THE president of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) has defended the decision not to send Irish boxers to upcoming World Championships, insisting “it feels like the right thing to do”.
At a joint meeting of the IABA’s board of directors and central council in Dublin last Thursday night, council members voted 15-5 to boycott the championships in protest against alleged corruption in the International Boxing Association (IBA), with growing fears for the future of the sport’s Olympic involvement.
Their decision came days after the United States announced a boycott, with both the Irish government and Sport Ireland understood to have urged the IABA not to participate after the IBA agreed to allow boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own flag.
It is expected that other European Union countries will follow suit in the coming weeks - as part of a ‘Common Cause Alliance’ – by deciding against sending teams to IBA-run events.
The women’s Worlds will take place in New Delhi next month, with the men’s competition set for the Uzbekistan capital Tashkent in May, and Gerry O’Mahony admits the decision to boycott both was “not taken lightly”,
“Even going into the meeting, some people might have had it in the minds to go to the Worlds but when they got in there, they changed when they heard the opinions of different people,” said the Waterford man, who was elected IABA president last summer.
“The officer board and the directors present did not influence anyone. The people were given the choice, they were given the information, and they made up their own minds. They were the guardians of the IABA, the people who represented every region, and they were asked to make the decision.
“In the long-term, I think it’s the right decision… it was a leap of faith really. People were tired of hearing about the corruption that goes on, our boxers treated badly when they go abroad to countries where the IBA are involved, so a decision had to be made – do we want to keep supporting that and propping that up, or do we want to make a stand?
“Going into the meeting the other night I was so unsure, but it feels like the right thing to do. It’s the goal of every young boxer to be in the Olympics.
“After the meeting, it felt like a load was lifted.”
Still, as the fall-out from last week’s decision rumbles on, coaches and boxers the length and breadth of the country have major concerns about where this latest development leaves emerging talent in terms of gaining top class international experience.
Last November the IABA did not intend sending a team to last November’s World Youth Championships until the Spanish government banned Russian and Belarussian teams from entering, but O’Mahony hopes to minimise the impact of the boycott.
“We intend to carry on as normal, in terms of sending teams away.
“They won’t be going to the Worlds, but they will be going to Olympic qualifiers, to the likes of Strandja Cup. There’s also a youth cup in Montenegro, and we are in discussions about that. Even though those countries are aligned with the IBA, if the IBA is not running those events we can still take part in them.
“We will have to arrange our own tournaments to make things work for our boxers, and we’re looking at that at the moment.
“I know the ‘Common Cause Alliance’ is fairly new and it’s not properly set up yet, but once definitive decisions are made then the alliance will take on a whole new journey, and will only get stronger.”
FEARS BOYCOTT COULD FORCE FIGHTERS DOWN PRO ROUTE
THERE are growing fears that the decision to boycott this year’s World Championships could hasten the departure of some of Ireland's top amateurs to the professional ranks.
The women’s Worlds will take place in New Delhi next month, with the men’s competition set for the Uzbekistan capital Tashkent in May, and both offer the opportunity to earn significant prize money and podium funding from Sport Ireland.
Those in pole position for June’s European Games in Poland – the first Olympic qualifier – will have their minds fully focused on making it to Paris 2024, but last week’s decision shifts the ground for those either not currently competing at Olympic weights.
Amy Broadhurst is just one example. The Dundalk woman swept the boards last year, including light-welterweight winning gold at the World Championships in Turkey, which landed her $100,000.
After opting to pursue her Olympic dream at 66kg rather than 60kg, Broadhurst lost out to Grainne Walsh in the Irish final, therefore other competitions assume greater significance in the interim.
Prize money is on offer again in India, with up to $200,000 for male competitors, while it also represents one of only a handful of opportunities for boxer to secure their funding future.
Irish Athletic Boxing Association president Gerry O’Mahony admitted the lure of the pro game is “always a concern, not just now”, but said the IABA’s focused was on the long-term future of Irish boxing.
“Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we can make it more palatable to be away from the IBA, to have a better way forward.
“There’s a couple of things you’ve got to look at; sending boxers abroad to box in tournaments when there’s a chance they’re going to get bad decisions or get robbed - that has to end. The IOC [International Olympic Committee] has asked the IBA [International Boxing Association] to make changes, they haven’t done it.
“So what option have you? You can keep sending people to those competitions and then they come back and we’re crying about bad decisions. Then you go back and the same thing happens the following year.
“I know it’s lovely to get $200,000 but I don’t agree with that – it’s like a sweetener to get boxers to move that way and turn against their associations. They know it’s a crucial time now… I can’t see them continuing to keep paying out millions year on year.
“There might be a bit of the unknown in the short-term, but in the long-term we’ll certainly be better off.”
