“IBA fights for boxers and coaches who are now being blackmailed by the IOC” – Eduard Kravtsov

The International Boxing Association (IBA) is fighting for boxers and coaches who are being blackmailed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Eduard Kravtsov, chairman of the coaches’ council of the Russian Boxing Federation (FBI), told .

On Tuesday, it was revealed that the IBA had filed an appeal with the Swiss Federal Supreme Court against the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) decision to uphold the IOC’s decision to withdraw recognition of the IBA as the legitimate governing body of boxing in July 2023.

The IBA was stripped of its recognition by the IOC last summer. The organisation’s exclusion from the Olympic movement was subsequently supported by the CAS.

“Nobody knows whether there is a chance of success in this case.” If there was any common sense in all this, then the IBA would have been accredited by the IOC long ago and would have participated in the Olympic Games as an organizer. But the IOC Executive Committee is deeply corrupt. Therefore, nothing good should be expected, including from the judges. But we must fight anyway.

I think that the IBA leadership is not fighting for its position as an organization, but for the boxers who want to compete in its system. I communicate with the athletes and their coaches, they say that there is blatant blackmail from the IOC, which demands them to leave the IBA and join the world boxing organization, created by strange people – an exclusive minority of countries. They want boxers to participate in the Olympic Games under the auspices of this World Boxing Championship.

So there is a struggle for athletes and coaches to keep their membership in the IBA. Nobody wants to leave. In the IBA, athletes can box both as amateurs and professionals, earn a lot of money and support themselves and their families. The International Boxing Association does a lot of work to fight corruption and improve the level of refereeing. The IOC had serious complaints against the IBA in these areas. But now amateur boxing is one of the cleanest sports.

And at the tournaments organized by the IOC and World Boxing, the organizational aspects were ugly, from accommodation and meals to refereeing. But they turn a blind eye to this. The only thing people do is pursue the political interests expressed by their leaders,” Kravtsov told .

In 2023, the IBA allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in international competitions wearing national symbols, contrary to IOC recommendations.

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