Uzbek boxing fans clear on boycott of World Championships: Kremlin to blame

TASHKENT -- The participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the upcoming International Boxing Association (IBA) championships -- and continued controversy regarding the IBA's leadership -- have led some participants to opt out of the event.

Although hosting the event is a milestone for Uzbekistan, boxing fans understand the boycott's motivation and lay the blame on Russia's decision to invade Ukraine one year ago.

The US Boxing Federation (USA Boxing) announced earlier this month that its athletes will not participate in the IBA's 2023 Women's and Men's World Championships, scheduled for March 15-31 in New Delhi and May 1-14 in Tashkent.

"While sport is intended to be politically neutral, many boxers, coaches and other representatives of the Ukrainian boxing community were killed as a result of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, including coach Mykhaylo Korenovsky who was killed when a Russian missile hit an apartment block in January," Mike McAtee, executive director/CEO of USA Boxing, said in a statement on February 8.

"Ukraine's sports infrastructure, including numerous boxing gyms, has been devastated by Russian aggression," he added.

Boxing-mad Uzbekistan was eager to host the tournament. The country has embraced the sport since Sidney Jackson (1886-1966), a visiting American stranded in Russia by World War I, made his way to Uzbekistan and began teaching boxing to local youth.

One of his last students, middleweight Rifat Riskiyev, won the silver medal at the Montreal Olympics in 1976.

In 2021, Uzbek super-heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov won gold at the Tokyo Games.

Corruption spoiling the IBA

The IBA since 2020 has been headed by Umar Kremlev, a Russian businessman tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian energy giant Gazprom.

The United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland and the Netherlands have also announced that they will not take part in IBA events.

Ukraine also will not participate.

"Our answer is clear: our athletes and representatives of the Boxing Federation of Ukraine do not perform where the representatives of the aggressor countries will perform -- these are Russia and Belarus," said Oleg Ilchenko, vice-president of the Boxing Federation of Ukraine, according to a Wednesday (February 22) report by the Ukrainian website Suspilne Sport.

Others have cited corruption in the IBA: violations of judge selection procedures; sponsorship by Gazprom, which has been under sanctions since the invasion; opaque budgets; and unequal prize money for men and women.

"We do not accept IBA's handling," Per-Axel Sjöholm, chairman of the Swedish Boxing Federation, told Sweden's TT News Agency February 14.

"There is no democracy or transparency," he said. "We have worked for several years to bring about a change, but without success."

"Then they made the decision themselves to allow Russia and Belarus to compete, moreover under national flags," he added.

Marek Šimák, president of the Czech Boxing Association, also expressed his country's support for the boycott.

"We decided because we condemn the war in Ukraine," he said February 13 in an interview with Sport.cz.

"This is a long-term position, because the head of the international association IBA is the Russian president Umar Kremlev, who is very closely connected to Vladimir Putin," he added. "A lot of things are solved there with money; everything is paid for by Gazprom."

Russia to blame

Tashkent is hosting the biennial World Boxing Championships for the first time, but Uzbek observers and boxing fans understand the reason for boycotting.

"As long as there are Russians in IBA leadership, the problem will remain and the best solution is to remove them and get boxing back on track," said Uzbek journalist Shukhrat Shokirjonov.

Russia is specifically to blame for the criticism and boycott of the prestigious international tournament, he said.

Farkhod Mirzabayev, a political scientist from Tashkent, also attributed the boycott to the presence of Kremlev, a Kremlin lackey.

"The [IBA] has been often accused of dishonest refereeing before this, and that problem, unfortunately, has not yet disappeared," he said.

The circumstances put Uzbekistan's leadership in a very difficult position, said Khakimjon Nazarov, a boxing fan from Tashkent.

On the one hand, as a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), it has unavoidably close ties with the aggressor country, and on the other hand, it is pursuing its own development through co-operation with developed countries, including the United States and the European Union.

"That's why I think the only right way out for our republic's leaders in such a difficult situation is to postpone the World Championships," he said.

"I think most Uzbek boxing fans understand the reasons behind this boycott," said Dilshod Karimov, another boxing fan from Tashkent. "It's the Kremlin's policy and the war it has unleashed."