MORE Asian boxing countries are beginning to see the wisdom of joining World Boxing to save the sport from being totally dropped from the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028, according to boxing secretary general Marcus Manalo.
Manalo attended the recent Asian Boxing Confederation Congress in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.
While the 21 member countries were against bolting the IOC-suspended International Boxing Association to join the new world amateur boxing body, 14 voted affirmatively while one vote was invalidated during the meeting, Manalo said.
“Seeing 14 national federations voting yes is a good sign and there is some momentum moving forward. Also important to note that Mongolia and India (two World Boxing members) did not register for the Congress,” he added.
The Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines official also disclosed that ASBC president Pichai Chunhavajira of Thailand announced during the ASBC assembly that he had resigned from the IBA board of directors.
“The ASBC President, Mr. Pichai from Thailand, also released a strong statement about his resignation from the IBA Board of Directors,” he said.
“We needed 24 votes or two-thirds of the 36 ASBC members that attended that assembly out of 42 for the vote to leave the IBA and join World Boxing,” explained Manalo.
Japan is expected to announce its membership with WB, he said, raising its number of member countries to 43.
The International Olympic Committee has banned the IBA, led by Russian Umar Kremlev, due to the reported lack of proper governance, transparency and allegations of corruption within the organization.
The IOC conducted its own tryouts for the Tokyo and Paris editions of the Olympic Games and is now eager to hand over the responsibility to World Boxing led by Boris van der Vorst of the Netherland once it secures the numbers needed.
In the meantime, the IOC has excluded boxing from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, but left the door open when it holds its general assembly next year to finalize the move.
The absence of boxing in the Summer Games would be a big blow not only to the sport locally but also to the country’s medal campaign in the quadrennial meet since the discipline has provided the biggest number of medals for the Philippines over a long period.
This began with the silver medal won by Anthony Villanueva at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games, a feat duplicated by Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco in the 1996 Atlanta edition and by Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam in the Japanese capital in 2021.
Roel Velasco, Mansueto’s older brother, also won a bronze in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics while Aira Villegas and Petecio also brought home a bronze in the just-concluded Paris Games.
