The head of Boxing New Zealand has doubts his sport will remain in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
Chairman Keith Walker says 2022 is a critical year in the sport's future.
Tokyo Olympics Boxing Photo: AFP
Boxing has been in the spotlight in recent years because the International Olympic Committee isn't happy with the International Boxing Federation's governance and finances.
This year all five Confederations along with the IBA will hold elections which Walker believes will determine their future.
The IBA President is Russian Umar Kremlev, while his organisation has been propped up in recent years by the Russian state-owned energy corporation Gazprom, which has wiped all their debt and is now investing heavily in the sport.
Traditionally boxing has relied on Olympic money, however Walker has concerns about how much the money on offer from private sponsors is going to sway voting around the world.
"We're not after Russian money, we want Olympic funding."
"This is the crunch year, we've been threatened by the IOC the last two years to clean up our act ."
Keith Walker Photo: AIBA
Last year the International Olympic Committee voiced its concerns about the sponsorship deal saying the embattled International Boxing Federation was in danger of being overly dependent on the Gazprom company for it's revenue.
A report by Canadian law professor Richard McLaren detailed bribes to fix Olympic fights in 2016, while some officials or judges who didn't fall in line were either forced out or threatened.
So the spotlight is now firmly shining on Kremlev.
Kremlev became the first Russian to be voted to the International Federation's executive in 2018 and in 2020 he gained a slight majority in the vote for Federation's Presidency.
Walker says the Russian doesn't appear to be the person who he professors to be and he's sure the IOC knows that.
"He (Kremlev) thinks he's on the right track, but we don't get that from the reports that we're getting from those which have been set up to investigate boxing.
"We feel he's not too worried about the Olympics, he's more concerned about the IBA running its own ship and doing their own thing."
"I'm sure the IOC will wait to see who is elected to the IBA later this year and then they'll decide if we have a future at the Olympics."
New Zealand was one of about 10 countries, that also included Great Britain and the United States, that have written to the IBA, saying that under no circumstances can they get into a position where they could lose their Olympic status.
"I have grave concerns about our survival, which will be a disaster.
"We are desperate to remain involved with the IOC and NZOC, Olympic sport is very important and the only thing that keeps us surviving really.... it's (the Olympics) the pinnacle of our sport."
Keith Walker being assualted at Seoul Olympics Photo: AFP
The International Olympic Committee took charge of boxing in the leadup to the Tokyo Olympics and remains cautious about how the sport is being run.
The IOC is keen for a clean out at the top and that a new administration can be put in place, so this years IBA congress is crucial to the sport's survival at the games.
However Walker isn't confident there will be change, or enough change to satisfy the IOC.
"Unfortunately in most of the Confederations around the world they're being dictated to by the people at the top and getting involved with who they want to be elected."
"The influence they're having by the amount of money they're making available to the Confederations."
Walker isn't even confident that they have the support in the Oceania region.
He says the IBA has already offered a half a million dollars to Oceania which is huge money compared to the twenty thousand they use to get, so the influence that money will have on elections and how the sport should be run is very concerning."
David Nyika at Tokyo Olympics Photo: Photosport / John Cowpland
Walker remains hopeful that money won't do all the talking, but isn't optimistic, even in Oceania.
"We're a small confederation and a lot of those in the Pacific aren't rich and so we're also concerned about how money will influence the voting rather than getting the right people on board.
Walker says the half a million dollars promised by the IBA is ready to go into the Oceania bank account and Kremlev has already said he'd set up an academy in every Confederation.
"He's promised that it will be in Fiji, and the (top boxing official) person in Fiji has put his name up for Oceania President which is a concern."
81 year Walker has been involved in boxing since he was 10, he started refereeing in the sixties and since then has been to numerous Confederation and World Championship events along with six Olympics in different roles.
However New Zealand's involvement in any form at an Olympics or Commonwealth Games could be over.
New Zealand has won four Olympic boxing medals including Ted Morgan's gold in 1928 and more recently David Nyika's bronze in Tokyo last year.
New Zealand has won 37 boxing medals at the Commonwealth Games with Nyika winning gold in 2014 and 2018
