Boxing organisation defends seeding system
Amateur boxing’s world governing body AIBA launched a vigorous but flawed defence of their seedings system for the World Championships in Baku today, describing “insinuations” contained in media reports as a “cheap shot”.
The organisation denied that a controversial new rule introduced in August, which allows all host nation boxers to be seeded for the competition, which doubles as a qualifier for the London Olympics, was designed deliberately to favour Azeri boxers.
But AIBA were forced to back-track on claims made in their original statement that the ruling mirrored standard rules for Olympic boxing competitions past and present, in which they claimed host nation boxers were also routinely seeded.
Having been challenged by Press Association Sport to prove this was in fact the case, AIBA issued a revised statement which removed any reference to the seeding of host nation boxers at an Olympic Games.
AIBA claim the rule in question was “introduced as an incentive to encourage countries, which might not otherwise consider hosting the AIBA World Championships, to host this prestigious event.”
But it is the timing of the rule, as much as the rule itself, which has raised questions, in light of BBC Newsnight claims – strenuously denied by AIBA – that Azeri boxers were guaranteed Olympic gold medals in return for a final investment into AIBA’s World Series of Boxing.
AIBA said: “AIBA objects to the insinuations contained in recent media reports that changes to the AIBA Technical and Competition Rules in relation to the seeding of boxers at the World Championships were introduced for any improper purpose.
“The insinuations are nothing more than a cheap shot and demonstrate unfamiliarity with the rules, structure and ethos of AIBA and AIBA competitions. AIBA advocates fair play and transparency in all of its competitions.”
Under the new seeding system, any Azeri boxer not automatically seeded by world ranking was given the eighth seeded place. The top eight boxers at most weights in the World Championships will guarantee a place at the London 2012 Olympics.
The AIBA statement does not address the specific concerns over the timing of the rule change, nor the fact that the World Championships were switched from Busan in South Korea to Baku in July last year.
However AIBA did seek to draw a parellel between their seeding system and those used in other Olympic sports, most notably taekwondo, which automatically seeds host nation athletes for its WTF World Championships.
And they pointed out that under rules which have been part of the AIBA statute since before the Beijing Olympics, Great Britain, as hosts of London 2012, will receive six guaranteed – but unseeded – places in the boxing competition at the Games.
The statement concluded: “AIBA takes a zero tolerance attitude to corruption and is absolutely committed to ensuring transparency in the sport of boxing.”
