Limpag: Boxing in Tokyo

IN EVERY Olympics, we’ve always pinned our hopes on our boxing to end the country’s gold medal drought.

Onyok Velasco came closest in 1996, when he got the silver medal during that infamous robbery in Atlanta but since then, we haven’t had a medal in Olympic boxing. Harry Tanamor went to the Beijing Olympics as one of the favorites to win the gold medal, but he bombed out early.

Curiously, this drop in our amateur boxing stint in the Olympics coincided with the golden age in Philippine professional boxing. If that is related, I don’t know.

But still, many believe that it is in boxing that we will win our first Olympic gold medal. However, if things in the international association don’t change, we may never even get that chance. With 15 months to go before Tokyo hosts the Summer Games, it is still not sure whether boxing will be part of the Olympic program.

How this all started is quite sophisticated to summarize. Suffice it is to say that it’s a war of resolve between the International Olympic Committee and Gafur Rahimov, the president of Aiba who was sanctioned by the United States as part of a smuggling ring.

It’s quite complicated as Rahimov has said the accusations are politically motivated.

And in a strange twist, Rahimov has “stepped down” to give way to an interim president. I say “stepped down” because based on the reports that I’ve read, he isn’t really stepping down.

It seems Aiba’s charter allows the president to step down and let an interim take over for a maximum of 365 days, before the president takes his position back.

Why they allow that, I have no idea and your guess is as good as mine. Of course, 365 days from now is still pre-Tokyo Olympics and based on what I’ve read so far--and I’ve been reading a lot about this since I’m interested to see how this Aiba vs. IOC fight plays out--the IOC president doesn’t want the current Aiba officials to be involved in the Olympics.

“Once again, as I have stated before on numerous occasions, I attest and confirm that the allegations against me were fabricated and based on politically-motivated lies; I trust that the truth will prevail,” Rahimov said in his “resignation” letter posted at Aiba’s website.

Will this latest move assure boxing a spot in Tokyo? I guess, we will see in the next few weeks.

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