TAIPEI – From a distance, you immediately notice that AIBA president Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu is a man of substance.
Wu, 62, is the Taiwanese president of AIBA, which stands for Association Internationale de Boxe or International Boxing Association. He unseated long-time Pakistan dictator Anwar Chowdry, 83-79, in a close call to end the reign of one of the world’s most infamous sports officials in November 2006.
AIBA’s first president was Emile Gremaux of France who was voted in 1948. Then came Rudyard Russell of England in 1962, followed by Nikoforov Denisov of Russia in 1974, Don Hull of the US in 1978, Chowdry and Wu.
Wu had previously tried to beat Chowdry in the AIBA polls and finally succeeded after it became increasingly evident the world governing body needed to clean up a tarnished image. Chowdry was widely perceived to be guilty of manipulating results in AIBA competitions, including the Olympics, in exchange for money.
With Wu in the saddle, AIBA has regained the respect of the IOC and the global sports community.
After his election, Wu brought in auditors from Price Waterhouse Coopers to look into AIBA’s topsy-turvy books. Findings led to the suspension of Turkish secretary-general Caner Doganeli who reportedly had blown the whistle on Chowdry but got the axe himself for admitting to shenanigans.
So far, Wu has suspended two vice presidents, five executive committee members and Doganeli. Included in the doghouse list are Lt. Gen. Taweep Jantararoj of Thailand, Muhamed Kamel Shibibin of Syria and Ihor Gaidarnak of Ukraine. Also put in cold storage was the entire Greek national association although its boxers continued to be allowed to compete in AIBA tournaments. Some of the suspensions were for unsportsmanlike behavior.
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ABAP president Ricky Vargas, secretary-general Patrick Gregorio and executive director Ed Picson introduced themselves to Wu in a courtesy call here Wednesday afternoon. I came along for the one-day visit to witness the meeting.
What struck me about Wu was his passion for the sport. He spoke about boxing with feeling, like his life was the sport itself. His sincerity was evident.
When he walked into the room to greet the Manila visitors, Wu graciously extended his hand. He stood upright, almost regally. Then he sat at the head of the conference table, Vargas and Gregorio to his right and Picson to his left. He expounded on his views with dignity and authority.
The first thing that Wu unloaded was his resentment over the Philippines’ protest during the boxing finals of the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok.
“I was there watching the finals,” said Wu. “I never expected it from the Philippines. You are in sports to compete not to surrender. I’ve never seen anything like it. You should never use boxers as a tool to show protest. They are innocent athletes. Fighters get their signals from their coach who gets his signal from his association head. It was absolute disrespect for the meaning of sports.”
As Wu spoke, I noticed how bitter he was, not against the Philippines but those who profess a belief contrary to the Olympic spirit of sportsmanship. Here was a no-nonsense leader who would never compromise his principles, who wouldn’t hesitate to crack down on anyone crossing the line.
The AIBA is in good hands, I thought.
Wu said before he got involved in boxing, he was seriously playing basketball as captain of the Tung Hai University team from 1966 to 1968. He played on the silver medal team at the National Championships of Chiang Kai Shek in 1966.
“I remember Filipino-Chinese players who used to join our leagues in the ’60s,” said Wu. “I’ve gotten to know many Filipinos in sports and one of my dear friends is Frank Elizalde of the IOC. Frank knows his boxing. He enjoys the sport and I make it a point to invite him to witness our AIBA events.”
Wu was elated to find out Vargas and Gregorio are executives of PLDT, which owns the Talk ‘N’ Text franchise in the PBA. Wu said he is aware of Smart’s dominance in the Philippine telecommunications market.
Wu, who is married with two daughters, said he hardly stays put in a place too long because of his busy schedule. He is constantly traveling to attend to AIBA matters, particularly as the organization’s main office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. But Wu promised to make time soon to visit Manila on the ABAP’s invitation.
In his annual report, Wu set down the philosophy behind his reform program. “The heart and soul of the sport of boxing are the fair results in the competitions,” said Wu. “Experiences gathered in competition made AIBA concentrate on rectifying some urgent problems with the scoring system and enhancing the referees and judges management system.”
Wu told the ABAP delegation to course requests for assistance to a newly organized AIBA foundation.
“I sent about $5,000 worth of equipment, including a laptop, headgear and gloves to each national association affiliated with AIBA last year and ABAP should’ve received it,” he said.
Wu mentioned he was informed that some unscrupulous officials from different countries sold the equipment or took some home for personal use.
“I don’t know what happened in the Philippines but let me know what you need,” said Wu.
The AIBA now has 196 member countries out of 203 national committees affiliated with the IOC. Asia has 44 associations. Asians with specific positions in AIBA include executive director Ho Kim of Korea, vice president Chang Jianping of China (also the Asian Boxing Confederation president), and executive committee members Sheik Hamid Bin Khadim Bin Butti Alhamid of the United Arab Emirates and Nieva Tesoro Embuldeniya, a Filipina with Canadian citizenship now living in Sri Lanka.