He only speaks in Russian. Rather embarrassing for the president of an international federation. In Russian, from the first to the last word, leaving the interpreters the task of relaying his words. But Umar Kremlev (photo above), the imposing boss of the International Boxing Association (IBA), knows how to make himself heard.
Thursday, November 16, he summoned the press to a large hotel in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The host city of the next Summer Olympic Games, where its sport and its athletes will be present, but its authority persona non grata. A choice of location which undoubtedly owes nothing to chance. No more than the timing of this press conference, organized on the same day that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) examined the IBA's appeal against its exclusion by the IOC from the Olympic movement.
For the occasion, Umar Kremlev chose to surround himself with two French boxers. Not the most anonymous. To her left, Estelle Mossely, Olympic champion at the Rio 2016 Games, ambassador of the IBA, today covered in the double hat of boxer and fight promoter. To his right, Sofiane Oumiha, the strongest of the moment, three-time amateur world champion, world title holder in less than 60 kilos.
Umar Kremlev let them express themselves at length, without trying to monopolize the speaking time. He did not hold back a discreet smile when he heard them both assure with convinced faces that the IBA remained the house of boxers, the only one capable of offering them the conditions and means to carry out their career.
The Russian leader took advantage of their presence to display his projects for France: two Champion's Nights in 2024, in Lyon and Paris, the upcoming opening of an IBA academy, and above all the organization in 2025 of the championships of the world. The announcement surprised everyone, starting with the French Boxing Federation (FFB), not yet consulted on the project. Umar Kremlev explained it: “ The idea came from Estelle Mossely. We will talk about it later with the French federation. » Difficult to do without.
For the rest, Umar Kremlev has been true to himself. He plays Umar Kremlev, distributing shock formulas, willingly playing on provocation, abandoning the usual wooden language to deliver a speech where, let's be clear, it has not always been easy to disentangle the true from the false, the info of the intoxication.
The appeal before the CAS of the IOC's decision to withdraw its Olympic recognition from the IBA? “ If we do not win, we will take the matter to the Swiss Supreme Court, the Russian leader calmly replied. We will go to the end. This decision was not made by the Olympic family, but by sports officials. In boxing, it is often said that you have to take two steps back to get a knockout. Sometimes you come out on top, sometimes you come out second. We will defend our rights, you can be sure of that"
The creation of World Boxing and the departure of several national federations to the new body? Umar Kremlev did not avoid the question. Faithful to his line of conduct, he mentioned the boxers, who according to him are the only ones capable of making such a decision. “ To those who have decided to leave the IBA, I want to tell them to leave sport and do politics, he explained. Look what happened in Switzerland: the president of the federation decided to leave the IBA, but the boxers opposed it and he had to resign"
Then the Russian leader laid out his figures. The first was known: 171, the number of national federations announced at the next IBA congress, Saturday December 9 in Dubai. The second was less: 204, the number of federations still members of the body. “ We had 204 (before the creation of World Boxing, editor’s note), we will always have 204″, assured Umar Kremlev, suggesting that the IBA had already created national boxing organizations in the countries that had joined World Boxing.
Uncertainty over the presence of boxing at the 2028 Los Angeles Games? Once again, the response was not nuanced. “ If our sport disappears from the Games, it will not be a problem for boxing but for the Olympic Games. Professional boxers are much more popular than amateurs. And they can make a living from their sport much more easily. »
In Paris, Thursday November 16, Umar Kremlev especially talked a lot about money. He's used to it. Silver and even gold. The president of the IBA insisted at length on the importance of prize money in international tournaments. He proposed that bonuses be distributed to the medalists of the Paris 2024 Games, ensuring that he had written to this effect to the IOC and its president, Thomas Bach. “ I can serve as a consultant to them on this subject.”, he quipped.
Umar Kremlev even suggested, going so far as to repeat himself, that the medals for the Paris 2024 Games be made of solid gold for the winners. In the absence of money, they could then leave with a good weight of gold.
