World amateur body begins power struggle by Tom Walker Oct 23rd 2007

At an extraordinary Congress held in Chicago on the eve of the World Amateur Boxing Championships, sweeping changes were proposed by the governing body, the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA). Not the least of these proposed changes is the creation of a world boxing league to bring both amateurs and professionals under one organization. Vice President of AIBA Humbert Furgoni of France is quoted as saying “It's the first step for amateur and professional boxers to be managed under the same umbrella." World President of AIBA, Dr CK Wu, who took over from Professor Anwar Chowdry in 2006, is also quoted as saying, “We are producing the best boxers from the Olympic Games and the World Championships, but we want to protect that, because after they got their medals, what was the next step? Not just to be taken up by professional promoters! We want to fully protect them to develop their careers, once we have our own league, the federations and the boxers will be fully protected and this is the reason we want to set it up." Dr Wu also said that he hoped to announce the league by the Beijing Olympics next year. AIBA have indicated that it would take somewhere in the region of $200 – $300 million to make this league happen. Controversially, US Chairman Tom Virgets is quoted as stating “Promoters who have given absolutely nothing to the sport, no contribution whatsoever, have come in and reached into our talent and just exploited that top talent and took it (the talent) away and used it for personal gain.” With no less than 195 federations represented at the Congress there is no doubt that there is a groundswell of opinion throughout the world that change is needed for the benefit of boxers in particular and the sport of boxing as a whole.  Watch this space as the saying goes. The ramifications of Congress decisions will have reverberations throughout boxing.

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