IBA President and Board of Directors’ second anniversary marks significant progress in the international boxing landscape under its tutelage
May 14th, 2024 / IBA, Board of Directors, IBA President
IBA celebrates the second anniversary of the election of the President and acting Board of Directors, which is the first new composition of the body after the Constitution amendments came into force. The Directors have made many important decisions under the leadership of IBA President, Mr Umar Kremlev and the anniversary marks significant progress for the organization thriving to excel, as well as for the sport itself.
Two years ago on this day, IBA President, Mr Kremlev was reelected by acclamation for his second consecutive term of 4 years.
During these two years, the Board which included athletes’ representatives, improved the financial, sporting, and governance integrity of the organization with real concrete actions.
The IBA Board consists of 18 people, including the President Mr Umar Kremlev, as well as Presidents of the Continental Confederations, Mr Eyassu Wossen Berhanu representing AFBC, Mr Jose Laureano from AMBC, Mr Pichai Chunhavajira from ASBC, Dr Ioannis Filippatos from EUBC, and Mr Tauhiti Nena representing OCBC, Chair of the Athletes’ Committee Ms Lovlina Borgohain and one more representative elected among the members which is to be elected, as well as 10 independent Directors elected at the Congress by the voting delegates – Mr Abdeljaouad Belhaj from Morocco, Mr Yousuf Al-Kazim from Qatar, Ms Lourdes Avendaño Rodrigues from Bolivia, Ms Marta Forcen Celaya from Spain, Ms Pearl Dlamini from Eswatini, Mr Dian Gomes from Sri Lanka, Ms Kristy Harris from Australia, Mr Volodymyr Prodyvus from Ukraine, Ms Zsuzsanna Toth from Hungary, and Mr Jinqiang Zhou from China. All Board members had to undergo a rigorous vetting process to be eligible candidates prior to the elections. Mr Prodivus was elected the first Vice-President among the Board members, and two Vice-Presidents were appointed later, Mr Abdulmutalim Abakarov from Serbia and Mr Ajay Singh from India.
President Kremlev stressed that, ‘The National Federations made the right choice in entrusting you as a board collective with the responsibility of leading the International Boxing Association, and the results of your tireless efforts are a testament to your dedication and vision.’
IBA has established new competition formats, including the new flagship pro-style event, IBA Champions’ Night, which became a bridge between amateur and professional boxing and another opportunity for the boxers to provide for their families with an impressive prize money fund at stake. So far, representatives of 49 nations took part in the event with several champions’ belt found their inaugural titleholders, with many more title fights planned for 2024 and beyond.
A fully-packed calendar for the upcoming four years was presented recently with a prize money fund of over $80 million USD, with bi-annual IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships, as well as Women’s World Championships held accordingly once in a two-years period. The upcoming IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships is set to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan from 21 September – 6 October 2024 with the next Men’s World Championships scheduled for April 2025.
IBA has secured financial conditions to implement all the major events for the upcoming years, as well as ensured the financial reward for the boxers. Being a stable and transparent organization, the IBA President and Directors are confident in its prosperous future.
A lot of work has been done for boxing development on the continents, including a number of competitions and Financial Support Program implementations. The member countries in need received money for their projects as well as value-in-kind support. Countries that hosted major competitions throughout these years experienced expansion of boxing with many kids and young people joining the sport and coming to boxing gyms to follow their heroes.
New development courses were put in place free of charge to enlarge the pool of competition officials, as well as coaches. Sports Management course organized by IBA and ISDE for the very first time is preparing top-tier specialists to strengthen boxing federations worldwide.
IBA’s membership is growing, as newly established National Federations are joining the organization with aim to develop boxing in those countries that have resigned to the rogue boxing body. IBA has the unequivocal support of its members and is willing to help to develop boxing in all corners of the world.
IBA has no competition in terms of its best practices implemented, vast subject matter expertise, and amount of assistance to its Confederations, National Federations, boxers, and coaches.
Led by President Mr Umar Kremlev and supported by its Board of Directors, IBA is thriving. ‘On this day, I want to thank our Board of Directors for fruitful work done throughout these two years,’ President Kremlev said. ‘We’ve achieved a lot so far with a good group of consummate professionals who are powered by a passion for boxing, but there is plenty more we can do for the boxing family. We want our sport to become number one in the world, and we will spare no effort to make sure it is the leading organization. I reiterate that athletes, coaches, and our National Federations are our main priority, and we will keep supporting them no matter what.’
Addressing the Board, he went on to say, ‘Today, the world of sports is going through a period of turbulence, often becoming hostage to the various ambitions of sports officials at the highest level. For the sake of personal and sometimes dishonest aspirations, the interests of athletes and coaches are trampled upon. I am convinced that only together, by combining our efforts, we will be able to resist the politicization of sports, the imbalance of governing bodies, and attempts to sow discord and intolerance among each other. Here you can count on my personal support and willingness to defend the interests of boxing.’
IBA Secretary General and CEO, Chris Roberts OBE echoed the sentiments of the President, saying ‘I am honored to work with such professional members of the IBA Board of Directors, where every decision is balanced and implemented for the sake of the sport. We have a busy schedule ahead of us, and I am confident that every year we will see IBA stronger and more powerful, as this is what is needed to make sure our athletes’ future is the brightest.’
