AIBA sets record straight

Games and Amusements Board (GAB) chairman Juan Ramon Guanzon is adamant in his position that ABAP fighters who participate in AIBA tournaments such as the WSB (World Series of Boxing) and APB (AIBA Pro Boxing) are professionals and must obtain licenses from his agency.

“The bottomline for GAB is that we have declared these boxers to be pro boxers and have done everything within our legal mandate,” he said. “If the rest of the country and most especially, the Department of Justice and Bureau of Immigration believe otherwise, at least GAB is free from culpability just in case anything unpleasant happens as a result of ABAP’s refusal to have their pro boxers regulated and supervised like the rest of all professional athletes especially the pro boxers.”

GAB is chasing ABAP fighters Mark Anthony Barriga and Charly Suarez to secure licenses from the government agency because they appear to perform as professionals in bouts conducted by AIBA. However, there is a distinction between fighters who are engaged in “pro-style” AIBA bouts and fighters who aren’t. An AIBA fighter is limited to perform only in AIBA tournaments and not allowed to participate in contests sanctioned by professional organizations such as the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF. 

AIBA enjoys the support of the IOC and that’s why AIBA fighters retain their eligibility to compete in the Olympics even as they seem to be “restricted” pros. It’s no secret that the IOC frowns on government intervention and for this reason, ABAP isn’t inclined to license its fighters with the GAB for fear of suspension. ABAP’s goal is to reap honors for the country in international competitions such as the AIBA World Championships and the Olympics. Anything that may derail ABAP’s mission can’t be in the national interest.

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Guanzon said ABAP used to be the acronym for the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines but it now stands for the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines just as AIBA discarded its “amateur” status in deference to “open” competition which is in line with the modern Olympic spirit. His argument is if a fighter isn’t an amateur, then he’s a professional.

To set the record straight, AIBA executive director Ho Kim explained the situation in a letter to ABAP executive director Ed Picson. “The modern sport of boxing no longer conforms to the perception of ‘amateur,’” he said. “In removing the reference to ‘amateur,’ we are in accordance with Olympic sports across the world. However, we continue to run all competitions in accordance with our rules and in accordance with the IOC as the recognized governing body for boxing and this is clearly set out in our Statutes and Competition Rules.”

Kim said the APB is not comparable to current professional boxing organizations. “AIBA has launched its own pro-style competition format which is only governed by AIBA with consistent and transparent rules and regulations,” he noted. “We do not use the word ‘professional’ in any of our programs. The APB and WSB have been developed by AIBA in order to provide boxers with a career path in boxing and to allow them to compete in fully-regulated and transparent boxing competitions.  Both competitions enable boxers to qualify for the Olympics and all boxers participating in APB and WSB retain their eligibility to participate in AOB (AIBA Open Boxing) competitions.”

Kim went a step further in explaining why GAB’s involvement may be considered government interference by the IOC. He implied that it could lead to AIBA suspending ABAP just as FIBA once suspended BAP and forced the creation of the SBP.

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“As GAB has not had a role regulating ABAP to date, we fail to see how a change in ABAP’s name but not the actual competitions requires its involvement at this stage,” said Kim. “ABAP is still a national federation recognized by the international governing body and thus, subject to its rules and regulations. In addition, our understanding of the role of GAB is to protect boxers involved in the traditional form of ‘professional boxing’ and other individual contact sports which are unregulated do not have a single international governing body and not subject to the same requirements as our competitions.”

Kim added: “All AIBA competitions have strict requirements in relation to medical clearance, presence of medical personnel at events and training, certification and performance of referee and judges in order to protect all boxers’ health and well-being. In our view, it is not appropriate for government bodies to interfere in the organization and administration of sports programs and competitions of international associations such as AIBA where there are a number of internationally recognized requirements and rules to govern the conduct of the competitions and the activities of national federations as a whole.”

Kim’s letter was copied to AIBA director of external relations Patricia Steulet and AIBA legal manager Cliodhna Guy. The explanation was a veiled threat for ABAP to stay clear of government intervention or else. Surely, the GAB has a lot more on its plate to chew on than waste time deliberating on whether or not the agency should run after Barriga and Suarez whose chances to qualify for the Olympics may be prejudiced by an insistence to secure licenses from the government agency.