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Tokyo 2020 Olympic medallists, Lauren Price and Richard Torrez Jr, can be Athlete representatives on the Interim Executive Board of a new worldwide federation for boxing
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND, 13 April 2023 – A group of Boxing leaders from National Federations the world over have created a brand new, not-for-profit, worldwide federation, World Boxing, which goals to make sure that boxing stays on the coronary heart of the Olympic motion.
World Boxing has been established in response to the persistent points surrounding Olympic-style boxing’s present worldwide governing physique, whose failure to handle the IOC’s longstanding issues over sporting integrity, governance, transparency and monetary administration has positioned boxing’s future as an Olympic sport doubtful.
World Boxing will search recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and plans to work constructively and collaboratively to develop a pathway that may protect boxing’s ongoing place on the Olympic competitors programme.
World Boxing will put boxers’ pursuits on the centre of decision-making and its methods of working can be underpinned by rigorous governance practices designed to create a sustainable and inclusive world sporting construction the place boxers from all over the world can compete figuring out that the integrity of the game is assured and competitors is honest.
As a part of its launch announcement World Boxing, made 5 pledges detailing its priorities for the game, its dedication to boxers and its goals as an organisation. The 5 pledges are:
· World Boxing will maintain boxing on the coronary heart of the Olympic motion
· World Boxing will make sure the pursuits of boxers are put first
· World Boxing will ship sporting integrity and honest competitions
· World Boxing will create a contest construction designed in the perfect pursuits of the boxers
· World Boxing will function in accordance with the strongest governance requirements and clear monetary administration
World Boxing will make sure the views of athletes are represented on the highest stage of decision-making and have a female and male boxer (with voting rights) on its Executive Board which can be elected by members on the organisation’s inaugural Congress in November 2023.
In the interval between the launch of World Boxing and the inaugural Congress it will likely be led by an interim Executive Board made-up of representatives from boxing organisations in Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Sweden and the USA. It can be overseen on a day-to-day foundation by Interim Secretary General, Simon Toulson, who has in depth expertise in worldwide sport having beforehand led the International Canoe Federation (ICF) and the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).
The two Athlete Representatives on World Boxing’s Interim Executive Board are Tokyo 2020, middleweight gold medallist, Lauren Price from Wales and the USA’s super-heavyweight silver medallist, Richard Torrez Jr.
To be sure that boxers have a robust voice in shaping the work of World Boxing, the 2 athlete representatives on the Executive Board can be supplemented by an Athletes Committee, made up of three males and three ladies, that may be answerable for representing the views of boxers worldwide and offering recommendation, steerage and opinions to World Boxing.
Lauren Price stated: “From being eight-years-old it was my ambition to go to the Olympic Games and as soon as I took up boxing, all the pieces I did was centered on working in the direction of that purpose. To lastly obtain it after which win a medal has been the spotlight of my profession and despite the fact that I’m now an expert, I don’t assume something will ever match what I did on the Olympics.
“Going to the Olympics is life changing and I cannot imagine a Games without boxing. It provides a massive platform for the sport and for the boxers. Without it, the boxers will suffer and the sport will be damaged so something has to be done to make sure boxing continues to be part of the Olympic Games.”
Richard Torrez Jr added: “Winning a medal for my country at Tokyo 2020 was the best moment of my career. To take that opportunity away from the next generation of boxers would be devastating for them as athletes and disastrous for the sport. It is absolutely vital that boxing remains part of the Olympic Games and I am going to do everything I can to make sure that happens.”
World Boxing can be led by an Executive Board and a President who can be elected by members on the organisation’s inaugural Congress in November 2023. Membership purposes are open and plenty of National Federations, the world over, have already indicated their curiosity in becoming a member of World Boxing and operating for election.
In the interval main up to the inaugural Congress, World Boxing can be led by an Interim Executive Board made-up of representatives from eight international locations throughout 4 nationalities. It features a male and a feminine Athlete Representatives and an Interim Secretary General, who doesn’t have voting rights.
The present members of the Interim Executive Board are:
· Matthew Holt, Chief Executive, GB Boxing
· Tyson Lee, President, USA Boxing
· Karin Mattsson, Board Member, Swedish Boxing Federation
· Michael Mueller, Secretary General, German Boxing Association
· Karina Picson, Boxing Competition Official, the Philippiines
· Lauren Price, Athlete Representative
· Richard Torrez Jr, Athlete Representative
· Boris van der Vorst, President, Dutch Boxing Federation
· Keith Walker, Chair, Boxing New Zealand
· Simon Toulson, Interim Secretary General (with out voting rights)
Matthew Holt, Chief Executive, GB Boxing defined: “It is vital that boxing continues to remain at the heart of the Olympic movement and to achieve this we need to re-establish a relationship of trust between those that the govern the sport and all of its stakeholders. World Boxing aims to deliver this by creating a financially transparent organisation with strong governance structures that delivers sporting integrity and fair competition and acts in the interest of boxers and the sport.”
Tyson Lee, President, USA Boxing, stated: “The loss of Olympic status represents an existential threat to boxing that will have a negative impact on the sport at every level from grassroots clubs to the higher ends of professional boxing. World Boxing aims to prevent this. It will create a sporting structure designed to suit the best interests of boxers and ensure they continue to have the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games.”
Boris van der Vorst, President, Dutch Boxing, added: “World Boxing represents a coming together of people whose interest is solely in creating a better future for boxers and ensuring the sport continues to be a major part of the Olympic Games. Honesty and integrity will be central to World Boxing which is underpinned by strong governance procedures and has embedded the principle of independent, third-party oversight into its constitution to ensure it has rigorous, enforceable, governance structures that will drive ethical and transparent decision making.”
World Boxing’s Statutes have been developed following wide-ranging analysis of finest follow in world sporting governance and canopy each side of World Boxing’s operations together with: safeguarding; the well being and security of boxers; refereeing and judging; competitors manipulation; election protocols; codes of behaviour and equality and inclusion. World Boxing’s statutes and all its guidelines and insurance policies are publicly obtainable on its web site at www.worldboxing.org.
Central to all of those is the precept of impartial, third-party oversight and enforceability which World Boxing will guarantee by working with the main impartial supplier of sport-specific arbitration and mediation providers, Sport Resolutions, to create a third-party ethics and judicial process that’s fully separate from the organisation and can oversee any potential points and disputes.
To guarantee sporting integrity, World Boxing’s competitions can even be topic to impartial, third-party scrutiny with the appointment of exterior assessors who will oversee and report on all features of competitors administration together with refereeing and judging and the appointment and function of officers.
This working construction displays the method taken by the IOC’s Boxing Task Force (BTF) for Tokyo 2020 when Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) was appointed to providean impartial evaluation and assessment of refereeing and judging at the qualification occasions and the Olympic match.
It will make certain that all World Boxing competitions are topic to impartial, third-party oversight and ship honest competitors for the boxers the place theoutcome is decided solely by efficiency in the ring.
ENDS
For additional media info, contact World Boxing’s media representatives at:
· [email protected]
