Investigator warns boxing needs to change to save Olympic status

LAUSANNE: Fighting to keep their sport in the Olympics, boxing officials were warned on Monday to change its historical culture of breaking the rules.

Investigator Richard McLaren said “corruption abounded” in the world boxing body formerly known as AIBA as he delivered a final report commissioned by the new leadership trying to win over the IOC and get reinstated in the Olympics.

McLaren traced a legacy of financial and bout integrity issues to the 2006-2017 presidency of C.K. Wu, though he also pointed to continued alleged misconduct at recent boxing tournaments.

The 114-page final investigation report highlighted ongoing concerns with “unjustifiable” judging scores and warnings by referees to boxers, plus secret signaling between officials in arenas.

“The people in the sport must change,” McLaren said. “They have ingrained learned behaviors in a culture that has historically not respected ethics or integrity.”

A total of 22 “high-risk officials” have been removed from selection as part of improved vetting of judges and referees, McLaren said at a news conference, with three cases sent for disciplinary action and 15 more officials placed under stricter monitoring.

Bouts at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics fixed by “complicit and compliant” referees and judges were detailed by McLaren last year and fueled the International Olympic Committee’s doubts about boxing’s ability to reform.

The IOC removed AIBA in 2019 from any involvement in the Tokyo Olympics and boxing has been left off the list of sports for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Given until mid-2023 to convince the IOC, the rebranded International Boxing Association under its Russian president Umar Kremlev enlisted McLaren to identify its past problems