Vargas cites World Boxing hallmarks

MANILA, Philippines — ABAP chairman Ricky Vargas said yesterday the Philippines’ formal affiliation with the newly-formed World Boxing, which is seeking IOC recognition as the sport’s international federation, will usher in a new era of freedom where boxers are able to fight for their countries without fear of prejudice.

World Boxing approved ABAP’s application to join the organization during an interim Executive Board meeting last Wednesday. Karina Picson, a Filipina boxing technical delegate, attended the meeting as a member of the interim Board and advised Vargas of the approval. “World Boxing is now being represented in five continents,” said Picson who was appointed to the interim Board on a personal capacity. Picson’s late husband Ed was the former ABAP president whose dream was to rid the sport of the tentacles of the discredited International Boxing Association (IBA) which has been stripped of recognition as an international federation by IOC.

“ABAP is aligned with the IOC principles of integrity, transparency, fair play and proper governance which are also the hallmarks of World Boxing,” said Vargas. “Let’s free the boxers and boxing from influencers who dictate the outcome of the sport itself.” Vargas will attend World Boxing’s inaugural Congress at the Mainarcaden in Frankfurt on Nov. 24-25. Elections will be held to vote in a president, vice president and Executive Board members. The positions of chairs of the Sport and Competition Committee, Medical and Anti-Doping Committee and Finance and Audit Committee will also be filled. World Boxing is currently managed by interim president Boris van der Vorst of the Netherlands and interim secretary-general Simon Toulson of England.

IOC suspended IBA of recognition in 2019 after investigative findings of unfair play, lack of financial transparency and irregular governance practices and took over the management of boxing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. IOC eventually removed IBA from its rolls and will once more supervise boxing at the Paris Olympics. World Boxing has applied for IOC recognition which is pending a widespread representation of the fledgling federation launched last April. So far, World Boxing has brought in 27 members, including the Philippines and Mongolia from Asia.

Last week, the Asian Boxing Confederation held an extraordinary Congress to discuss World Boxing and several countries chose to defer affiliation until IOC recognizes a new international federation. Once World Boxing is recognized by IOC, it is expected to stage competitions at the global and regional levels with qualifying routes to the Olympics. World Boxing is expected to be inclusive and will open its doors to boxers who’ve previously fought in IBA-sanctioned events.