Boxing Federation of India joins World Boxing after ban on IBA

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has agreed to become a member of World Boxing, the International Federation established to ensure boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement.

After the International Olympic Committee banned the previous world governing body International Boxing Association (IBA), the Indian federation decided to join the recently formed World Boxing.

Last year, IBA was banned for poor governance and shady decisions in important tournament.

The membership application has been approved by the BFI’s General Assembly and will be ratified by World Boxing’s Executive Board.

BFI President Ajay Singh met with World Boxing’s President and Secretary General and is expected to take the lead in establishing an Asian Confederation and drive the recruitment of other National Federations in the region, the press release by World Boxing confirmed.

" It is vital to the sustainability of boxing that it retains its Olympics status, so we are delighted to join World Boxing and look forward to working closely with the Executive Board and our fellow members to shape the future development of the sport and deliver a brighter future for boxers across the world," BFI President Ajay Singh said in the press release.

The President of World Boxing, Boris van der Vorst, said, "India is a very important country in international boxing and we look forward to welcoming the BFI into the growing World Boxing family. This is a very exciting development which will significantly increase our presence in Asia and I look forward to working closely with the BFI in delivering our common goals."

The boxing competition in the Paris Olympics will be organized by a Unit formed by the IOC but the IOC doesn't want to do it every time and plans to keep boxing away from the program at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

The only way for boxing to be a part of the Olympic program is to have a stable international federation.

World Boxing was launched in April 2023 and aims to ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic movement. On 7 May 2024, it held its first formal meeting with the IOC which signaled the start of formal collaboration between the two organizations aimed at establishing a pathway for boxing to remain in the Olympic Games.