D-Day Nears for Troubled Boxing Federation

(ATR) The IOC has declined to comment on AIBA’s progress on reforms – but sets a date for the conclusion of its wide-ranging inquiry into boxing’s governance.

Nenad Lalovic, chair of the IOC’s inquiry commission reviewing AIBA’s governance, financial management and an array of issues, presented an interim report to the IOC Executive Board on Thursday.

Asked by Around the Rings if the IOC was satisfied with progress so far on the wave of improvements it has demanded, IOC communications chief Christian Klaue didn’t offer any comment on the mood of executive board members about boxing’s ongoing reforms.

He said the IOC wouldn’t comment on the "content or judgement" in Lalovic’s interim review before the full report comes before the Olympic ruling body.

"We aim to have the final report of the inquiry ready for the next [IOC] executive board meeting on 22 May in Lausanne," Klaue said.

He wouldn’t confirm whether this is the date when AIBA will learn whether it has the green light to host the Tokyo 2020 Olympic boxing competition – or not.

It’s possible the IOC’s ruling body may make a decision about boxing’s Olympic fate on that day, with the IOC Session in Lausanne in June having the final say.

AIBA responded to what it calls a "further delay" in the process, saying in a statement on Thursday "it is very surprising that the IOC are unable to provide a conclusive decision regarding boxing’s Olympic future at this time".

"Given that an additional report was submitted on February 20th, 2019 and assurances were given that an official hearing and inquiry would be made before the IOC EB meeting in March 2019, AIBA is gravely concerned by the indifference shown towards the process and preparation of athletes for the Games."

AIBA Executive Director Tom Virgets says the delay "is a complete disaster for boxers around the world who are being left in limbo without any support or access funding. We don’t understand why we can’t put the well-being of boxers ahead of anything else, it is time to move on - our boxers are waiting, our officials are waiting and our fans are waiting."

There was also no IOC comment on the suitability of the new interim president of the Olympic boxing federation. Last week, AIBA announced that Moroccan Mohamed Moustahsane was its choice to replace Gafur Rakhimov.

The billionaire Uzbek-born Russian businessman stepped aside as president less than six months after his election under efforts to protect the federation from the possibility of IOC sanctions that could bar AIBA from involvement in the Tokyo Olympics.

The appointment of Moustahsane, president of the African Boxing Confederation, may do little to help boxing’s cause.He was chair of the committee responsible for selecting referees for boxing at the Rio Olympics. All 36 of referees and judges were dismissed after the Games by then-President C.K. Wu amid suspicions over corrupt boxing decisions.

On Tuesday, Virgets suggested the federation was on track with its reforms process, highlighting positive results in the federation’s interim audit report.

"Considering where we were one year ago, AIBA has made significant progress towards reducing its debt and has gone from a negative cash flow of over $2 million annually, to a positive cash flow," said Virgets.

"The report shows that we as an organization carry significant debts of over $16 million, and that the organization is dependent on the Olympic dollars in order to secure its future.

"But the positive side is the report also shows clearly that with the Olympic money AIBA will have the financial resources to not only meet its obligations, but also eliminate AIBA’s debt and create positive equity by 2024".

He said the report validates that projections of AIBA’s finance department as presented the federation’s executive committee were correct "and not inflated as was past practice".

"It also demonstrates that when AIBA exercises discipline, the fiscal policies implemented by president Rahimov over the past nine months work. AIBA will have decreased operating expenses by 50 per cent while also reducing its debt by approximately $3 million by year’s end."

He said that while it was not unusual for the majority of summer Olympic federations to be dependent on Olympic dollars to sustain their programs, "it is the goal of AIBA to generate enough revenue to be able to operate independent of Olympic funding".

"Once the IOC allows AIBA to move forward as the Olympic governing body, AIBA will be able to reduce our debt by an additional $4-5 million over the next 12 months," added Virgets.

Reported by Mark Bissonin Lausanne.

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