Sixth Candidate for AIBA President

(ATR) A sixth candidate throws his hat in the ring for the presidential elections of the world boxing federation on the last day of the application period.

Ramie Al-Masri, an IT entrepreneur and the chairman of the Referees' Commission of the German Boxing Association (DBV), announced he was running on Nov. 2. As an internationally recognized referee, he is networked worldwide in the boxing scene. And unlike some of his competitors, who do not even speak English, the German has a communication advantage. Al-Masri speaks six languages.

DBV president Erich Dreke is convinced of the candidate and his program.

"The most important thing is that he wants to get a clean sport off the ground. In other words, he wants to nip any corruption and bribery in the bud. In any case, he wants to win a sponsor in order to put the main problem, the financial conditions, on a much better footing," says Dreke.

"Another point is the preparation of the best judges. These should be cited and in case of gross violations immediately suspended and punished."

Dreke sees an advantage for the candidate for the AIBA leadership in the fact that Al-Masri, like his Dutch competitor Boris Van der Vorst, would be accepted by the International Olympic Committee. The IOC had suspended the world boxing federation for mismanagement in the financial sector, corruption, breaches of ethics, non-transparent federation management and deficiencies in the anti-doping fight. As a condition for lifting the suspension, the IOC demands reforms and a new leadership without burdens of the past. This actually rules out the choice of the four competitors.

Al-Masri (left) and Erich Dreke (right) (DOSB)"They all belong to the Executive Board in the past, and they were all present at the 2012 and '16 Olympic Games. They did not prevent the manipulation, some even encouraged it," said Dreke.

The four competitors are the Russian Umar Kremlev, Bienvenido Solano from the Dominican Republic, the Azerbaijani Süleyman Mikayilov and Anas Al Otaiba from the United Arab Emirates.

The IOC not only wants a new president, but also a completely renewed Executive Board. Thus, one of Al-Masri's primary goals is to find new, unencumbered members from various countries.

While Al-Masri wants to promote the sport, he also must make sure that AIBA is welcomed back by the IOC and that the professional association takes over the organization of the Olympic tournament and qualification again.

Written by Heinz Peter Kreuzer

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