The battle for boxing’s future in the Olympics continues

IN a bid to prevent boxing being ousted from the Olympic Games, world governing body AIBA have submitted a report, a second time as requested, to the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC had raised grave concerns about the governance of AIBA, notably after they appointed Gafur Rakimov as interim president. The boxing body also had to address the parlous state of its finances and issues around integrity.

“AIBA is committed to implementing change in many areas and has already made great progress in the last couple of months. As we continue our road towards a more prosperous AIBA, we are dedicated to transparency on all levels. We look forward to being able to share this report and more exciting announcements with all AIBA members as soon as possible. This report is just the first of many steps for the new AIBA,” executive director Tom Virgets said.

Virgets also insisted that they are improving their anti-doping programme. “Being in compliance with the World Anti-Doping marks a big achievement for AIBA and shows its commitment to move our organisation forward. We believe this is just the first step and we will continue our talks with WADA as we working together in the fight for clean sport,” he said.