Almost all boxing federations return Russians to the ring
26 June 2024 10:30
Three international boxing federations have lifted sanctions against Russian athletes, reports "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing media reports.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, international boxing federations were forced to impose sanctions on Russian and Belarusian athletes under pressure. Thus, the WBA, WBO, WBC and IBF excluded Russians and Belarusians from their boxing ratings, thus depriving them of the opportunity to box.
The WBA was the first to break down, reinstating the terrorists in the rankings at the end of 2022. They stated that the athletes of these countries were not involved in the attack on Ukraine.
After that, there was a lull in the process of lifting the sanctions, but throughout this time, Russian agents and sympathisers never tired of putting pressure on the federations and the public, repeating that the athletes were innocent.
This week, two boxing federations announced the lifting of sanctions and the return of the Russians and Belarusians to the rankings – the WBO and IBF.
The IBO has never announced that it would join the sanctions.
The only international boxing federation that clearly adheres to and, according to their own statements, will continue to adhere to sanctions against Russians and Belarusians is the WBC.
Thus, as of today, 4 out of 5 international boxing federations have returned Russians to the ring.
It is worth noting that the federations are in no hurry to officially and loudly announce such decisions in order not to raise too much hype around it. Therefore, the lifting of sanctions becomes known from media reports that refer to insider information, including Russian media. However, the fact that boxing federations do not deny such information can be considered proof of the veracity of this.
