Challenge to Boxing Fed President Fails

(ATR) Paul King, the chief executive of the Amateur Boxing Association of England, concedes defeat in his campaign to stand for the presidency of international boxing federation, AIBA.

He failed to obtain the required 20 nominating petitions from national boxing federations, collecting only half that number, ATR has been told. The deadline to file was Oct.1.

"I’m glad I stood," King told ATR.

"I should have announced my candidacy eight weeks ago, instead of just two.

"The number of emails and calls I got pledging support at the Congress has been tremendous, but without enough nominations, I have no campaign.

"I am sure fear has been a factor for some nations when it came to nominating me.

"But I believe I have put down a marker, for democracy and transparency. There’s no doubt about it that there are problems in AIBA," said King, who has been an AIBA executive committee member since 2006.

Of those national federations that did support him, several were barred from being counted by AIBA either because their boxers had not competed at key events or the failure to pay their $250 AIBA annual dues.

AIBA refuses to disclose which of its member federations are suspended, although it recently reinstated South Korea and is facing a challenge at the Court of Arbitration in Sport over the status of the Thailand federation.

King estimates that at least 70 of AIBA’s members will be banned from attending the Congress, taking place in Almaty, Kazakhstan in November, for unpaid dues.

King told Around the Rings that lawyers would be filing a complaint this week against AIBA through the Lausanne, Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport to ensure that all its national federations will have the opportunity to pay their dues and attend the congress.

One consequence of AIBA’s membership ban could be the "contamination" of those countries whose boxers compete at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where the boxing gets underway Tuesday.

Article 16 of AIBA’s statutes prohibits national federations from having "sporting contact with a suspended member".

With at least a dozen African countries and several from the Caribbean having boxers in Delhi, many of them believed to be suspended by AIBA for non-payment of fees, King fears the consequences.

"According to AIBA’s own statutes, any other country faces a ban the moment their boxer steps into the ring with a boxer from a suspended nation," King said.

"What are AIBA going to do when that happens?"

AIBA told Around the Rings that it is awaiting legal clarification in order to be able to explain how it applies its own Article 16.

AIBA released a list of candidates certified for the election, set for Nov. 2 at the AIBA Congress in Almaty.

C.K. Wu, of Chinese Taipei, narrowly elected as president four years ago, will now run unopposed.

There are unopposed candidates for three of the five continental vice presidents, two seeking the Asian seat and no candidate for Oceania, for which an appointment will be made. There are 53 candidates for the 19 open seats on the AIBA Executive Committee.

Written by Steven Downes.