USA Boxing issued a letter on Wednesday, advising their members that the organization has terminated membership in the International Boxing Association [IBA].

USA Boxing is planning to join the newly established World Boxing International Federation [World Boxing]- which launched two weeks ago.

World Boxing has set a tentative executive board, with boxing leaders from Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand and the Philippines.

Mike McAtee, Executive Director of USA Boxing, says the move was necessary to preserve the sport of boxing in the Olympics.

USA Boxing has been a member of the IBA since 1946.

“[The IBA has displayed a] failure to uphold its mission and principles of its constitution, and failure to respect the Olympic charter and movement," McAtee said.

“USA Boxing remains committed to the Olympic movement by following the principles of proper governance, promoting neutral third-party oversight of the field of play, condemning false and misleading information from IBA leadership [and] demanding transparent financial management."

In the last few years, the IBA has had a strained relationship with the International Olympic Committee [IOC]. In 2019, the IOC suspended its recognition of the IBA. There were growing concerns regarding the IBA's executive operations as a whole and there were issues with competitive judging.

Adding fuel to the fire, the IBA ignored the IOC’s directive to prohibit Russian and Belarussian athletes from fighting under their national flags and colors. The IBA’s president, Umar Kremlev of Russia, has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The IOC took charge of the boxing tournament at the Tokyo Olympics, and they are also running the qualifications and competition for the Paris Games in 2025. 

Because of the ongoing issues with the IBA, boxing is not on the provisional program for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The IOC cautions that boxing could still be added.

The IBA announced, also on Wednesday, that they have filed a complaint to the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit [an independent investigative department of the IBA], with respect to the creation of rival organization World Boxing.