‘It's a privilege': Boris van der Vorst, the man who saved Olympic boxing

The Guardian

23-03-2025

'It feels like such a sweet week and of course I'm very happy and proud,' Boris van der Vorst says as, in his role as the founder and president of World Boxing, he takes a rare break to reflect on a mighty achievement. Just over two years ago, boxing had been struck off the initial programme for the Los Angeles Games in 2028 and it was about to be banished entirely from the Olympic movement. It was then that Van der Vorst set about establishing a new regulatory body to replace the discredited International Boxing Association.
His work, despite intense pressure, was vindicated when Thomas Bach, the outgoing International Olympic Committee president, announced on Monday that his executive board had recommended boxing's inclusion in the LA Olympics. The key stipulation was in place, because the IOC recognised World Boxing as the sport's new regulatory body, and on Thursday Bach's recommendation was accepted. Boxing was welcomed back into the Olympic fold.
'It's a privilege and not a right,' Van der Vorst says. 'We still need to show the IOC we are the most credible international organisation and that we can organise the competition and secure financial stability. We have the governance structure policies in place to uphold the high standards they require from us.'
Van der Vorst has already stressed that World Boxing will, in a matter of 'weeks rather than months', confirm a policy to deal with the enormously divisive and emotive gender eligibility controversy – the most difficult challenge he and his colleagues now face. He will work in conjunction with a medical working party and 'the scientific experts' to decide which athletes can compete in World Boxing events where 'the priority is sporting integrity and safety'.
This collegiate approach means Van der Vorst owes much to a group of federations, led by the US and GB Boxing, which provided the strategic muscle to organise a new governing body in record time. He has not been a lone saviour, and he highlights the support he has received, but Van der Vorst has been the driving force and the face of this dynamic new body.
It is bizarre that the sport needed a 53-year-old Dutchman to lead the fight against the systemic corruption of amateur boxing. 'Probably not,' Van der Vorst says with a wry smile when I suggest the Netherlands, unlike Cuba or the United States, is not among the countries that spring to mind when considering the great boxing nations.
Van der Vorst had been the president of the Dutch federation since 2013 and while his counterparts preferred to keep quiet rather than risk hardening the IBA's stance against their own fighters, he was unafraid to speak out. The Netherlands has had meagre success in boxing – with Nouchka Fontijn's silver and bronze medals at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics being rare examples of glory. Van der Vorst pauses when I ask if his country's place on the margins of the sport meant he could be more honest.
'I've never thought only about the interests of Dutch boxers,' he says. 'I always thought about the interests of the whole boxing world. When I'm watching a real good bout I'm happy for both fighters. They don't need to be Dutch. I take pleasure in the success of all boxers when they have trained hard.'
Van der Vorst describes a tipping point in Rio in 2016. It was initially a happy Olympics as, under his watch, the Netherlands had three qualifying boxers and Fontijn reached the final of the women's middleweight division, where she lost to the American great Claressa Shields. But his enjoyment withered after he witnessed a scandalous decision where Ireland's Michael Conlan, the world No 1, dominated his bout against Russia's Vladimir Nikitin – only to be robbed by the judges.
Prof Richard McLaren's devastating investigation into corruption in amateur boxing, published in 2021, confirmed that handpicked teams of referees and judges used signals at ringside, or instructed colleagues beforehand, as to who should win a particular bout. Van der Vorst just needed the evidence of his own eyes.
'I was at the Conlan fight,' he says, 'and it didn't feel good. I used to be a boxer and I really like boxing. But I like fair play as well. It's crucial that after each bout the hand of the best boxer is raised and not the hand of the most influential national federation. That's when I started to be politically engaged.'
It often seemed as if only Van der Vorst was willing to stand up to Umar Kremlev, the Russian head of the IBA and a close ally of Vladimir Putin. 'It always felt surprising I was the only one who stood up,' he says. 'But, at the same time, I've felt support and inspiration from people in New Zealand, Australia, the USA and others backing me. I've never felt alone.'
Van der Vorst challenged Kremlev for the presidency of the IBA in 2020 and he was blocked from subsequent attempts to run for election. He focused instead on the crisis boxing faced once it was clear the IOC would not only suspend the IBA but banish the discipline to the sporting wilderness.
'It was crucial boxing stayed part of the Olympic movement and we needed to match their values,' he says. 'The first time I stood for election [as IBA president] I was totally unknown in the boxing world but I did a hell of a campaign. I ended up second out of seven contenders so that was a pretty good achievement. But it was more important when, after the IOC announced in December 2021 that boxing was not included in the programme for LA, I and several other national federations decided to come together and discuss how we change the culture and keep boxing in the Olympics.'
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When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Van der Vorst felt an 'extra reason to step into the ring again'. It often seemed as if Kremlev made decisions that would please Putin, rather than for the good of boxing. 'IBA was already not in good standing with the IOC and so it was an extra opportunity for me to try and change international boxing. This was the reason why we established World Boxing.'
The clock kept ticking and Van der Vorst 'felt the time-pressure very much. It was all about teamwork, setting up World Boxing, and it was an administrative high-performance job. Me and my colleagues were working day and night, seven days a week, and I think it is one of the most remarkable comeback stories in the Olympic movement.
'We officially launched in April 2023 and we had no [national federation] members. But by the end of 2023 we held our first inaugural congress in Frankfurt where I was elected as president of World Boxing with 27 founding members.' It now includes 88 national federations.
'We didn't have a free run,' he says. 'We needed to find money to organise competitions and development opportunities for athletes. The Paris Olympics were approaching and a lot of national federations focused on short-term interests. I understood, but our ultimate goal – having boxing in LA – was at risk. That's why I kept talking to all the national federations to build World Boxing and show the IOC we had enough members to be an international federation that could take care of the sport.'
Apart from being a boxing administrator, Van der Vorst was a successful businessman near Utrecht. But he has abandoned his professional interests in healthcare. 'It's totally impossible to stay in business while doing this work. I've invested a lot in World Boxing and I'm fully dedicated and available. That's the only way to make it successful. But it also brings me a lot of joy and it feels like we're fulfilling a legacy for boxing. I'm very lucky I have my family behind me.'
Van der Vorst smiles. 'My wife [designed] the World Boxing logo and my daughter made some [promotional] videos and my other daughter helped me with my English. They all contributed to the success of World Boxing and only with that kind of support can you survive. Otherwise it ends in divorce or world war three.'
The saviour of Olympic boxing was once a keen footballer, playing for the same amateur club as Marco van Basten. Near the end of his sweetest week in boxing he tells me about 'the most spectacular Saturday of my life. Twenty-eight years ago, I won a football match in the afternoon and in the evening I won a heavyweight bout. That same night, while out celebrating my victories, I met my [future] wife for the first time. It was beautiful.'
His grin widens as he recalls that 'I beat a super-heavyweight. He was 108kg and I was 26kg less. But I still won.'
Van der Vorst becomes more serious when I suggest his brief boxing career provided the right training for confronting giants – as he did when taking down the Russian-run IBA. 'I'm a boxer and I'm not afraid. But I've never seen this as a competition. Our goal at World Boxing is to keep the Olympic dream alive for every boxing gym in the world. I'm so happy we achieved our objective but, now, the real work begins.'