WORLD Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman blasted the plan of AIBA, the international amateur boxing organization, to include professional boxers in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio some four months from now.
“The move shows great ignorance and lack of information of what has happened in amateur boxing in recent years, which has positioned amateur and Olympic boxing and its world structure at its worst level,” said Sulaiman.
Assailing the system to determine boxers who could qualify for the Olympics, Sulaiman added: “The so-called World Series of Boxing has been an embarrassment, showcasing very low-level fights and dangerous mismatches. So, now AIBA is attempting to include fully developed professionals to compete in the Olympic games.”
AIBA has threatened expulsion or suspension of several countries from international tournaments, up to and including the Olympics, if that country does not accept to be ruled only by the exclusive authoritarian imposition of AIBA rules and regulations. In doing so, AIBA has sought to intimidate and abuse its power, in order to establish a monopoly on professional boxing as well, even by eliminating the word “amateur” from its own name, meaning that for AIBA, amateur boxing no longer exists. ”
The WBC president stressed that “Boxing cannot be considered without keeping separate amateur and professional boxing, for the most basic principle of safety, by avoiding such dangerous mismatches between experienced professional fighters and amateur boxers. This is something AIBA is not able to understand, because it seems their leadership does not have a clue of what boxing really means and represents. AIBA’s priority appears to be the commercial and business aspects of the sport. Boxers are obligated to sign commercial contracts with AIBA and its affiliates, which positions AIBA in an undeniable and clear conflict of interest.”