The Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) has avoided sanctions from Sport Ireland after meeting a deadline to resolve outstanding governance issues.
According to The Business Post, Sport Ireland had warned IABA that they needed to undergo serious reforms by a deadline of June 30 or risk losing around €1 million (£885,000/$1.1 million).
Following an agreement to implement a new rule book, which has been passed by the IABA Board, Sport Ireland are satisfied that the deadline has been met.
A spokesperson for the organisation is reported as saying by The Irish Times that the passing of the rule book marked progress and they were satisfied that things were “moving forward” within the organisation.
IABA and Sport Ireland met early last month with discussions focused on the autonomy of new high-performance director Bernard Dunne, the implementation of a new rule book and the governance of the association.
Sport Ireland acknowledged in a statement that progress was being made by IABA, but added that “significant issues of concern” remained.
The latest debacle involving the IABA, which has endured a tumultuous period following the country’s dismal boxing performance at last year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, centred on Dunne’s selection for last month’s European Championships in Kiev.
Dunne, appointed to the role of high-performance director in April, initially chose Dean Gardiner in the super-heavyweight category.
But IABA’s Central Council decided he should fight national champion Martin Keenan in a box-off.
Gardiner seemingly justified Dunne’s decision by beating Keenan to secure his spot on the Irish team for the event, which took place from June 16 to 24.
Middleweight Michael O’Reilly was withdrawn from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games shortly before the Opening Ceremony after admitting taking a banned drug ©Getty Images
Middleweight Michael O’Reilly was withdrawn from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games shortly before the Opening Ceremony after admitting taking a banned drug ©Getty Images
IABA’s Munster Council President Gerry O’Mahony was selected instead of Dunne to lead the Irish squad at the European Championships, sparking further controversy.
Sport Ireland claim the Central Council of the organisation are trying to undermine the high-performance director, according to a letter from chief executive John Treacy.
Irish boxing was plagued with issues prior to Rio 2016 following a contract dispute with Billy Walsh.
He had been instrumental in guiding the Irish boxing team to four medals at London 2012, including the country’s first Olympic gold for 16 years when Katie Taylor won the women’s lightweight division.
Walsh joined USA Boxing as coach of the women’s team after London 2012.
Ireland’s boxers failed to win a medal at Rio 2016 and their athletes were involved in controversy both in and out of the ring.
Middleweight Michael O’Reilly was withdrawn shortly before the Opening Ceremony after admitting taking a banned drug.
Then Michael Conlan and Stephen Donnelly were among three boxers reprimanded by the International Olympic Committee after they bet on events during the Olympics.
Bantamweight world champion Conlan was involved in further controversy when Russia’s Vladimir Nikitin was awarded victory in their quarter-final bout, despite the Irish boxer having been seen by many to have dominated the fight.
Conlan then went on an expletive-laden rant in a post-fight interview with RTÉ, during which he claimed the International Boxing Association (AIBA) were “cheats” and that amateur boxing “stinks from the core to the very top”.
AIBA President CK Wu visited Dublin in January of this year to discuss the “negative narrative” around the IABA.
