Crisis-hit AIBA plans new boxing World Cup, in Russia

LAUSANNE: Boxing’s troubled governing body the AIBA announced Friday it was resurrecting the defunct team World Cup with the Russian city of Nizhni Novgorod chosen to stage the October finals.

The AIBA is in a corner, stripped by the International Olympic committee of its right to run boxing at the Tokyo Games due to serious mismanagement.

The last team World Cup was back in 2008 in Moscow and won by Cuba. An AIBA statement said the 2020 motto ‘Boxing for Peace’ was designed to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

Choosing a Russian city to stage the finals goes against the World Anti-Doping Agency ban excluding Russia from hosting certain international competitions. WADA imposed a four-year international exclusion on Russia in December over its state-sponsored doping scheme, prohibiting Russia from participating in such events as this year’s Tokyo Olympics. Russia disputed the verdict and WADA have sent the case to the Court of Arbitration in Sport, the world’s highest sport court.