[ad_1]
Issued on: 23/07/2021 – 06:34
Tokyo (AFP)
Boxing’s credibility is on the road on the Tokyo Olympics after a collection of scandals noticed its governing physique given the boot and judging controversies marred the Rio 2016 Video games.
Boxing first featured on the historic Olympics and later launched the careers of legends corresponding to Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Floyd Mayweather, and modern-day champions together with Anthony Joshua and Gennady Golovkin.
However in recent times it has been in turmoil and Worldwide Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach warned in 2018 that boxing might be kicked out of Tokyo.
The IOC subsequently stripped the AIBA of the appropriate to run the occasion within the Japanese capital after an investigation into alleged critical mismanagement at boxing’s badly tainted governing physique. A particular process pressure has taken cost as a substitute.
Judging selections shall be intently watched when the motion begins on Saturday within the Japanese capital after the chaos of Rio, which noticed 36 officers and referees suspended over allegations of fixing bouts.
“The duty pressure has carried out as a lot as doable to guard the integrity of the game and to make sure the athletes have a good discipline of play to compete in,” Morinari Watanabe, its chairman, stated on Friday.
He hopes that these Video games “shall be a turning level for the game”.
Boxing scoring has at all times aroused controversy on the Olympics, and in Rio it burst to the fore as soon as extra when judges surprisingly condemned Irish novice world champion Michael Conlan to defeat to Russia’s badly bloodied Vladimir Nikitin.
#photo1
It was not the one questionable resolution in Rio, the place the outdated punch-counting technique of scoring bouts was changed with judges.
In Tokyo, to make sure extra transparency, judges’ scoring shall be proven after every spherical as a substitute of simply on the finish of the combat.
David Nyika, a New Zealand heavyweight, stated that he now has extra confidence within the judging.
“It is a kind of issues that we should always not have to fret about as athletes,” he stated.
– ‘Hardest match in world’ –
As a part of strikes to make Olympic boxing extra much like the skilled combat recreation, at Rio professionals have been allowed to compete for the primary time. Solely three truly did they usually didn’t shine.
Perennial powerhouses Uzbekistan and Cuba topped the medals desk within the sport, adopted by France.
Britain have been additionally up there with three medals, one among them gold, and the nation has huge expectations to do even higher this time.
However Rob McCracken, GB Boxing’s efficiency director, cautioned that the Olympics are the “hardest match on this planet” and boxing “the hardest sport on this planet”.
“The entire world’s good at boxing now,” McCracken, who additionally trains world heavyweight champion Joshua, instructed BBC podcast “5 Stay Boxing with Costello & Bunce”.
“You possibly can go to the world championships (and Olympics) and draw India, they usually’re phenomenal. You possibly can draw China, they usually’re phenomenal,” added McCracken.
“Now everyone’s good, everybody’s full time now, everybody takes it lethal critical and the world’s actually aggressive at boxing.”
Among the many best-known names combating in Tokyo shall be Mary Kom, India’s 38-year-old boxing queen who’s making a final tilt at Video games gold.
Kom is a six-time world champion and received bronze at London 2012, however is determined to log off with gold.
Consistent with most sport on the Tokyo Video games, the boxing shall be closed to spectators due to measures towards the coronavirus, which had already performed havoc with Olympic qualifying.
Bouts happen within the coronary heart of the Japanese capital on the Kokugikan Enviornment, generally known as the house of sumo wrestling.
© 2021 AFP
Source link
