British boxers will not participate in the men’s amateur world championships in Tashkent, the country also boycotted the women’s event in India last month.
There are growing concerns about the sport’s future in the Olympics. The men’s tournament, which is scheduled to take place from April 30 to May 14 in the Uzbek capital, will not feature British boxers.
GB Boxing had earlier announced a boycott of the women’s championships in February and had indicated that it was considering participation in the men’s tournament.
“The decision reflects ongoing concerns about the future of boxing’s place on the Olympic programme and the recent decision by IBA to allow teams of boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete under their national flags,” it said on Tuesday.
“This has put further distance between IBA and the Olympic movement in addition to the significant, longstanding issues over sporting integrity, governance, transparency and financial management which the IOC has asked IBA to address to protect boxing’s place on the Olympic programme.”
GB Boxing will send a team to the European Games in Poland, an official qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Russian-led IBA was stripped of involvement in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and boxing is not on the initial programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, pending reforms demanded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The US and Irish federations announced in February they would not be participating in either the women’s or men’s world championships.
(Reuters)
