24.09.2018

President of the International Amateur Boxing Association intends to stand for AIBA president despite the US sanctions

Presidential elections in the International Amateur Boxing Association, AIBA, which will be held on 3 November in Moscow, are expected to be one of the most intriguing and intense in recent years. It is the result of the conflict between the acting head of AIBA Gafur Rakhimov and the International Olympic Committee.
IOC strongly recommended the Uzbek functionary, who is under the US sanctions, to withdraw his candidacy, warning him that otherwise boxing could lose its place on the Olympic programme. But Rakhimov has denied any wrongdoing.

The Russian Boxing Federation expressed its support for Gafur Rakhimov, and its General Secretary Umar Kremlev told Kommersant that with such a president "boxing certainly has a future."
Gafur Rakhimov was appointed AIBA’s acting president in January as a result of last year's management crisis. If elected as president, he promised to conduct large-scale reforms in AIBA.
Election crisis was created by the International Olympic Committee that made it clear that it opposes his election. Insidethegames website published the text of a letter sent to Gafur Rakhimov by chief ethics and compliance officer Päquerette Girard Zappelli. It is more like an ultimatum.
The letter says that it is in the best interests of boxing that only candidates benefiting from a full clean situation can stand for the President's position and that Rakhimov remains on the US sanctions list as "one of Uzbekistan's leading criminals". Rakhimov repeatedly rejected these accusations. Also, the letter warned Rakhimov's election could put boxing's place on the Tokyo 2020 programme in jeopardy.
In response to an ultimatum from the IOC, Gafur Rakhimov issued his own statement. He said he was sure that AIBA Member Associations "will not be influenced by any rumours and not start to let speculation interfere or dominate our democratic process".
The Russian Boxing Federation, which is among the most influential in boxing, takes the side of Gafur Rakhimov. Its General Secretary Umar Kremlev said he does not understand the position of IOC officials, given that "90% of the national federations including the US federation, together with the overwhelming majority of executive committee members, support Rakhimov."
Mr Kremlev noted that Gafur Rakhimov, who has held leadership positions in AIBA for more than 20 years, "has done much for boxing: he prevented its bankruptcy and "is a real leader" with whom "boxing certainly has a future". He added that "any pressure is wrong and contradicts the regulations". "We still have a democracy, not a dictatorship".