In response to growing worries over the Russian-dominated sport's Olympic future, Britain, the Czech Republic, the United States, and Ireland all decided to boycott the amateur boxing world championships in New Delhi.
Despite the conflict in Ukraine, the world governing body IBA, which is led by Russian Umar Kremlev and supported by the Russian energy company Gazprom, permits the boxers from Russia and Belarus to participate with national flags and anthems. Due to IOC-required reforms, the IBA was disqualified from participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and boxing is not on the initial schedule for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
In a statement, GB Boxing stated that it will not compete in the March 15–25 women's championships and that it was considering competing in the men's competition in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in May. Marek Simak, head of the Czech Boxing Association, announced on national radio that his nation's boxers would boycott both championships.
The United States and Ireland announced their boycotts last week. GB Boxing said its decision reflected “concerns about the future of boxing place on the Olympic programme and the recent move by IBA to allow boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete under their national flags, which contravenes resolutions passed by the IOC. . .“This has put further distance between IBA and the Olympic movement in addition to the longstanding issues over sporting integrity, governance and financial management which the IOC has asked IBA to address to protect boxing’s place on the Olympic programme. GB Boxing condemns the invasion of Ukraine and has solidarity with the people, boxers, coaches and officials of Ukraine. ”
