Paris (AP) — A burgeoning governing body fighting to keep boxing in the Olympics is on the brink of a significant expansion.
World Boxing expects to grow its membership to over 50 national federations in the weeks following the tumultuous Paris Olympics, according to President Boris Van Der Vorst. The organization, which already counts 37 members, includes many of the top Western national federations.
Leaving Paris, Van Der Vorst feels more confident than ever that his sport can achieve “the greatest comeback story ever in the Olympic movement.”
Throughout the Games, Van Der Vorst has been in constant talks with boxing leaders and federation officials, working to unify the sport under World Boxing, the only feasible alternative to the Russian-dominated International Boxing Association (IBA), which has been exiled from the Olympic movement. Each federation must be wooed individually to make this seismic shift in the sport — and time is of the essence.
Boxing is not currently on the program for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stated repeatedly that the sport must find a new suitable governing body by early 2025 to return to the Games’ lineup. An IOC unit has run the past two Olympic boxing tournaments.
“There’s only one reason to join World Boxing, and that’s to save our sport,” Van Der Vorst said on Saturday.
Five years after the IBA was banned from the Olympics, it returned to the spotlight in Paris with claims against boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, alleging both failed opaque eligibility tests for women’s boxing at last year’s world championships. Amid global criticism and rampant speculation, both Khelif and Lin went on to win gold medals in their best performances yet.
After echoing its claims without providing concrete evidence, the IBA held an unusual news conference in Paris where its president, Umar Kremlev, spent more time lambasting IOC President Thomas Bach over Zoom than addressing questions about the boxers.
Van Der Vorst is all too familiar with the IBA’s leadership woes. He ran for the IBA presidency in 2022 but was barred from the election by Kremlev, a move later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, albeit to no effect.
However, Van Der Vorst refrained from reveling in the IBA’s troubles. Instead, he reinforced his resolve for World Boxing to supplant the IBA in the Olympic movement, whilst acknowledging that the entire sport suffered due to the IBA’s conduct.
“We decided it is not a competition between us and the IBA,” Van Der Vorst said. “Our mission is to keep boxing at the heart of the Olympic movement. We aim to do what’s best for the boxers and the national federations.”
Reflecting on the controversies surrounding Khelif and Lin, who faced online bullying and global scrutiny, Van Der Vorst said he supported their right to be in Paris under the IOC’s criteria. World Boxing’s medical committee is set to draft eligibility rules, taking into account evolving standards across Olympic sports.
“It’s a complicated issue, and for World Boxing, it’s crucial that our medical committee engages experts,” Van Der Vorst stated. “Safety and integrity of the sport are the top priorities. But it’s a really complicated matter.”
World Boxing is also preparing three major tournaments, along with several smaller events, while expanding staff and crafting a long-term plan. The organization is striving to demonstrate its competence as the sport’s authority, hoping to gain IOC approval for the next Olympic cycle.
Despite adding members consistently and now having a presence on six continents, World Boxing faces a substantial challenge in the form of numerous long-standing IBA members who financially rely on the banned body or align politically with its leadership.
Recruiting key members, including some of the world’s top federations, remains daunting. Uzbekistan concluded an outstanding Olympic cycle with five gold medals — the most by any nation in 20 years — while China bagged three golds and two silvers. Cuba, despite winning just two medals in Paris, remains one of the world’s premier boxing federations.
The IOC’s stance if World Boxing fails to secure some top federations remains uncertain, but Van Der Vorst is steadfast in his mission.
“I respect every decision from every national federation and understand the challenges they face,” Van Der Vorst said. “You cannot imagine the difficulties. We’ve had several setbacks, but we are absolutely convinced that our hand will be raised by the end of this year.”
