But now the cash has come to the amateur ranks, thanks largely to the arrival of Russian, Umar Kremlev, who was elected the president of the International Boxing Association (IBA) on December 12, 2020.
Kremlev rose to power on the promise of restoring IBA's financial integrity after years of the world body that represents amateur boxing, wallowing in debt. During the 2020 elections, Kremlev garnered 57.33% of the vote from the 155 voting federations, including the Botswana Boxing Association (BoBA). “Getting rid of IBA’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 IBA,” Kremlev said following his election. Already, IBA debts to the tune of $10 million have been written off and the boxing body signed a multi-million sponsorship deal with Russian energy giant, Gazprom. National associations like BoBA receive annual funding as per Kremlev's pre-election promise.
Boxing, however, remained suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Olympic body suspended IBA over governance, finance, refereeing and ethical issues in 2019.
The arrival of the Russian has seen cash flowing within the amateur ranks and raising hopes of a better future for boxers. Local boxer, Keamogetse Sadie Kenosi recently banked P126,000 after winning gold at the Africa Boxing Championships held in Maputo in September. Gold medal winners pocketed $10,000 while silver medallists went home with $5,000 and $2,500 was reserved for bronze winners. This was a significant shift for boxing as amateur boxers have endured years of cashless competitions. “The IBA president brought huge prize monies to IBA and continental championships. Obviously, this is good for the sport.
Mind you IOC suspension is still on,” BoBA secretary-general, Taolo Tloutsile said. “In the past tournament World Championships, prizes were given up to position five. "IBA increased the prize monies. The other thing is most African countries couldn't afford travel costs. IBA assisted team Botswana with $20,000 for the men and $20,000 for women’s teams.
A number of African countries managed to attend because of the assistance,” he added. Local boxers will travel to Yaounde, Cameroon for the Africa Boxing Championships to be held between June 13 and 25, amid hopes there will be a repeat of what transpired in Maputo. “We hope there will be prize monies just like the last edition in Maputo last year.
A few local boxers benefited already,” Tlouetsile said. At the recent World Championships which ended in Uzbekistan on Sunday, boxers pocketed up to P2.6 million.
The first prize money was $200,000 (approximately P2.6 million), while the first runner-up received $100,000 (approximately P1.3 million), and bronze medallists went home with $50,000 (approximately P650,000) as amateur boxing is increasingly becoming lucrative. However, local boxers missed out on the big payout as they failed to make headway.
