Boxing
Great Britain announces boycott of IBA Men's Boxing World Championships
Great Britain became the third country to boycott the upcoming IBA men's boxing championships in Tashkent.
The boxers from Britain will not take part in the men’s amateur world championships in Tashkent after the country also boycotted last month’s women’s event in India amid mounting concern about the sport’s Olympic future.
The men’s tournament which is scheduled to start on April 30 in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent will run until May 14.
GB Boxing had said in February when it announced a boycott of the women’s championships that it was reviewing participation in the men’s.
“The decision reflects ongoing concerns about the future of boxing’s place on the Olympic program and the recent decision by IBA to allow teams of boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete under their national flags,” GB Boxing said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This has put further distance between IBA and the Olympic movement in addition to the significant, longstanding issues over sporting integrity, governance, transparency, and financial management which the IOC has asked IBA to address to protect boxing’s place on the Olympic program.”
Although the British boxers will be taking part in the European Games in Poland, an official qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Russian-led IBA was stripped of involvement in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and boxing is not on the initial program for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, pending reforms demanded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
With this boycott, Great Britain joined the U.S. and Ireland in boycotting the both men's and women's boxing world championships.
