International boxing federation opens disciplinary procedure against Boxing Canada

The International Boxing Association is launching an investigation into Boxing Canada after athletes' claims of widespread abuse.

The IBA's directors approved the move, "in order to safeguard members of the boxing community in line with the IBA anti-harassment and abuse policy."

A disciplinary procedure has also been opened against Boxing Canada.

Boxing Canada's high performance director Daniel Trepanier resigned on Sunday, four days after dozens of current and former Canadian boxers — including three-time world champion Mary Spencer and 11-time national champion Mandy Bujold — signed an open letter to Sport Canada about the "toxic culture of fear and silence." They asked for a third-party investigation and Trepanier's resignation.

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The athletes painted a picture of a hostile environment of homophobic, misogynistic and sexist comments. They said there were safety concerns — including being forced to spar despite having concussion symptoms — and said there's a lack of impartiality around things like the dispersal of funds, and rampant favouritism that clouds decisions around team selection.

The IBA pulled Trepanier's accreditation from the women's world championships which began Sunday in Istanbul, although Boxing Canada claimed he hadn't planned to attend the event.

National team coaches and athletes had called for Trepanier's resignation before. In a letter to Boxing Canada in 2014, they wrote: "We the coaches and athletes of the National Team no longer want to work with Daniel Trepanier.

A 2016 study commissioned by Own the Podium and Boxing Canada found the high performance program severely lacking. Part of the conclusion said that Boxing