THERE is still a long road to travel – but Irish boxing took a major step towards preserving its Olympic status following a crunch vote at Dublin’s National Stadium on Saturday.
Just over two months since Kellie Harrington stood on top of the podium in Paris, 44 clubs brought delegates together to decide whether or not the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) would remove all references to the controversial International Boxing Association (IBA) from its constitution.
Do so, and it would pave the way for a further vote on possibly affiliation to rival governing body World Boxing down the line, and keep Ireland’s options open.
Don’t, therefore remaining solely aligned with the IABA, and Irish boxing’s Olympic future would be hanging by a thread.
However, unlike a previous EGM along similar lines 15 months earlier, there was none of the chaos. Nobody was charging the stage and grabbing the microphone. Or shouting from the back of the hall.
Saturday was sedate by comparison, with speakers allowed to speak – mostly – before the vote was taken less than an hour after official proceedings began.
Requiring a 51 per cent majority, 73 of the 145 clubs who registered voted in favour, with 40 against and a further 27 votes spoilt – meaning the resolution was comfortably passed.
However, that is only the first step in a longer process, with delegates likely to face a further vote on joining World Boxing, although last time out that motion was defeated.
In removing references to the IBA from the IABA constitution, though, it allows Ireland to renew its relationships with already World Boxing-affiliated countries like America and England.
“Some of the problems we have faced over the last 12 months have not been of our making, and at least we can make some decisions around that,” said Niall O’Carroll, chair of the IABA board of directors.
“We’ll have a vote to decide where we’re going in relation to federations, and one of the things I will do is to contact the IBA and World Boxing – the IBA to get clarity on a number of issues, World Boxing to understand what their plans are with regard to creating competitions for the future because I agree, at the moment, there just aren’t the competitions for kids.
“But this is a hugely positive day for boxing… we’ll meet again to vote on the next steps and whatever the future holds.”
It will be interesting to see what the timescale is for that next vote, with the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) continuing to put pressure on boxing to fully disassociate from the IBA and join World Boxing.
Back in August, OFI Sarah Keane raised the prospect of a new national body being set up to run boxing if the IABA did not sever its links with the IBA.
She also stated that the OFI would withdraw recognition of the IABA as the national federation, at the request of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), unless the IABA linked up with World Boxing.
The OFI reiterated those points in a letter sent to boxing clubs across the country on the eve of the EGM, saying that the IABA must “remove itself completely from the IBA”.
And while Saturday’s vote opens the door towards that, it does not equate to a complete departure at this stage – with the OFI stating that it “will need this further action to be taken by November” if the IABA is to remain a member.
Referencing recent correspondence from the IOC, the letter – signed by Keane and CEO Peter Sherrard – said the OFI “will no longer be able to accept boxers affiliated to any IBA member organisation”.
“This may impact competitions at youth level and at senior level… looking to the future, should the IABA membership choose to affiliate with World Boxing, the IABA can remain within the OFI
“By choosing this path, the only one which offers the possibility of boxing remaining on the Olympic programme for LA2028 and beyond, the IABA membership will help safeguard the sport of boxing in Ireland and secure its future in the Olympic Games.”
