Such fights bring new audiences but need to take proper precautions, says Boris van der Vorst.
World Boxing (WB) President Boris van der Vorst on Monday expressed concern over pugilists’ safety being compromised in the recent surge of influencer boxing events and stressed on the need for the use of protective gear in these bouts.
Van Der Vorst’s comments gain significance in the light of the fight between YouTube influencer Jake Paul and former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, which went ahead last November after being postponed due to the 58-year-old boxing legend suffering an ulcer ailment.
Admitting that “even my daughters were hooked to the event,” and he himself had conducted a much smaller influencer boxing event in the Netherlands, Van Der Vorst indicated that not all precautions are taken over such high-profile bouts.
“Such fights are nice for newer audiences but the safety of the boxers is a big question. The event I sanctioned in the Netherlands had thicker gloves with head guards in order to guarantee a safe outcome,” Vorst told The Indian Express.
World Boxing was recently given provisional status by the International Olympic Committee, and replaces the International Boxing Association (IBA) as the premier world body of the sport. But the challenge for World Boxing will be to deal with issues like sporting integrity, governance and the recent controversy surrounding boxers like Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei competing in women’s categories at the 2024 Paris Olympics despite speculation about them being transgenders.
Van Der Vorst has backed the International Olympic Committee’s Paris Boxing Unit’s rules that allowed both pugilists to participate but said boxers’ safety was “paramount”. World Boxing is in the process of drafting its competition rules.
“We have recognised for some time now that gender clarity is an extremely complex issue. There are significant welfare concerns and so we have established a working group of our medical committee on developing a policy based on sex, age and weight. Experts from other disciplines, including the Independent Council of Women’s Sport, are developing a policy that will determine the eligibility of boxers to participate in competitions,” he said.
Focus on transparent scoring system
One of the biggest problems with Olympic boxing over the years has been the divisive scoring system that often leaves the audience second-guessing the winner of a close bout.
“Lack of sporting integrity was one of the key concerns that the IOC had with the previous organisation. I think one of our main priorities is to restore the trust of all stakeholders, including IOC, fans, spectators, coaches, and boxers,” said Van Der Vorst.
Post the 2012 London Olympics, the scoring system that involves five judges giving points out of 10 to both boxers after each round has lacked clarity in the parameters considered.
When asked if World Boxing will look at an alternative to the current system, its president said, “We want the best boxer to win, not the most influential one. The Paris Boxing Unit conducted a decent tournament at the 2024 Olympics. We have already done several projects which involve the usage of modern technology such as AI to make the scoring system more transparent and fair. We would explore all the avenues that could be useful in making scoring more transparent. We would also train the technical officials and referees.”
Established in 2023, World Boxing emerged as the alternative when the IOC banned Umar Kremlev-led International Boxing Association (IBA) on grounds of poor governance, corruption, and lack of efficient administration.
Subsequently, the IOC decided to keep boxing out of the LA 2028 programme. World Boxing, led by Van Der Vorst, started meeting national federations in order to campaign as an alternative to govern the sport. Despite facing some early resistance, WB garnered the support of India, the Netherlands, USA, Italy, Brazil and Britain.
“We have provisional recognition but it is a long road ahead of us. We have to deliver a better environment for the sport. We have met most of the requirements laid out by the IOC, like coming under CAS jurisdiction, and have applied for signatory status of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA),” explained Van Der Vorst.
Currently, World Boxing has 78 members from five continents. It has also formed four continental confederations – Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. It will conduct events such as the Boxing World Cup and the World Championships this year.
