▪️Rather than focusing on securing sponsorships to develop boxing in their own NFs, organizing local tournaments, and facilitating travel for boxers to international stages, some leaders have adopted a retrogressive attitude to discourage or restrict their national federations from participating in International Boxing Association (IBA) tournaments.
May 17, 2026
In dimly lit gyms across Nairobi, Accra, Lusaka, Johannesburg and Kinshasa, young African pugilists sweat and bleed, dreaming of global glory.
Yet, just as these boxers hone their craft, their ambitions are suffocated by a tragic irony: the very administrators meant to champion their cause are holding them back.
Across the African continent, a disturbing trend has taken root within amateur boxing leadership. Some federation officials, many of whom have never laced up a pair of gloves or stepped foot in the ring, are enforcing strict directives that discourage member countries aligned to World Boxing-affiliated African Boxing from participating in IBA (International Boxing Association) tournaments.
The irony is palpable when looking at international boxing powerhouses. Countries like Uzbekistan, which topped the medal table at the Paris Olympics, freely send their elite boxers to IBA World Boxing Championships and WB tournaments. Uzbek fighters are provided world-class platforms to compete, earn substantial prize money, and hone their craft against the best in the world. These nations recognize a simple truth: in order to build champions, boxers must fight.
Yet, some misinformed and malicious African boxing executives continually choose to use their boxers as political pawns in broader governance and geopolitical conflicts within the sport. By urging AB members not to engage in IBA events or boycotting sanctioned IBA Africa activities, these officials want to directly deny their boxers vital competitive exposure. One wonders how these grown up men with hair in their armpits will benefit by inciting boxers to boycott IBA tournaments. Ironically, they’re not providing solutions or suggesting new tournaments they’re organising for their boxers. Their primary goal is to fight IBA, an established monied organisation which views them as mosquitoes attempting to fight an elephant.
This negative and retrogressive attitude comes at an immense cost to the continent. Boxing is often viewed as a way out of poverty for youth across Africa. However, because they are bound by the whims of bureaucratic administrators, upcoming talents face an agonizing reality:
*Lack of exposure:* African boxers are missing out on thousands of dollars in prize money and crucial international ranking points.
*Dormant talent:* Fighters languish for months or years without competitive bouts, stalling their professional development and physical conditioning.
*Loss of opportunity:* Promising careers peak early and fade into obscurity because boxers do not have the institutional backing to travel and fight.
Ultimately, the myopic focus on boardroom politics rather than athletic development has condemned African boxing to stagnation. Until the administrative focus shifts from political maneuvering to supporting the fighters in the ring, Africa’s true boxing potential will remain trapped in the shadow of its leaders’ egos whose selfish behaviour shows they don’t have boxing at heart other than daily sharing verbal diarrhea in their nondescript Whatsapp Forums.
This petty attitude has severely fractured and crippled the growth of boxing in Africa, leaving boxers stranded without competitive opportunities.
The situation has caused massive stagnation for the sport across the continent.
If top NFs care about the growth of their boxers, they should treat the boycott calls with the contempt they deserve. Interestingly, the IBA and WB are no longer throwing barbs at each other. It’s only happening in Africa because of a few idlers who are behaving like rejected lovers.
While these local officials push a “pro-Olympic” or politically aligned agenda, the reality is stark: African boxers lose out on crucial ring time, exposure, and financial incentives.
A major source of frustration among boxers is the pedigree of those enforcing these boycotts. Many of the administrators and executive leaders enforcing the bans are not former boxers themselves, leading to decisions driven by political maneuvering rather than an understanding of a fighter’s need to stay active. For a boxer in Africa, frequent, high-level competition is often their primary livelihood, and these ideological roadblocks cut off vital career pathways.
As pointed out earlier, the absurdity of the African boycott among themselves is magnified when observing global powerhouses like Uzbekistan, Russia and Kazakhstan. Despite being members of both international bodies, Uzbekistan’s boxing federation acts entirely in the best interests of their fighters. They freely send their athletes to dominate IBA tournaments—such as the IBA World Boxing Championships in Dubai—while simultaneously competing in other circuits. This pragmatic approach allows their boxers to gain experience, win global titles, and cement their status as an international superpower.
The internal dysfunction reached a boiling point when the IBA dissolved its continental confederations, seizing direct control of its operations to bypass mismanaged administrative branches. The administrative infighting and factionalism have continually sacrificed athlete development on the altar of boardroom politics. We call upon boxers and NFs to ignore these frustrated
and evil-hearted officials and participate in as many tournaments as possible for their own benefit and future taking into account these anti-IBA boxing dwarfs will not put food on their table and don’t even know the pain of a punch.
Rather than focusing on securing sponsorships to develop boxing in their own NFs, organizing local tournaments, and facilitating travel for boxers to international stages, these babies in boxing have adopted a retrogressive attitude.
What makes this reality so bitter for African fighters is the observation of how the rest of the world operates.
While a young Uzbekistani boxer is sharpening their skills on a global stage, an equally talented Kenyan, Nigerian, Zambian or Ugandan counterpart is often left shadowboxing in an under-resourced gym, told by their federation head that an IBA event is “off-limits.” Total balderdash!!
