By: Hans Themistode
Most of the world has sat in horror as the war between Russia and Ukraine intensifies.
In an effort to bolster their defenses, several Ukrainian boxing stars are helping their homeland. These include former tripleweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko, current unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and his brother, Vitali Klitschko, who held the WBC heavyweight crown and is the current mayor of Kyiv in Ukraine.
Most recently, it was reported that the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, is preparing to deploy troops to Ukraine to support Russia.
There was no end, the WBA sanctioning agency stepped in. Overall, the entire committee agreed on a brief set of new rules that will take effect immediately.
- Russian boxers will not be allowed to enter the ring with their flags. Their national anthem will not be played and the country will not be named.
- In rank, the word “peaceful” will be used to reflect Russian fighters, not the country’s acronym.
- No sanction for world and/or domestic regional bouts was reaffirmed.
- All sanctions against Russia should also apply to Belarus.
- Failure to comply with these measures will be punished by the WBA with punitive measures.
- The WBA reserves the right to exclude its lower ranked fighters who speak out in favor of the war.
- All managers, promoters, coaches of the World Boxing Association will apply to the best of their ability, the mediation mechanisms for peace.
- WBA will launch a campaign for Peace
- WBA will remove Russian and Belarusian boxers from the next ranking list. This measure is temporary and will be reviewed on a monthly basis. Current world or regional champions will maintain their status and this will be reviewed by the respective Committee.
- Russian and Belarusian officials will also be banned from participating in world and/or regional championship matches, according to a resolution from the WBA Executive Committee.
- Fans or teams of Russian boxers who violate this rule may be subject to fines.
In a somewhat similar move, the WBC, WBO and IBF sanctioning bodies all agreed to no longer sanction boxing matches in Russia.
With the WBA taking their action one step further, it remains unclear what role their new rules will play going forward for Dmitry Bivol. The 31-year-old Russian is the only WBA champion of the power body in all weight classes.
The pugilistic power puncher, who is scheduled to face Canelo Alvarez on May 7, has proudly draped the Russian flag on his shoulders before each of his matches. Now, however, the WBA has made it clear that such actions will no longer be tolerated by Bivol or any other person of Russian descent.
