THE Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) has sent a letter of intent to its clubs, urging each of them to make a monumental decision.
As of now, the opportunity for Irish fighters to compete at the Olympics hangs in the balance, with the country’s allegiance to the IBA proving problematic.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) was stripped of its Olympic recognition in 2023 due to concerns over governance issues and a lack of financial transparency.
Since then, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made it clear that any national federation still aligned with the discredited body risks losing its involvement at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
Instead, the IOC has put its faith into breakaway group World Boxing, confirming earlier today that the widely trusted body will organise Olympic boxing for LA28.
The newly-formed international federation has now increased its membership to 84 countries, with GB Boxing and USA Boxing being among those that have defected from the IBA.
And while the IABA presented all Irish clubs with a vote to join World Boxing in 2023, it was ultimately unable to secure a 75 per cent majority.
At the time, there were concerns over a lack of competitions that World Boxing could provide at youth level, meaning that 29 per cent of clubs voted to remain with the IBA.
But now, it could be said that the situation looks vastly different, with the credited international federation adding plenty more tournaments to its schedule.
Hoping to address any concerns, the chair of the IABA Board of Directors, Niall O’Carroll, sent all Irish clubs a letter of his intent to join World Boxing just yesterday.
In that letter – a copy of which was obtained by Boxing News – O’Carroll highlights the need for ‘fair and balanced judging.’
This is based largely on last week’s IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, where several Irish fighters found themselves on the wrong end of a highly contentious decision.
O’Carroll went even further to suggest that these fighters were ‘punished’ after the IABA applied for dual membership – which would allow its boxers to compete in both World Boxing and IBA competitions – in January.
While he is yet to receive confirmation from the IBA, the chairman said in his letter that 61 national federations are operating with dual membership but none, to the IABA’s knowledge, have formally secured permission.
The Irish body is therefore prepared to proceed with its application to join World Boxing, with an EGM – for clubs to, once again, vote on the constitutional change – being scheduled for April.
