World Boxing adds China's powerful federation, 5 more to its growing membership
The still-new governing body also announced the additions of the national federations of Turkey, Sudan, Greece, Slovakia and Montenegro on Wednesday. World Boxing now has 84 national federations among its membership after having only 37 at the conclusion of the Paris Olympics seven months ago.
The Chinese Boxing Federation's decision to join is yet another positive sign for World Boxing, which received provisional recognition from the IOC last month as the new governing body for the sport ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
'The addition of six more members to our ever-increasing membership is further evidence of the widespread support that exists across our sport for the work that World Boxing is doing to deliver a better future for boxers and ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic movement,' World Boxing president Boris Van Der Vorst said.
World Boxing was founded in April 2023 in an attempt to preserve the sport's Olympic future after the International Boxing Association was suspended in 2019 and banished from the Olympic movement in 2023 following decades of judging scandals, bizarre leadership decisions and innumerable financial misdeeds.
While World Boxing swiftly signed up most of the top Western federations fed up with the Russia-dominated IBA's intransigence, the breakaway body knew it would face difficulty in landing top federations who either rely financially on the banned body or align politically with its Russian leadership.
China has emerged as a top boxing nation since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Its team finished second in the medal table in Paris last year with three gold medals and two silvers.
Turkey also has a thriving federation, winning two silver medals and a bronze in Paris.
With China in the fold, World Boxing now has a robust Asian membership that includes about two dozen members — including Uzbekistan, the most powerful boxing nation in recent Olympics after winning five gold medals in Paris.
Boxing still is not officially on the program for the Los Angeles Games, but Kazakh boxing superstar Gennady Golovkin is heading a World Boxing commission to cement the body's future in the Olympic movement. The IOC ran the last two Olympic boxing tournaments, but has repeatedly said a new governing body must run future tournaments if boxing stays on the program.
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