As a consequence of Russia’s military attack on Ukraine, the World Boxing Council (WBC), together with the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF), announced that will not endorse fights with Russian or Belarusian boxers.
“As of today (Tuesday), our organizations will not certify any championship fight involving boxers from Russia and Belarus. We will constantly monitor ongoing developments, hoping that this situation will be resolved soon, to restore normal life and activity,” the WBC announced in a statement.
Along the same lines, it added: ” The world of boxing, and sport in general, is united for peace and rejects any form of war. Innocent lives are being lost and Ukrainian and Russian soldiers are being killed. May God help us to bring peace to our world”.
Was there a sanction?
In a statement collected by the Efe agency, Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC, stressed that this determination will be maintained until there is an end to the war, in which Russia is supported by Belarus against Ukraine.
“Initially we would not sanction fights in Russia; but, seeing the seriousness of the situation, we decided not to sanction fights involving Russian and Belarusian boxers, until there is definitive progress towards peace”, he commented.
The WBC boss highlighted which does not intend to discriminate or set a position in favor of any country. “Any act of war is absolutely reprehensible; it is not to look for culprits or to be on one side or the other, we cannot see that innocent people die and how soldiers from Ukraine and Russia die”, he emphasized.
In this sense, he stressed that it is of a painful decision: “We have many Russian friends; promoters, trainers, judges, boxers, that’s why we want this to be reactivated as soon as possible. The only thing we are looking for is for peace to return to Ukraine”.
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