International Boxing Association set to be suspended by IOC

In a shocking development, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended withdrawing recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA) on Wednesday.

The matter will be discussed further in an extraordinary IOC session to be held remotely on June 22 before IOC comes to a concrete decision.

In a published report, IOC said that the recommendation to the Session after discussing a comprehensive report on the situation of the IBA. The report established that the IBA has failed to fulfill the conditions set by the IOC in its decision communicated to the IBA on 9 December 2021.

"Despite so many chances given to the IBA, including the roadmap 2021 to 2023, to address the various concerns with actual, effective evolution, the IBA failed to provide any concrete solution which would have allowed the lifting of its suspension," the report said.

"Therefore, it is not possible to reach any conclusion other than to confirm the analysis made by the IOC Session in 2019, which was at no time contested by the IBA, on the necessity to withdraw the IOC’s recognition of the IBA," the report said further.

IOC mentioned that the situation has become so serious that only banning the body is the option left to them.

Boxing will keep its place in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics in the interest of the boxing athletes and the sport of boxing. IOC will handle the boxing during Paris 2024, as well as the qualification process for the sport for next year's Games, will be run by the IOC, as was the case for Tokyo 2020.

IOC suspended IBA (known as AIBA in 2019) due to concerns surrounding governance, finances, refereeing, and ethics.