The International Boxing Federation (IBA) has launched a scathing attack on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for not paying boxers following the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“The Olympic Games has long ceased to be about sport,” IBA President Umar Kremlev, said in a statement sent to Boxing Social. “There are too much politics and too little respect for those who spend years sweating in the gym. Today, it is not athletes who stand on the IOC’s podium, but politics, personal agendas, and behind-the-scenes games. The athletes themselves are left without fair compensation for their hard work and without confidence in their future.”
The IBA’s power to be the governing body for boxing at the Olympic Games was removed in June 2023. The IBA, which has strong ties to Russia through its leadership and sponsorship, was stripped of its duty largely due to the war with Ukraine.
However, the IBA (formerly AIBA) had been accused prior to the war in Ukraine of having financial transparency issues and defying Olympic guidance to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing under their nation’s flag in 2022, when Russia invaded its neighboring Ukraine. USA Boxing has also accused the IBA of “sabotage” and creating a “false and misleading” qualification process for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The IBA appealed the decision, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the ruling in 2024. CAS stated in April 2024 that the IBA “had not complied with the conditions set down by the IOC for recognition” and that “the IBA had not increased its financial transparency and sustainability, including through diversification of revenues.”
The Paris 2024 Games quickly followed, with Kremlev criticizing the IOC for not paying athletes and stating the IBA would distribute more than $3 million to boxers who reached the quarterfinals or better in Paris.
The amounts were:
Gold: $100,000 ($50,000 to boxer, $25,000 to coach, $25,000 to federation)
Silver: $50,000 ($25,000 to boxer, $12,500 to coach, $12,500 to federation)
Bronze: $25,000 ($12,500 to boxer, $6,250 to coach, $6,250 to federation)
5th Place: $10,000
The statement continued: “The IBA creates all the conditions for boxers to secure themselves, their future, and their families. I sincerely feel sorry for Olympic champions who are being deprived by sports officials who spend money belonging to athletes on gala dinners and five-star hotels.
“I hope that the new IOC leadership will rid itself of the old ‘cancerous tumour’ that is destroying the Olympic family and will choose the path of independence and protection of the interests of athletes, coaches, and National Federations. Sports officials exist to serve in sports, and their titles are worth nothing without athletes, coaches, and fans.
“If by the 2028 Olympics the IOC does not come to its senses and change its strategy in the interest of protecting athletes, the IBA is ready to step in once again. We will pay the Olympic champions and medallists the same prize amounts as we did before, because they are our athletes, and the IBA is their home of boxing. Sport must be about the athletes and their rights, and the entire Olympic movement needs a radical reboot.”
It has long been feared that boxing would be removed from the Olympic Games. However, a new body, World Boxing, has since provisionally taken the reins and will be in the hot seat for Los Angeles 2028.
The IOC themselves took charge of boxing for Paris 2024.
More to follow.
