THE election of Umar Kremlev to the presidency of AIBA is a pivotal moment in boxing and sends a strong message that the governing body of boxing could be sailing into calmer waters.

This is the view of president of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) Steve Ninvalle, who had openly supported Kremlev’s quest to become president. The Russian Kremlev was yesterday elected president of AIBA, the body that governs amateur boxing worldwide, during the first day of Congress held virtually.
Kremlev, the secretary of the Russian Boxing Federation easily defeated four other candidates to win 57.33 of the votes to clinch the hotly contested seat.

The Congress was attended by 155 National Federations from five continents. “At this critical juncture AIBA needs strong leadership, integrity, transparency, vision and accountability. Mr Kremlev is a true representation of these qualities and genuinely loves the sport. There is no doubt in my mind, and I dare say those of many other Caribbean presidents, that Umar Kremlev will guide boxing back to its rightful place,” Ninvalle said.

In the English-speaking Caribbean Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and St Lucia openly supported Kremlev’s bid but Ninvalle assured that more than half of the region would have voted for the Russian.
“A vice-president of the Americas Boxing Confederation (AMBC) divulged that shortly after the election he received a call from the new president who reiterated that much hard work is ahead in order to make “AIBA Great Again.”

Meanwhile, Kremlev declared that rebuilding of AIBA would not be done overnight.
“Let me make it clear: the path to rebuilding AIBA is not easy. It will not happen overnight. We have to unite and work with one mission, and one mission alone: rebuilding the credibility and trust that AIBA once had in the minds of sports people worldwide and that includes, of course, restoring AIBA’s Olympic status,” Kremlev told the AIBA website after winning the election.

The Russian’s ambitious manifesto aims to pay off the millions of dollars in debt accumulated by AIBA under previous administrations.
“Getting rid of AIBA’s debt will be the first priority. As I promised when I announced my run for the presidency, I will clear this debt in the first six months. My administration will aim to raise $50 million within two years, all of which will be used to rebuild AIBA,” the burly Kremlev said.

He has announced plans to provide annual funding of $2 million to AIBA’s national federations and to set up boxing academies on each continent to train athletes, coaches, referees and judges.
Kremlev is confident he can chart a clear path for AIBA to be reinstated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in time for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

“Boxing is the sport of fighters. Our fight today is against financial debt, against incompetence, against corruption, against doping, against poor training, and against poor safety. Strengthening AIBA’s governance structures, and ensuring our checks and balances work, will be the focus of my tenure as president,” announced Kremlev.

The new AIBA president has received strong support from the National Federations, who see his leadership qualities and strong track record as necessary for AIBA at this crucial juncture in its history.