WBC QUESTIONS IOC AND AIBA?S MOVES IN BOXING
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 10 May 2013
World Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman has belied the claims of the International Olympic Committee that it had responded to his letter regarding IOC?s support for the attempts of AIBA, the international amateur boxing association, ?to impose monopoly, restraint of trade, and violation of the sovereignty of the nations by the exclusive rules being imposed on the sport of boxing.?
Sulaiman said AIBA president Mr. Ching-Kuo Wu sent a letter to all its affiliated national federations in which he claims that the IOC president Mr. Rogge recognizes only AIBA and its absolute control over Olympic boxing, which would be a monopoly by having only professional boxers under contract with AIBA compete at the Olympic Games.
Sulaiman said ?Monopoly is a violation of the antitrust laws in most countries of the world. This restraint of trade would take away the same right and opportunities from boxers with the same qualifications as AIBA's boxers.?
The leader of the pre-eminent world professional boxing organization said ?The dictatorial imposition of AIBA's rules to be implemented to regulate the sport at the national federations is a violation of the sovereignty of each country and a lack of respect to all nations of the world and their sports ministers as well as to all boxing commissions.?
Sulaiman claimed that the WBC possesses documents which show that ?AIBA is seeking 165 million Swiss francs in an offer to about 12 franchises to finance AIBA to promote professional boxing in no more than 8 specific countries. The proposal openly states its monopolistic intent to Leverage political power of AIBA as the governing body and sole access to the Olympic Games".
According to the proposal which allegedly presents Golden Boy Promotions as a joint venture and further a vendor of its ownership and endorsement of all its WBC and other world champions to AIBA, after which all WBC champions would have to step down from the WBC and join AIBA, getting away from the present professional boxing system.?
Sulaiman who was recently in Las Vegas for the Floyd Mayweather Jr ? Robert ?The Ghost? Guerrero title fight said he met personally with the CEO of Golden Boy, Mr. Richard Schafer, ?who absolutely rejected any claim to having agreed to any deal with AIBA.?
The WBC would ?ask Mr. Rogge to observe the for-profit AIBA, that would be based on wealthy investors, promoting in wealthy countries, while discriminating and seriously damaging the basis and foundations of world sports in third world and developing countries, where there is no or little professional boxing, which are most of the countries in the world.?
Sulaiman reiterated that the WBC is respectfully, once again, asking the president of the IOC to respond if it is behind AIBA in all those actions, stating that ?It is the IOC and not AIBA which will accept or reject athletes participating at the Olympic Games. The WBC expects only amateurs to participate in them. If professionals will be accepted, we request the absolute respect to opportunities to all, regardless of institutions, race, religion or nationality. The WBC wants nothing else.?
Sulaiman warned that ?if there is no answer ?the IOC and AIBA may together force legal proceedings not only from the WBC, but from those who feel damaged and all those who oppose monopoly in the world.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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