MOSCOW – An Uzbek businessman who has been accused of ties to organized crime was elected president of the amateur boxing association on Saturday, putting the sport on a collision course with the International Olympic Committee.
The IOC criticized Gafur Rakhimov’s bid to become head of AIBA, and it has yet to confirm boxing is on the program for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The IOC has threatened to host an Olympic boxing tournament without AIBA, cutting off the financially troubled federation from a key funding source.