Dutch Van Der Vorst elected first World Boxing president

Boris van der Vorst was Saturday elected the first president of World Boxing at the inaugural Congress in Frankfurt, Germany.

In the congress attended by 26 of 27 members, the Dutchman got 63 percent of the vote against USA Boxing’s Elise Seignolle, earning an initial two-year term.

Towards the peak of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) disagreements with the International Boxing Association (IBA) Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands joined the USA, Great Britain to launch World Boxing in April 2023 to ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic movement. In May, IBA filed formal proceedings against the federations for joining “a rogue body.”

In June, IOC expelled IBA from the Olympic movement accusing the world body of financial impropriety, poor governance, among others, which further threatened boxing’s Olympic future.

Integrity, honesty, trust

IBA appealed its expulsion to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). Meanwhile, World Boxing pounced to fill the void, aiming to seek IOC’s recognition as the new custodians of Olympic boxing, starting with Los Angeles 2028 and beyond.

 “I am humbled and honoured to have been elected President of World Boxing and I would like to thank everyone that has supported me in recent weeks and over the last few years. My campaign was based on integrity, honesty and trust and I will continue to promote these values within our growing boxing family,” Van der Vorst said in his victory speech.

“Making sure boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement is our number one priority and I look

forward to working together with the newly elected board and all of our member National Federations to help us deliver this.”

Other candidates vied for a range of positions

including three vice presidents, four executive board members, chairs of: the sport and competition committee, the medical and anti-doping committee and the finance and audit committee.

Boxing Australia’s Dinah Glykidas, voted among the three vice presidents and Sweden’s Susanne Karrlander, voted among the four executive board members, are the women on the inaugural team, whose mandate will last two or four years. Elections will be held every two years, to foster accountability.

In May 2022, Van der Vorst challenged Russian Umar Kremlev for the IBA presidency but Kremlev was re-elected unopposed after the Dutch Boxing Federation boss was declared ineligible.

CAS ruled in June that Van der Vorst was wrongly prevented from standing, but IBA delegates in Yerevan, Armenia, rejected a proposal to stage a new election. Van der Vorst particularly accused the African delegates of being bribed for the decision. IBA called the accusations baseless. 

Nigeria is the only African federation that has so far joined World Boxing. How the new president navigates the African question remains to be seen.

President

Boris van der Vorst (NED) Two years

Vice Presidents

Ryan O’Shea (CAN), Two years

Matt Holt (GB) Four years

Dinah Glykidas (AUS) Four years

Executive Board members

Michael Muller (GER) Two years

Suzanne Karrlander (SWE) Two years

Victorico Vargas (PHI) Four years

Marcos Candido de Brito (BRA) Two years

Chair Sport & Competition Committee:

Hernan Salvo (ARG) Four years

 Chair Medical & Anti-Doping:

 Dr Armando Sanchez (USA) Four years

 Chair Finance & Audit Committee:

Julia Felton (AUS) Four years