IBA snubs World Boxing over Olympic recognition

WHEN speaking with Boxing News, IBA CEO Chris Roberts was quick to highlight that World Boxing has only been granted provisional recognition by the IOC.

It was revealed just last month that boxing had taken an encouraging step towards retaining its place at the Olympics following several years of uncertainty.

These doubts first emerged at Rio 2016, when a series of concerns over bout manipulation and a lack of financial transparency were expressed by the International Olympic Committee.

In response, the IOC officially stripped the International Boxing Association of its Olympic recognition in 2023, presenting newly-formed body World Boxing with a golden opportunity.

Originally formed as a breakaway group from IBA, the main goal of World Boxing has always been to keep boxing involved in the Olympic movement.

Sure enough, the organisation appears to be doing just that, with the IOC granting its provisional recognition towards the end of last month.

This means that the body will organise Olympic boxing for Los Angeles 2028, while its future beyond that still largely remains uncertain.

Since its inception, World Boxing has recruited 78 National Federations in total, including GB Boxing and USA Boxing.

But still, while it has seemingly established itself as a trusted organisation, IBA CEO Roberts nonetheless harbours reservations over World Boxing’s credibility.

“[World Boxing] has not been given full recognition [by the IOC],” Roberts reminded Boxing News.

“We have just up to 200 member federations still with IBA. What is it, 78 that sit with World Boxing? Allegedly 14 of which have left IBA.

“I’ve never seen any real information coming out from World Boxing. While I see stuff being announced, you never get to see the application forms; you never get to see the reality of it.”

Indeed, a plethora of federations have remained with IBA ahead of this year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships in Niš, Serbia.

The competition’s preliminary bouts will take place today, with the winners in each division earning a hefty 100 thousand dollar bonus should they progress to the final.

And so, the financial incentives, for many of these nations, are perhaps too lucrative to refuse, providing an explanation as to why more federations have not yet joined World Boxing.