Cáitlín Fryers and Niamh Fay win the opening bouts of the World Championship as the IABA will not make a choice in the IBA election

Two more Irish boxers won their opening bouts at the World Championships in Istanbul this afternoon.

At flyweight, Cáitlín Fryers made the last 16 with a dominant performance to overcome a challenge from South Africa’s Thandolwethu Mathiba. Deep fryers are back in action on Sunday.

Featherweight Niamh Fay looked even more impressive when she completely dominated Modestine Munga Zalia of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The referee stopped the fight in the second round as the DRC fighter was unable to deal with the speed and range of Fay’s shots.

Meanwhile, IABA has declined to reveal which candidate they support in this weekend’s crucial International Boxing Association presidential election in Istanbul.

The future of boxing as an Olympic sport could be determined by the outcome of the fight between outgoing Russian President Umar Kremlev and his rival, Dutchman Boris van der Vorst.

Kremlev refused to step down from his position after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, despite a request from at least one director at a board meeting in March.

He also strongly defended the organization’s controversial sponsorship deal with Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned oil company.

The Irish delegation to Congress includes President Dominic O’Rourke and CEO Fergal Carruth.

In response to a question as to which candidate the IABA delegation would vote for, a statement said: “It is not customary to announce voting intentions prior to casting that vote. The IABA’s choice will be in favor of the candidate best placed to serve the best interests of Irish boxing.”

In contrast, Boxing USA has declared its support for van de Vorst while launching an attack on Kremlev’s record since taking office.

In announcing his decision to back rival candidate Boris van der Vorst, Boxing USA says Mr Kremlev failed to live up to his promise when he was elected in 2020 to restore International Olympic Committee recognition.

“The Olympic qualification system for the Paris 2024 Olympics is incomplete at best and incompetent at worst. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has complicated an already serious situation between the IBA, potential sponsors and acceptance in the Olympic movement.

“World leaders have condemned the invasion and made efforts to end all economic assets of Russian citizens and companies, including Gazprom. The current IBA President has put his own interests ahead of the interests of the IBA.

“Actions speak louder than words and over the last 16 months our IBA President has spoken many words, made big promises and achieved some successes.

“But his actions and facts prove that many of the promises are mere words,” said a letter Boxing USA President Tyson Lee and its CEO Mike McAtee sent to all National Association Presidents.

The letter lists three specific problem areas.

“The President has said that the IBA debt is gone and the financial future of the IBA is secure. No one has been able to independently verify the financial health of the IBA. The terms of the Gazprom contract are hidden even from independent auditors, who are sworn to confidentiality.”

With regard to boxing at the Olympics, the letter refers to correspondence sent by the IOC to Mr Kremlev earlier this week, which again states that the IOC’s recognition of the IBA remains suspended and boxing is not at this time is included in the sports program of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The letter also notes that the President has failed to fill the position of IOC/liaison officer, despite this having been identified as vital to securing participation in the Olympics.

Boxing USA said they would support Boris van der Vorst in the election, saying he would put in the dedication and hard work to “change leadership and culture, provide financial accountability and access to finance based on the needs of the national… Associations are based, as opposed to self-commitments. Serving Handouts”.

Despite van der Vorst’s US backing, his rival remains the strong favorite for re-election as president, even if it jeopardizes boxing’s future as an Olympic sport.

The IBA has already taken this path before. In 2018, they ignored the warning from the International Olympic Committee and elected Uzbek businessman Gafur Rahimov as president.

It has been alleged that he is the head of the Uzbek mafia and that the US Treasury Department has linked him to a major European criminal organization known as “thieves in the law”.

His election eventually led to the IOC suspending what was then known as AIBA and taking direct responsibility for running the qualifying events and the tournament itself at the Tokyo Olympics.