By Mesuli Zifo

THE raging row over the permission of professional boxers to compete at the Olympic Games is set to take a notch up when International (Amateur) Boxing Association (AIBA) hold a special meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland next month to repeal an article from its statute in order to pave way for the fighters to officially compete at the games.

The meeting to be held on May 30, will involve all national federations affiliated to the world amateur body which has since shed the term “amateur” to fast track its invasion into the professional boxing.

Sources reveal that at the meeting all national federations will be given green light to select professional boxers in their countries that will be able to compete at the games.

However Article 13. (J) of the AIBA statute reads: “ to prohibit any person who has competed in any non AIBA professional boxing match to register as a boxer with the national federation.”

This article is now seen as the stumbling block in AIBA’s quest to have professional boxers compete at the Olympics.

“We have already been informed that the meeting will seek to repeal this article,” one source revealed.

The invasion of AIBA into professional boxing has ruffled feathers among sanctioning bodies as well as promoters.

Most vocal against the move has been the WBC since AIBA started introducing a professional wing in its ranks.

Initially only professional boxers with less than 20 bouts were permitted to compete at the Olympics.

At the congress at Jeju Island, South Korea in November 2014 AIBA president Dr Ching-Kuo Wu emphasised the need for the body to take control of boxing.

However the repealing of the Article is set to bring some national federations into collision course with commissions governing professional boxing in their respective countries.

This after AIBA barred its affiliates from adhering to rules of other entities including the government besides theirs.

Some federations have been suspended for having one body governing both amateur (now open boxing) and professional boxing.

The permission of professional boxers to compete at the Olympics is expected to further exacerbate the row especially if their trainers are left behind.

One national federation president said he did not see the need for trainers to accompany the boxer to the Olympics.

“In actual fact the same boxer he is boasting about owning was developed by amateur body and all he did was to get a ready made commodity,” he said.

The repealing of the Article will pave way for professional boxers to compete in any event but it is yet to be established if they will be ready for the Rio Olympics in August.

Basically there will be only one month left to prepare for Rio Olympics after the meeting and that will not be enough for some federations to resolve the problems expected to arise with the arrangement.

For instance professional boxing in South Africa is governed by the Act of Parliament which does not make provision for amateur body.

Unless amendments are made in the Act, the move might prove to be mammoth task.