The rag is burning between two of the international boxing organizations, the WBC (World Boxing Council) and the AIBA (International Boxing Federation). In question, the desire of the second to tread on the flowerbeds of the first, namely professional boxing. A desire that the first views very negatively. The conflict has only just begun, but it could well get worse.
For a long time, things seemed quite simple. At AIBA, amateur boxing, its boxers and its competitions, including the most publicized, the Olympic Games. To the WBC, and its many rivals (WBA, IBF, etc.), the professional world, its millions and its resounding fights. But the arrival in 2006 at the head of AIBA of a new president, the Taiwanese Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu, gradually changed the situation. Under his leadership, the International Boxing Federation advanced its first pawn on the pro boxing chessboard by creating, in 2010, the World Series of Boxing (WSB), a circuit allowing boxers to fight professionally while maintaining their eligibility. at the Olympic games.
Second advance, still to come but already on track: the launch in October 2013 of the APB, a sort of twin federation of the AIBA, but dedicated to professional boxing. Ching-Kuo Wu explained it exclusively for FrancsJeux, earlier this year: “The APB will offer the possibility for athletes to turn professional without leaving their national federation, within a reliable and very structured organization (…) I can already announce to you that many selected from the London Games will be part of it. »
The project is ambitious. He even appears attractive. But it does not do the business of organizations already existing in the professional world. At the top of the list is the WBC. Its president, the Mexican José Sulaiman, issued a very official and very eloquent press release to criticize without nuance the expansionist desire of the AIBA. In essence, the WBC and its president express their “objection” to the International Federation’s desire to interfere in professional boxing. They speak of “unfair competition” regarding the opportunity given to boxers from the future APB to keep their chances of participating in the Olympic Games intact, while making a career in their sport.
According to José Sulaiman, the WBC has already alerted Jacques Rogge, the president of the IOC. She would have done it three times. No response yet. For its part, AIBA is refusing the controversy for the moment. “We are not seeking to compete with professional organizations,” insists Ching-Kuo Wu, its president, also a member of the IOC. They have their own calendar, we have ours. » To be continued.
