the Medical and Anti-Doping Committee.[20] In the process of Umar Kremlev's reforms, AIBA increased the number of weight categories in amateur boxing for men and women to 13 and 12, respectively. The prize money for the World Championships was set at $100,000 for gold medal, $50,000 for silver and $25,000 for both bronze medals. A program of financial assistance to national federations was also introduced.[21][22][23]

In 2021, Olympic champion, two-time World champion István Kovács was appointed General Secretary of AIBA.[24] Later that year, AIBA appointed Professor Ulrich Haas to lead the AIBA's Independent Governance Reform Group.[25][26][27][28]

On April 7, 2021, AIBA's new management signed a cooperation agreement with Gazprom, because of which the Russian company received the status of the organization's General Partner.[29][30]

On May 28, 2021, AIBA signed an agreement with the international military sports council CISM.[31][32][33] In the same year, the organization signed an agreement with the International Testing Agency (ITA).[34]

To reveal the facts of manipulation at the boxing tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and corruption of the past AIBA administration, Canadian lawyer Professor Richard McLaren was appointed by AIBA to conduct a three-stage investigation.[35][36][37] In September 2021, an independent report found that bouts leading up to and during the 2016 Rio Olympics were manipulated for money (up to $250,000), the perceived benefit of AIBA, or to thank National Federations, their Olympic committees, or hosts of competitions for their financial support and political backing.[38][39][40]

In 2021, under President Kremlev AIBA paid off all debts, including a $10 million debt to the Azerbaijani company Benkons LLC.[41][42][43]

In December 2021, AIBA's National Federations implemented a series of constitutional amendments which included changing the abbreviated name to IBA.[44]

Presidents

Headguards

AIBA changed its rules in 2016 to ban headguards in AOB Elite Men competitions (19–40 years old) at the national, continental and international levels. Headguards are still mandatory for all other category competitions, including women's boxing at all levels. The Boxing Task Force for the Tokyo Olympics maintained the ban on headguards for men, but Roy Jones Jr. and other prominent boxers have argued for their reinstatement in future tournaments.[45]

Events

[46]

See also

References

  1. "Umar Kremlev Wins AIBA Presidency". 12 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  2. "IOC bans AIBA from boxing at 2020 Tokyo Olympics". The Independent. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  3. "AIBA Presidential Candidate Wants Better Communication".
  4. Morgan, Liam. "World Series of Boxing set to collapse as AIBA confirm event is "inactive"". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  5. "Worldseriesofboxing.com". Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  6. "AIBA Boxing History". International Boxing Association. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  7. "The Olympic Family" (PDF). Library.la84.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  8. Grohmann, Karolos (6 December 2017). "IOC stops payments to boxing federation AIBA". Reuters. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  9. Butler, Nick (4 February 2018). "Boxing faces Tokyo 2020 Olympic expulsion unless governance problems addressed". www.insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  10. "Tokyo 2020 confirm boxing test event schedule after IOC decision". Inside the Games. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  11. Mike Meehall Wood (23 October 2018). "Is Boxing About To Get Itself Removed From The Tokyo 2020 Olympics?". forbes.com.
  12. "OLYMPICS/ Whither Olympic boxing: Will it be in Tokyo, or not?". asahi.com. 2 December 2018.
  13. "Russian Umar Kremlev elected AIBA president". timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
  14. "Kremlev celebrates six months as AIBA President and pledges more reforms". insidethegames.biz.
  15. "Home - IBA".
  16. "Umar Kremlev elected AIBA president despite IOC concerns".
  17. "AIBA Congress 2020 summary: the new President and Constitution". sports.uz.
  18. "IOC says AIBA has not cleared up doubts yet - Francs Jeux".
  19. "NEW AIBA PRESIDENT ELECTED - Irish Athletic Boxing Association".
  20. "Home - IBA".
  21. "Пять новых комитетов созданы в Международной ассоциации бокса". tass.ru.
  22. "Boxing: AIBA announces USD 100,000 prize money for world championship gold-winners". thebridge.in.
  23. "New AIBA President waives allowances as launches reform process".
  24. "Olympics gold medallist boxer István Kovács appointed as AIBA Secretary-General". www.sportsindiashow.com.
  25. "CHANGING COURSE AND ROUSING HOPE: THE NEW FACE OF AIBA". www.eurosport.com.
  26. "Olympic Champion and two-time World Champion Mr. Istvan Kovacs of Hungary is the new AIBA Secretary General | ASBCNEWS".
  27. "István Kovács appointed Secretary General of AIBA - Irish Athletic Boxing Association".
  28. "Ulrich Haas Archives - The Ring".
  29. "AIBA to offer prize money to medalists at amateur world boxing championships". www.espn.com.
  30. "Home - IBA".
  31. "CISM & AIBA Sign The Historical Agreement". milsport.one.
  32. "AIBA to collaborate with International Military Sports Council | Boxing News - Times of India".
  33. "एआईबीए का अंतरराष्ट्रीय सैन्य खेल परिषद के साथ समझौता".
  34. "AIBA has started its reforms". www.infobae.com.
  35. "Bout manipulation existed at Rio 2016 Olympics says independent report". www.reuters.com.
  36. https://www.mclarenglobalsportsolutions.com/pdf/Boxing-Prelim-Report9-29-2021.pdf
  37. "McLaren hired by AIBA to investigate Rio 2016 Olympic boxing tournament".
  38. McLaren, Richard (2021-09-30). "Independent Investigation of the AIBA Boxing Competitions Prior to and During the Rio Olympic Games 2016" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-09-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  39. "Manipulation system in place at Rio 2016". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  40. "Rio Olympics: More than 10 boxing bouts manipulated for 'money', reveals investigation; AIBA promises clean-up | Sports News,The Indian Express".
  41. "Boxing-AIBA says pays off $10 million debt, signs Gazprom as sponsor". www.reuters.com.
  42. "AIBA says it's debt-free now, launches inquiry into 'past judging corruption' | Boxing News - Times of India".
  43. "Boxing: AIBA's Kremlev confident of boxing's Olympic spot in 2024 Games - CNA".
  44. Knox, Sarah Marie (18 December 2021). "AIBA Becomes IBA As Extraordinary Congress Embraces Widespread Reform". Eurosport. Retrieved 5 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  45. Beacham, Greg. "Kremlev confident AIBA will return to Olympic role in Paris". apnews.com. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  46. "AIBA Competitions". Aiba.org. AIBA International Boxing Commission. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
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