IOC Unveils Plans For Boxing at Tokyo 2020

(ATR) "Boxing is moving forward for Tokyo."

While the sport will move forward, it will include two oversight groups hoping to lead the troubled boxing federation out of a constant stream of mismanagement and accusations of impropriety and mistrust within the Olympic Movement.

IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell briefed reporters at the end of the first of the two-day IOC Executive Board meeting in Lausanne that was dominated by talk of AIBA.

A five-member taskforce will oversee the remainder of the process for boxing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, pending approval from the IOC Session next week. Rubberstamping is an almost guaranteed outcome.

Moreover, IOC members Nenad Lalovic and Richard Carrion will form an "initial inquiry committee" that will "look at the wider relationship with AIBA," McConnell said.

No members of the current AIBA federation at large were selected, perhaps a reflection of the entrenched problems facing AIBA’s stakeholders in overcoming its crises.

"With the taskforce we need to keep things as simple as possible," McConnell said, adding the group will focus on running the 2020 Olympic boxing tournament and its qualification process, not "fundamentally" changing the sport.

Were new reform opportunities to arise from the taskforce’s work, McConnell noted that those would not necessarily be ignored.

"Hopefully there are elements we can look at that can provide sustainable change." One potential change would be the establishment of an athletes commission within AIBA.

Under the the aegis of the taskforce, National Olympic Committees, not the national federations, must put forward boxers for the Olympics, with the IOC to approve nominees.

IOC member and International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) president Morinari Watanabe is the chair of the taskforce.

He is joined by IOC member from Uganda William Blick, IOC executive board member Willi Kaltschmitt of Guatemala, International Judo Federation President Marius Vizer and IOC Athletes Commission memberAya Mahmoud Medancy of Egypt.

McConnell said the taskforce will have full-time staff but the staff won’t be run by the IOC. The staff will, however, have a full background check conducted by the IOC. No staff have been appointed yet.

A group of athlete ambassador boxers provide advice and consultation and will hope to be one male and female representative from each of the five regions.

A controversial international federation president who slammed the IOC and Thomas Bach at the 2014 Sportaccord General Assembly Vizer’s appointment could be seen as a surprise. "Mister Vizer and his federation are strong partners of the IOC," McConnell said, noting the overlap with boxing and fellow combat sport judo.

"When we looked at the makeup of the taskforce it makes sense for his federation to be there.

"We’re really happy he has a lot to offer."

Reiterating that the taskforce will keep things as simple as possible for boxing, McConnell said AIBA referees will continue to be used so that a new slate of referee training and selection need not happen. Additionally, the Tokyo 2020 boxing test event will take place in October as scheduled.

Specific details regarding the future of boxing’s administration will be decided soon, McConnell said.

"The key thing is giving athletes and national federations as much time as possible".

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