Olympic Boxing is in Crises

Could boxing stop been an Olympic sport? This might sound like a stupid question but this week that became a very real possibility.

For a sport that made it’s debut in the Olympics’ at the St Lois games way back in 1904, this week it’s future in the games was thrown into serious doubt. As tensions between AIBA (Amateur International Boxing Association) and the IOC (International Olympic Committee) heated up. As AIBA elected Gafur Rakhimov as their new permanent president because of this the IOC have reserved the right to remove boxing from the games as early as Tokyo 2020.

This could have all been avoided at first Rakhimov was on the ballot unopposed, but after The Court of Arbitration for Sport got involved an opponent was put on the ballot. If they had elected him instead of Rakhimov it would have brought them back from the brink of disaster which is where we are now. However this past Saturday the 3rd November AIBA members voted heavily in favour of electing Rakhimov.

This is a man who has already been investigated and sanctioned by the US Treasury department as they have called him “one of Uzbekistan’s leading criminals”. However I feel it is important to say that these are allegations that he strongly refuses, he is currently applying to the US authorities to have his name removed from the sanctions list. Although the IOC have on a number of occasions expressed serious concerns about Rakhimov taking over the presidency on a full time basis.

So it looks like boxing is on the verge of no longer been an Olympic sport which would be a real shame not only for the sport as a whole, but for amateur boxers who work night and day just to get one step closer to their dream of representing their country at the world’s biggest amateur tournament. However boxing could yet be saved but only if the IOC no longer recognised AIBA and form their own governing body to control Olympic boxing.

It is important to remember that it is not just the election of Rakhimov that the IOC are seriously concerned about they have also raised a number of other concerns surrounding judging and finances as well as AIBA’s anti-doping program. This is on top of their concerns about how the organisation is ran. The IOC will do everything they can to keep boxing in the games but as you can see that is looking very much in doubt. At the moment the IOC has stopped contacting AIBA unless it’s something to do with the day to day running of the sport.

As you can see the situation is a complete mess but if boxing is to be saved a solution must be found soon. As we are currently halfway through the games cycle and nothing has been confirmed. Including what weight divisions will be used in Tokyo. All this is assuming that boxing is still in the games by then, because with two years to go till the games in Tokyo the qualification route has not yet been confirmed. Can you imagine been a boxer on the Olympic squad and not knowing what you have to do to qualify or whether your sport is going to be involved at all.

I think we can all agree that the situation is a disgrace but I really can’t see there been a solution unless either the IOC or AIBA backs down and I just can’t see that happening it looks inevitable that we will lose boxing from the Olympic program. As always I love to hear what you guys think can boxing be saved?