Uganda Boxing chief Moses Muhangi urges IBA to amend participation rules – ‘advocates for minimum 8 men and 7 women per team

Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF) President Moses Muhangi has called upon the International Boxing Association (IBA) to amend participation rules for their competitions to stop some governments from deciding on the number of boxers they will fund.

Muhangi (pictured) has suggested IBA should amend the rules to make it mandatory for participants to have the required minimum number of participants in their events.

“For boxing to grow in terms of increased participation and competitiveness of the big events, there’s serious need for IBA to amend the competition rules,” said Muhangi in a statement.

Muhangi’s statement went on: “A standard boxing team is comprised of 13 men and 12 women but due to the fact that this is an individual sport, governments have taken advantage on the lack of minimum requirements by IBA to present irregular number of boxers for competitions. Each country is now entering any number of boxers as they wish.

“It is a serious issue because it has watered down the quality of boxing owing to limited entries, weak boxers winning medals due to few entries and lack of competitiveness in some weight classes. That’s why we see most of our African champions struggle to make it in world championships.

“This lack of basic requirements for the number of boxers to attend a competition has also led to our governments, who are the financiers, to take advantage and fund any number of boxers they wish even if it’s one or two boxers as we’ve seen happening.”

Muhangi says lack of stringent rules on minimum requirement has also demoralized some boxers with others quitting the sport.

“My suggestion to IBA is that we amend the rules and have eight as the minimum number of entrants for men and seven the minimum number for women. This will increase entrants in competitions, raise the competitiveness of IBA events and the growth of boxing as well.”

Muhangi says once this rule is amended, countries which cannot adhere to the minimum number of entrants as required by IBA should not be allowed to enter any competition.

Credit: Nenez Media Services