ATR First: Wu to Challenge AIBA Suspension

(ATR) International Boxing Association president CK Wu tells Around the Rings he will not bow out without a fight.

Wu says he will challenge the unanimous decision of AIBA's Disciplinary Commission on Oct. 10 to suspend him from the presidency. He contends he was not given the opportunity to present his side to the commission.

"I was not given any opportunity to respond to the Disciplinary Commission which was called suddenly without any notice," Wu tells ATR in a call from Taipei. "Now it will go to the Swiss court again. I am sure that they will rule very quickly.

"There is no provision in the AIBA statutes for the suspension of the president."

Disciplinary Commission chairman Tom Virgets has not yet confirmed to ATR whether Wu was given proper notice and the ability to present his case as required by AIBA's statutes.

In the meantime, AIBA vice president Franco Falcinelli will take over interim control of the federation, winning a battle in the months-long struggle to take over management of the federation.

AIBA Executive Committee member from Canada Pat Fiacco tells ATR that Falcinelli will remain interim president until at least January when an Extraordinary Congress can be held. A mail-in vote by executives will set the date and location of the Extraordinary Congress which requires 90-days notice for AIBA’s 200 National Federations.

With Wu’s suspension, Fiacco says that AIBA’s executives may finally review financial documents that they allege Wu has withheld for years.

"We are quite concerned through numerous requests we have still not been able to have access to the financial statements of AIBA for the last three years nor have we had access to the audits," Fiacco tells ATR.

"We do know verbally what the situation is, and it wasn’t something that made us happy. We were concerned so that’s why we made these requests. But he refuses and has refused to do so. Now this will give us an opportunity to review those books and have a much better picture of the situation and again just allow the EC to do our jobs as elected officials who have a fiduciary responsibility to the National Federations."

A unanimous decision rendered by AIBA’s Disciplinary Commission chaired by Tom Virgets suspended Wu with immediate effect, citing Wu’s recent attempts to suspend members of the AIBA Executive Committee Bureau, his refusal to provide financial reviews to AIBA executives and the blocking of an Extraordinary Congress where a motion of no confidence against Wu was scheduled.

"President Wu has made important commercial agreements and taken key decisions without the EC’s approval," the decision reads. "He has signed and taken on several loans (i) without providing any information to the Executive Committee, (ii) without any reference to this in the financial reports that have been provided these last years to the EC, and (iii) without any feasible plan of reimbursement."

Fiacco says that he and his colleagues are pleased with the Disciplinary Commission decision and that they are not concerned if Wu tries to fight it in the courts.

"I’m not sure what he’s going to do," Fiacco says. "We can’t be worried about that; it’s entirely up to him. What we have to do now is take care of the NFs to take care of our members of AIBA, that’s our responsibility.

"AIBA isn’t about one person. Unfortunately if you look at the news of AIBA over the last few years, it’s been about one person. But AIBA is about our boxers, we’ve got to get back focused on our sport."

The International Olympic Committee reasserted its position that this power struggle is an "internal dispute within the AIBA."

"We would need to understand more about the basis for this latest development before making any further comment," an IOC spokesperson tells ATR in a statement. It seems that Wu’s position as an IOC Executive Board member is not at jeopardy.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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