Tokyo Olympics: Boxing fights for reputation after Rio controversies, Sports News

Boxing’s credibility is on the road on the Tokyo Olympics after a sequence of scandals noticed its governing physique given the boot and judging controversies marred the Rio 2016 Video games.

Boxing first featured on the historical Olympics and later launched the careers of legends resembling Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Floyd Mayweather, and modern-day champions together with Anthony Joshua and Gennady Golovkin.

However lately it has been in turmoil and Worldwide Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach warned in 2018 that boxing may very well be kicked out of Tokyo. 

The IOC subsequently stripped the AIBA of the best to run the occasion within the Japanese capital after an investigation into alleged critical mismanagement at boxing’s badly tainted governing physique. A particular job power has taken cost as an alternative.

Judging selections will likely be carefully 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 power has carried out as a lot as attainable 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 “will likely be a turning level for the game”.

Boxing scoring has all the time 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.

It was not the one questionable choice in Rio, the place the previous punch-counting technique of scoring bouts was changed with judges.

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In Tokyo, to make sure extra transparency, judges’ scoring will likely be proven after every spherical as an alternative of simply on the finish of the battle.

David Nyika, a New Zealand heavyweight, stated that he now has extra confidence within the judging.

“It is a kind of issues that we must always not have to fret about as athletes,” he stated.

‘Hardest event in world’

As a part of strikes to make Olympic boxing extra just like the skilled battle recreation, at Rio execs had been allowed to compete for the primary time. Solely three truly did they usually did not shine.

Perennial powerhouses Uzbekistan and Cuba topped the medals desk within the sport, adopted by France.

Britain had been additionally up there with three medals, considered one of them gold, and the nation has massive expectations to do even higher this time.

However Rob McCracken, GB Boxing’s efficiency director, cautioned that the Olympics are the “hardest event 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, advised BBC podcast “5 Stay Boxing with Costello & Bunce”.

“You’ll be able to go to the world championships (and Olympics) and draw India, they usually’re phenomenal. You’ll be able to 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 will likely 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 out with gold.

In keeping with most sport on the Tokyo Video games, the boxing will likely be closed to spectators due to measures in opposition to the coronavirus, which had already performed havoc with Olympic qualifying.

Bouts happen within the coronary heart of the Japanese capital on the Kokugikan Area, referred to as the house of sumo wrestling.