IBA files complaint to integrity unit against creation of rogue boxing organisation

Lausanne (Switzerland), April 26 The International Boxing Association (IBA) has filed an official complaint to the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU) against individuals and entities involved in creation of a 'rogue boxing organisation', it said on Wednesday.

Earlier, this month, the group of countries including USA and Britain announced the formation of a new organisation called 'World Boxing', hoping to preserve boxing as part of the Olympic program, amid an ongoing feud between the IBA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Notably, Germany, Britain, The Netherlands, The Philippines, Sweden, New Zealand and the United States are represented on the Interim Executive Board as the new body looks to hold talks with the IOC in a bid to gain recognition.

In the latest development, the case has been registered by the BIIU and will be reviewed as early as possible.

"Following the announcement of the establishment of the rogue international boxing organization, the IBA has initiated a series of actions that are designed to provide absolute clarity to all boxing stakeholders regarding the autonomy of the IBA as the global governing body of boxing," the IBA said in a statement.

"The IBA strongly condemns the efforts of individuals to damage the significant strides taken by the IBA over the last few years to secure boxers' the best future possible.

Individuals and entities found guilty by the BIIU will face consequences according to the IBA Constitution, Disciplinary and Ethics Code and other key documents concerned," it added.

The IBA reiterated that it will continue doing its utmost to protect the organisation and all its member National Federations from any harm caused by individuals or entities within or outside of the IBA boxing family.

Earlier this month, the IBA insisted that participation in another international boxing association will lead to the exclusion of the National Federation concerned from the IBA membership and the officials of the National Federation involved in it will be declared non-eligible.

It is uncertain that boxing will feature in the 2028 Summer Olympic Games as the sport has been left off from the initial program list of the Los Angeles Olympics.

The IBA has been suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over its governance and other issues since 2019. This led to IOC administering boxing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 directly and is managing the qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics as well.