International Boxing Association facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
International Boxing Association

Abbreviation	IBA
Formation	29–30 November 1946
Type	Sports federation
Headquarters	Lausanne, Switzerland
Region served	Worldwide
President	Umar Nazarovich Kremlev
Main organ	Congress

The International Boxing Association (IBA) is a worldwide sports group. It used to be called the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA). This group helps organize and approve amateur boxing matches. These are the kinds of boxing matches you see in the Olympic Games.

The IBA also gives out world championships and other awards. It works with five main groups for different parts of the world. These are the African, American, Asian, European, and Oceania boxing groups. The IBA says it includes 203 national boxing groups. However, this number is now debated because a new group called World Boxing has started.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) used to officially recognize the IBA. This meant the IBA was the main group for boxing in the Olympics. But in 2019, the IOC stopped recognizing the IBA. In 2023, the IOC officially removed the IBA's status. This decision was supported by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2024.

About the IBA's Names

The International Boxing Association has had a few different names over the years:

• International Federation of Amateur Boxers (FIBA): This was its first name, starting on August 24, 1920.
• Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA): This name began on November 28, 1946.
• International Boxing Association (IBA): In November 2007, the name changed to this. But the short name, AIBA, was kept for a while.
• IBA (short name): In December 2021, the short name was officially changed to IBA. This was done to give the organization a fresh start.

Boxing Competitions Organized by IBA

When Wu Ching-kuo was the president from 2006 to 2017, the organization created different types of boxing events. He wanted to be in charge of all kinds of boxing.

The main types of competitions were:

• AIBA Open Boxing (AOB): This was the traditional amateur or Olympic-style boxing.
• AIBA Pro Boxing (APB): This was a league for professional boxers.
• World Series of Boxing (WSOB): This was a team competition for semi-professional boxers.

The professional boxing events (APB and WSOB) were later stopped. This happened because the organization had money problems. APB only held fights from late 2014 to 2016. The World Series of Boxing also stopped suddenly after its 2018 season due to money losses.

History of the IBA

Early Years (1920-2009)

In 1920, during the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, people from different countries met. They wanted to start an international boxing group. This group was officially founded on August 24 and was called the Fédération internationale de boxe amateur (FIBA). Soon after, international boxing contests for amateur boxers became popular.

In November 1946, the FIBA was closed down. This was because some leaders had acted badly during World War II. The Amateur Boxing Association of England and the French Boxing Federation decided to create a new group. They formed the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA). Emile Grémaux, who was the head of the French Boxing Federation, became its first president.

For many years, AIBA managed boxing in the Olympic Games. It organized continental championships, World Cups, and World Championships.

Challenges and Changes (2010-2019)

The organization faced some problems during this time. In December 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) became worried about how AIBA was being run. These concerns continued into 2018.

In June 2019, the IOC decided to stop recognizing AIBA as the main group for boxing. This meant AIBA could no longer be involved in the Olympic Games. The IOC then took over the boxing events for the 2020 Olympic Games. A special team led by Morinari Watanabe helped manage these events.

Recent Years (2020-Present)

On December 12, 2020, Umar Nazarovich Kremlev was chosen as the new AIBA President. He promised to make many improvements. In 2021, Olympic champion István Kovács became the General Secretary. Also, Professor Ulrich Haas was asked to help improve how AIBA was run.

Under the new leadership, several new groups were formed. These included committees for coaches, champions, competitions, women's boxing, and medical issues. AIBA also increased the number of weight categories for men and women boxers. They also started giving prize money for the World Championships. Gold medal winners received $100,000.

In April 2021, AIBA signed a deal with a company called Gazprom. This company became a main supporter of the organization. AIBA announced that it had paid off all its old debts. They also signed agreements with the International Military Sports Council and the International Testing Agency.

To find out what happened at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games boxing tournament, AIBA asked Professor Richard McLaren to investigate. His report in September 2021 found that some fights in 2016 were unfairly influenced. In December 2021, AIBA's national groups voted to change the short name to IBA.

The International Olympic Committee continued to have concerns about the IBA. In June 2023, the IBA officially lost its IOC-recognized status.

Since 2023, a new international boxing group called World Boxing has been created. Many national boxing groups have joined this new organization. This has made it a bit unclear which countries belong to which boxing group.

IBA Presidents

Here are the people who have led the IBA (and its earlier names) over the years:

• Émile Grémaux (France), 1946–1959
• Lieutenant-Colonel Rudyard Russell (Great Britain), 1962–1978
• Colonel Don Hull (USA), 1978–1986
• Anwar Chowdhry (Pakistan), 1986–2006
• Kaner Doganeli (Turkey), 2006 (acting)
• Ching-Kuo Wu (Taiwan), 2006–2017
• Gafur Rakhimov (Uzbekistan), 2017–2019
• Mohamed Moustahsane (Morocco), 2019–2020 (interim)
• Umar Nazarovich Kremlev (Russia), 2020–present

Headguards in Boxing

In 2013, the IBA changed its rules about headguards. They banned headguards for elite men's boxing competitions (ages 19–40). This rule applied to national, continental, and international events.

However, headguards are still required for all other boxing categories. This includes women's boxing at all levels. For the Tokyo Olympics, men still did not wear headguards. But some famous boxers like Roy Jones Jr. believe headguards should be brought back for future tournaments.

Main Boxing Events

The IBA has been involved in organizing or overseeing these major boxing events:

• Olympic Games
• IBA World Boxing Championships
• Youth Olympic Games
• Youth and Junior World Boxing Championships
• Boxing World Cup (no longer active)
• World Series Boxing (no longer active)

See also

In Spanish: Asociación Internacional de Boxeo (IBA) para niños

• Val Barker Trophy
• Boxing Association of Korea
• World Boxing