Mohamed Moustahsane elected interim AIBA chief

PARIS: The troubled International Boxing Federation (AIBA) on Friday selected Mohamed Moustahsane to serve as interim president.

He replaces Gafur Rahimov, a controversial Uzbek businessman who stood down last week under pressure from the International Olympic Committee.

On Friday, the AIBA executive committee voted 23-0, with two abstentions, to appoint Moustahsane, a 40-year-old Moroccan physician who has served as ringside doctor.

He becomes the fourth head of AIBA in 18 months.

The IOC has frozen boxing’s preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Games as it seeks proof that the AIBA has cleaned up its act sufficiently after allegations of bout-fixing at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

The inquiry also covers AIBA governance and its anti-doping programme.

This week, AIBA admitted it had debts of $16 million.

Russian boxing chief Umar Kremlev, who had put himself forward as a presidential candidate, offered to settle that debt from his own pocket, if AIBA was allowed to remain in charge at the Tokyo Olympics. The IOC announced Thursday it will deliver its verdict on boxing’s Tokyo fate on May 22.