No Crisis for Boxing Finances Says Wu

(ATR) The president of Olympic boxing federation AIBA tells Around the Rings he has nothing to hide.

Speaking from Hamburg at the 2017 Boxing World Championships, C.K. Wu is rejecting charges that the Federation is on the brink of bankruptcy.

"We have no financial problems," insists Wu. His leadership of AIBA is under question by a majority of the Federation’s ruling executive committee. They have formed an Interim Management Committee that is pressing Wu to disclose financial information which the group claims they have never seen. The IMC, which Wu says is not legal under the statutes of AIBA, is also calling for an extraordinary Congress in November to cast a vote of no-confidence.

The IMC has issued several statements expressing worry about the financial condition of the Federation. Of particular concern is a $10 million loan from an Azerbaijan company made to AIBA in 2010 which has not been repaid. The lender is now demanding repayment in full which the IMC says would bankrupt AIBA.

Wu is adamant that the loan was negotiated solely by a prior executive director of AIBA, Ho Kim, dismissed by Wu in 2015. Wu claims that Kim was the sole signatory for the money and that $5 million of that loan is missing.

The lender says Wu was fully aware of the loan. Kim denies any wrongdoing with the funds and says the AIBA president was involved with the loan negotiations.

"We are completely transparent," says Wu. "Every spending transaction at AIBA needs four signatures to complete. But in the case of the loan only Ho Kim was involved," he adds.

Disputing claims that the Federation is teetering on the brink of insolvency, Wu says AIBA currently has $7 million in its bank accounts. Another $9 million is outstanding in rights fees for the 2018 world championships, he says.

Wu says he will be happy to provide financial documents to the EC as they have requested, but not by the Sep. 1 date they have demanded. Wu says nothing will happen until a Swiss court rules in September on whether he or the IMC has a right to be calling the shots at the Federation. The court heard Wu and the IMC a week ago.

"Everything will become very clear with the ruling of the court," says Wu, confident that his side will prevail.

Regardless of the court decision, Wu still needs to come to grips with the politics within the Federation that seem to be aligning against him. With the exception of Wu, the Executive Committee is believed to be unanimous in their push to challenge Wu’s leadership.

Wu says he is happy with the staging of the 2017 World Championships and says the attention being given to sport is more important than the politics of the battle for control of AIBA.

"It’s been an exciting competition with 20 countries participating in the semi final rounds. It’s good to see many new faces in boxing going into the ring," he says.

The championships are the first major event for AIBA under a new judging system introduced after problems with boxing at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

"For the first time we have opened scoring. Everyone can see the results for each round. So far no protests," says Wu.

Wu says he is not disappointed that IOC president Thomas Bach will not be able to attend the Hamburg championships. Wu says Bach faces a difficult travel situation with the upcoming IOC session in Lima in September. However, an IOC spokesperson says the IOC president is avoiding Hamburg to prevent any controversy while the federation sorts out its leadership challenge.

Wu left the championships after the opening ceremony to attend the National Games of China. The IOC president also briefly attended the National Games during his visit to China that included a meeting with new Olympic TOP sponsor Alibaba.

Wu tells ATR that he and Bach did meet at the National Games of China despite Bach’s attempts to avoid getting involved in the situation. Bach and Wu will also see each other at the IOC Session in Lima, Peru.

While Bach may not be attending the boxing championships, Wu says other dignitaries are coming, like Vladimir Klitschko and World Boxing Association president Gilberto Mendoza.

The championships close on Sep. 2.

Written by Ed Hula.

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