The IOC has also decided to have the sport as part of the Olympic Games program at Los Angeles 2028, which was confirmed in a decision proposal, seen by Reuters.

The IOC suspended the IBA in 2019 over governance, finance, refereeing, and ethical issues and did not involve it in running the boxing events at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. It also provisionally excluded the sport from the Los Angeles Games.

The IOC executive board’s decision proposal, which was approved by the members, recommends the IOC Session decide “that the IBA should not organize the Olympic Games LA28 boxing tournament.”

The decision now needs the rubber-stamping of an extraordinary IOC session, to be held remotely on June 22.

The IOC has in the past removed from or included new sports in the Olympic Games program, in order to refresh the Games and make the competitions more relevant to younger audiences.

However, stripping the recognition of a sports federation is extremely unusual.

“This decision is based on the IOC Comprehensive Report on the Situation of the IBA dated 2 June 2023, which the IOC Executive Board discussed and approved today,” the IOC said in a statement.

“The report establishes that the IBA has failed to fulfill the conditions set by the IOC… for lifting the suspension of the IBA’s recognition.”

‘Truly abhorrent’

The IBA hit back with a statement threatening “retaliatory measures” and decrying the move as “truly abhorrent and purely political.”

It said its efforts had been largely ignored and not taken into consideration by the IOC.

“We accepted the process and the rules, but in the end, we were not assessed fairly. Now, we are left with no chance but to demand a fair assessment from a competent court,” said IBA president Umar Kremlev.

The Russian said it was a “watershed moment” for all international federations and warned stripping the IBA’s recognition could set a precedent for others.

Boxing is part of the Paris 2024 Olympics but the qualifications and the competition are being run by the IOC and not by the IBA, as was the case for the Tokyo 2021 Games.

In an IBA report sent to the IOC recently, the association blamed the Olympic body for intransigence and false statements.

But the IOC had repeatedly warned the IBA, whose head since 2020 is Russian businessman Kremlev, that it had not done enough.

Breakaway group

Other issues such as a sponsorship deal with Russian energy giant Gazprom that has since been terminated further complicated the IBA’s position, with Russia invading Ukraine last year.

The IBA’s actions have led to the creation of a breakaway group called World Boxing recently with several countries having left the IBA to join the new organization.

The newly formed boxing body includes the United States and Britain as well as New Zealand, Germany, Netherlands, Philippines, and Sweden, who joined the Swiss-registered World Boxing in April.

World Boxing said it welcomed the clarity provided by the IOC statement and hailed a “very significant moment” and an opportunity for the sport to move on.

“Boxing is at a crossroads and we urge every National Federation that cares about boxers and boxing to think about how they can help to deliver a better future for the sport and support World Boxing in its efforts to keep boxing at the heart of the Olympic Movement,” it added. – Rappler.com

The Filipino took the first three rounds behind his jabs, but Collazo started to find his range in the fourth round, landing combinations to the body and head.

It was the same situation in the fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds, where Collazo hurt Jerusalem with a hard left cross apart from digging in with body shots.

Fearing for the safety of his ward, trainer Michael Domingo did not let Jerusalem answer the eighth round for a seventh-round TKO, marking the Cebuano’s first stoppage loss that pulled down his record to 20-3 with 12 knockouts.

Collazo, on the other hand, affirmed his status as Puerto Rico’s newest sensation, having won the world title in just seven fights, spiced by seven knockouts.

After losing in his first title defense, Jerusalem, of ZIP Sanman Promotions, is expected to go back to the drawing board and rechart his career under Domingo’s guidance.

Although Collazo has only seven pro fights, he is a multi-titled amateur and is the Pan American Games champion in 2019. – Rappler.com

Fury, 34, has not fought since retaining his title with a 10th-round stoppage of fellow Briton Derek Chisora in December.

Fury called off his proposed “Battle of Britain” bout with two-time world champion Joshua, 33, last September, saying his countryman had not signed the contract before the deadline.

“[I]t’s a fight that everyone wants to see including myself,” unbeaten Fury said in an Instagram post on Friday.

“This time I’m not gonna make a million vids and keep putting pressure on.”

Earlier this year, Fury was scheduled to face Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, the IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA champion, in a unification fight but negotiations fell through in March.

Fury has 33 wins and a draw from 34 bouts, while Joshua has 25 wins and three losses in his 28 professional fights.

Joshua, who beat American Jermaine Franklin on points in London in April, has twice lost to the 36-year-old Usyk. – Rappler.com

Petecio admitted being at a career crossroads after bagging silver in the Tokyo Games – the crown jewel of her impressive collection that includes titles from the World Boxing Championships and Southeast Asian Games.

What more would Petecio want after becoming the first female boxer from the Philippines to clinch an Olympic medal?

“I was thinking if I still want to do this, if I can still do this. After the Tokyo Olympics, I already reached the pinnacle of my dreams,” Petecio said in Filipino.

Petecio suffered a series of heartbreaking defeats following her featherweight silver in Tokyo, where she lost to home bet Sena Irie in the final.

The pride of Davao del Sur settled for a lightweight bronze in the Vietnam SEA Games last year, her lowest finish in the biennial meet since she started representing the Philippines in the 2011 edition.

She then snagged a featherweight bronze in the Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in Jordan in November and crashed out of the round of 16 in the World Boxing Championships in India in March.

But Petecio proved in the Cambodia SEA Games she has not lost her golden touch.

Petecio did not drop a round in her unanimous decision demolition of Indonesia’s Ratna Sari Devi in the final to reclaim the featherweight crown she first won in 2019 as she powered a four-gold haul by the boxing team.

“My motto is I’ll never fold until I get the gold,” said Petecio.

“I always go back to that. I try to find motivation so I can give the Olympics another shot. I had a hard time coming back, but my inner Nesthy says that I can still do it.”

“A gold in the Olympics, that is what I want.”

Petecio can punch her ticket to the 2024 Paris Games in the upcoming Asian Games in China, where the top four in the women’s featherweight will advance to the Olympics. – Rappler.com

Paalam (men’s 54kg) and Petecio (women’s 57kg) together with Paul Julyfer Bascon (men’s 60kg) won their respective finals bout on the last day of boxing competitions at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center here.

The Philippines’ other gold came from Ian Clark Bautista (men’s 57kg) on Saturday.

Missing the biennial meet in Vietnam last year due to weight issues, Paalam completed a rousing SEA Games comeback as he demolished Indonesia’s Aldoms Suguro via unanimous decision.

Petecio, meanwhile, battered Indonesia’s Ratna Sari Devi in a unanimous decision victory to redeem herself from her bronze finish last year and capture her second SEA Games gold like Paalam.

SEA Games first-timer Bascon also gained a share of the spotlight with Petecio and Paalam as he squeaked past Thailand’s Rujakran Juntrong in the finals by way of a split decision.

National team head coach Don Abnett said the SEA Games is only the start of a long road that leads to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“Four golds, we probably expected a couple more,” said Abnett. “The performances were good.”

Norlan Petecio (men’s 60kg) and John Marvin (men’s 80kg) fought for gold on Sunday but fell prey to their respective opponents from Thailand as the Philippines bagged a total of five silvers.

Irish Magno (women’s 54kg), Rogen Ladon (men’s 51kg), and Riza Pasuit (women’s 63kg) also clinched silvers on Saturday.

Boxing newcomer Markus Tongco scooped up a bronze in the men’s 90kg division as the Philippines won a total of 10 medals out of the 12 boxers it sent here.

– Rappler.com

A SEA Games title remained elusive for the pride of Iloilo as she yielded to Thailand’s Jutamas Jitpong in the women’s 54kg class via unanimous decision at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center here on Saturday, May 14.

“Maybe it is not just for me yet,” Magno said in Filipino about her failed gold bid. “I still have to persevere and work harder in training.”

The 31-year-old has fallen short of the top prize in the SEA Games over the past decade.

She bagged bronze in 2013 in Myanmar then settled for three consecutive silver finishes in 2015 in Singapore, 2019 in the Philippines, and 2021 in Vietnam.

A fourth straight SEA Games finals appearance raised hopes that Magno would finally break her golden dry spell, but they were eventually dashed by Jitpong, the same Thai foe that eliminated the Filipina in the Tokyo Games.

“It hurts. I thought this was my time. But we should not lose faith,” Magno said.

“We need to train harder next time because what I want is a gold. I’ll never stop until I win a gold. I’ll keep on fighting.”

Rogen Ladon (men’s 51kg) and Riza Pasuit (women’s 63kg) also settled for silvers on Saturday as Ian Clark Bautista (men’s 57kg) clinched the Philippines’ first gold in this SEA Games.

The Philippines has five more golden bets in Carlo Paalam (men’s 54kg), Nesthy Petecio (women’s 57kg), Paul Julyfer Bascon (men’s 60kg), Norlan Petecio (men’s 67kg), and John Marvin (men’s 80kg). – Rappler.com

Having felt Astrolabio’s power in the third round, Moloney resorted to jabbing and piling up points rather than fighting toe-to-toe in their 12-round encounter for the 118-pound title.

Putting his two-inch reach advantage to good use, Moloney won by majority decision, with two judges siding with the Australian, 116-112, and 115-113, and the third seeing it a 114-114 draw, to finally become world champion after two failed attempts.

The 32-year-old Moloney lost by split decision to Puerto Rican Emmanuel Rodriguez in a world title clash in October 2018 and got knocked out by Japanese phenomenon Naoya Inoue in the seventh round of another world title tussle in October 2020.

Having learned his lessons, Moloney called on his long experience to tame Astrolabio, who searched but was unable to land the big punch throughout the uneventful bout and raise his record to 26-2 with 19 knockouts.

Astrolabio, a 27-year-old hard-hitter from General Santos City, tasted defeat for the first time in seven fights and skidded to 18-4, with 13 knockouts.

Feeling Astrolabio’s chances slipping away, trainer Nonoy Neri ordered his ward to go for the knockout in the late rounds, but to no avail as Moloney tied him up whenever he landed a power shot.

Astrolabio and Neri will have to return to the drawing board to find out what went wrong and where the warrior from GenSan is headed to this year. – Rappler.com

The hard-hitter from General Santos City is determined to knock out Moloney, who’s making his third and probably last bid for the world title, in the 12-rounder.

Both Astrolabio and Moloney came in light at 117.2 pounds during the official weigh-in on Friday, proof that they’ve done the work and are thoroughly prepared for battle.

To add some spice to the weigh-in, Astrolabio brought a baby kangaroo stuffed toy, saying he likens Moloney to Australia’s famed marsupial.

According to Astrolabio, he will focus his attack on Moloney’s body before shifting to the head, which was what Naoya Inoue did when he stopped the Australian in their title clash in October 2020.

Moloney also lost by split decision to Puerto Rican Emmanuel Rodriguez in his world title attempt in October 2018.

Nonoy Neri, one of Manny Pacquiao’s former trainers and now Astrolabio’s head trainer, believes his ward has the power and the confidence to knock out Moloney in the same manner that he did to Nikolai Potapov last November.

According to Neri, Moloney is easy to counter, not that durable, and would be vulnerable to Astrolabio’s jabs.

Although Moloney and Astrolabio are both nearly 5-foot-5, the Australian holds a 2-inch reach advantage.

The 32-year-old Moloney holds a 25-2 record with 19 knockouts, while Astrolabio, 27, is 18-3 with 13 knockouts.

The current Filipino world champions are Melvin Jerusalem (WBO mini flyweight) and Marlon Tapales (WBA, IBF super flyweight titlist). Dave Apolinario is the reigning IBO flyweight champion. – Rappler.com

The Filipino three-division world champion caught the Namibian with a wicked left hook, but Nghitumbwa proved tough to crack and lasted the full 12 rounds.

Two of the judges awarded Casimero with a 116-110 verdict, but the Japanese judge saw the fight closer at 114-112. 

Apart from the knockdown, Nghitumbwa was also hounded by a one-point deduction slapped on him for excessively hitting the back of Casimero’s head in the last round.

The 34-year-old Casimero raised his record to 33-4 with 22 knockouts, while Nghitumbwa dropped to 12-2 with 11 knockouts.

Casimero said he did not underestimate Nghitumbwa, but credited the Namibian for his toughness.

“Matibay siya at mahaba (He was tough and has a long reach),” Casimero said in the post-fight interview. “Tinamaan din niya ako (He was also able to hit me).”

Masayuki Ito, Casimero’s promoter, said their next goal is for Casimero to figure in a world title eliminator or gain the No. 1 or No. 2 ranking before the year ends.

Of course, the primary goal is still to go after Naoya Inoue. But that could wait, according to Ito, who co-promoted the fight card with Johnny Elorde. – Rappler.com

Ian Clark Bautista bagged the Philippines’ first boxing gold in the Southeast Games here after defending his men’s 57kg crown, while Rogen Ladon fell short of his three-peat bid in the men’s 51kg division on Saturday, May 13.

Bautista scored perfect scores of 30 from all five judges in his unanimous decision demolition of Indonesia’s Asri Udin at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center here.

The boxing team, with nine of its members advancing to the finals, is extra motivated to deliver golds following the death of Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines president Ed Picson just before the SEA Games.

“I won this for sir Ed,” said Bautista in Filipino.

Ladon, though, did not have the same luck as he absorbed a unanimous decision loss to Thailand’s Thanarat Saengphet.

The men’s 51kg champion in the past two SEA Games, Ladon still secured a silver. – Rappler.com