World Boxing is making progress. Slowly, but surely. The new international boxing body, created last April as an alternative to the IBA, has announced the arrival of five new member national federations. They represent the Philippines, Scotland, Wales, Suriname and the US Virgin Islands. With these new additions, World Boxing now has 27 member countries on all five continents. They are all eligible to take part, and present candidates, at the body’s first annual congress, scheduled for 25 November in Frankfurt, Germany. Coincidentally, the IBA also announced a change in its membership on Wednesday 25 October. More timid, admittedly, but still welcome. The body chaired by Umar Kremlev explained that it had granted provisional member status to the boxing federations of Switzerland (SwissBoxing) and the Norfolk Islands. The two countries are expected to retain this status until the next IBA Congress, to be held on December 9 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. SwissBoxing had announced its withdrawal from the IBA on June 1, before its General Assembly reversed the decision on August 19, voting in favour of a return to square one. The Norfolk Island Boxing Association, meanwhile, has never been a member of the IBA.
