"It's like the Cold War all over again, breaking all records"

Due to, among other things, referee scandals, Iba was not allowed to organize the Olympic qualifiers or the Olympic competitions in Tokyo last year.

It will be a similar scenario for the Olympics in Paris 2024. And right now, boxing is off the program for Los Angeles 2028.

That is why Sunday's presidential election in Yerevan is very important for a number of confederations that have joined together in a group, the Common Cause Alliance (CCA), which has the sport's Olympic future on the agenda.

The group's chairman candidate is the Dutchman Boris van der Vorst, who is pitted against the incumbent chairman Umar Kremlev from Russia.

- We have received indications that if van der Vorst wins, then Olympic boxing will live on.

Because then there will be democratic elections and transparency in Iba.

If we lose, we'll sit down on the 26th and see which way to go.

Because Iba's way will not work, says Per-Axel Sjöholm.

First voting on the election

He calls the state of the International Boxing Federation a throwback to the Cold War with clear boundaries between East and West and where the rulers, from the Eastern Bloc, do not shy away from any means to maintain power.

For the regular congress this spring, the western candidates were excluded, including Sjöholm who ran for a board position and the chairman candidate van der Vorst.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport Ca's ruling was that Iba would redo the entire election.

It ended with Iba calling an extra congress to elect a chairman only.

And it is not even certain that that election will be held on Sunday.

You must first vote if the chairman election is to be carried out.

- I honestly believe that they don't dare not to have a choice, because then they have failed themselves completely, says Sjöholm.

Open with bribes

The western group CCA, which wants to save boxing in the Olympics, has campaigned hard to get national federations to vote for van der Vorst.

According to Sjöholm's sources, the Eastern bloc has used money as a persuasion method:

- The Russians have gone around everywhere and paid out a lot of money to a lot of different countries.

They look out for themselves and not for boxing, says Sjöholm.

He says that he received information that the Russians went to the African Congress with a lot of money, cash in a bag, and were stopped at customs.

The money must have been confiscated.

- This is done completely openly, says Sjöholm.