AIBA Clarifies Debt to Cuban Boxers

(ATR) The International Boxing Association says it does not owe $100,000 to Cuban boxers who won the latest version of the World Series of Boxing in 2018.

AIBA sent an email to Around the Rings to clarify the situation.

ATR had learned through a reliable source of this alleged debt but AIBA refutes that.

"AIBA does not owe $100,000 to Cuban boxers," says the statement.

"Cuba won a cash prize of $100,000 after winning the season 8 finals.

"The money had to be paid by the WSB [World Series of Boxing] company (and not by AIBA).

"An agreement was reached with the Cuban national team to pay 60% immediately and the remaining 40% is subordinated.

"The WSB company has fulfilled all its contractual commitments in this regard and will continue to do so," the AIBA statement concluded.

AIBA is currently preparing its Election Congress for this December. So far, AIBA Executive Committee memberSuleyman Mikayilov of Azerbaijan is the only announced presidential candidate.

Among the other issues to be discussed,as confirmed by the Russian Boxing Federation toAround the Rings,is the status of the new World Cup, which has already been postponed to March 2021.

The tournament in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod was to be held in November 2020.

The Men's World Championship that was withdrawn from India and granted to Serbia to organize after the Olympic Games is also expected to be analyzed at the congress.

AIBA is also working to regain recognition from the International Olympic Committee.The embattled Federation is currently suspended by the IOC from representing boxing at the Tokyo Olympics. The IOC took that action in 2019 following years of chronic problems with finance, governance, ethics, doping and refereeing and judging.

German Boxing Team Hit by Covid-19

The German Olympic boxing team's preparations for Tokyo have taken a hit. The German Boxing Federation (DBV) reported on Sunday that a "large part" of its team of 18 athletes and seven other staff members contracted coronavirus while training in the Austrian Alps.

The group must now remain in quarantine at the training ground at Laengenfeld in Tirol, said DBV director Michael Mueller.

"The boxers are now in quarantine. They do not show strong symptoms and can even continue training," Mueller told AFP.

The athletes' conditions are being carefully monitored and they should be allowed to return home next week, he added.

This training ground was the German team's first foray abroad since the start of the pandemic.

Mueller defended the decision to take the boxing team abroad, saying that they had opted for Austria because coronavirus numbers there were low at the time.

However, like other European countries, Austria has seen a sharp increase in cases recently.

"We have gained some valuable experiences that we can use on our next trips," Mueller said.

"Anyone who thinks that the preparation for the Olympics can happen without any case of coronavirus, is not living in reality."

Written by Miguel Hernandez

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