USA Boxing has withdrawn from the International Boxing Association (IBA) to join a new breakaway organization, World Boxing.
According to an article by Reuters, USA Boxing made the announcement on April 27, after its chief executive Mike McAtee wrote in a letter to members that the organization’s board had unanimously voted to leave the IBA.
In response, the IBA has automatically barred all U.S. boxers, coaches, and officials from participating in its events.
In a released statement, IBA officials say USA Boxing’s decision not only hurts its affiliates but also “deprives the boxing community as a whole from competing together and increasing the level of talent within the boxing family.”
Reuters reports World Boxing, which is registered in Switzerland, was created by boxing organizations in several countries, such as the United States and Britain, over concerns about the sport’s future in the Olympics. Boxing is not currently scheduled to be part of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The IBA, which has been sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee since 2019, has called World Boxing a “rouge organization,” the article states.
