AIBA: Suspended President Wu steps down from AIBA and from the IOC Executive Board
By Dr. Thilo Pachmann & Alexander Theiler[1]
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) and President Ching Kuo Wu announced, on 20 November 2017, that they have amicably agreed to resolve management issues within the world governing body and to withdraw and terminate all related pending proceedings before the Civil Courts and the AIBA Disciplinary Commission.
Both parties agreed that "there is no indication of any unethical behaviour by either party" at this stage.
At the same time, after eleven years as AIBA President, Wu has decided to resign from the role.
This joint statement came as quite a surprise, as Wu was also suspended by the AIBA Executive Committee earlier in October of this year after "additional revelations of wrongdoings" by Wu were allegedly uncovered (see earlier posts). These new revelations were described as "shocking" and, in addition, Wu was accused of attempting to transform AIBA into his own personal business. Furthermore, Franco Falcinelli, the recently-elected interim President, described the current situation within AIBA as absolutely exceptional.
Even more surprisingly, after all these occurrences, Falcinelli will ask the Executive Committee to vote in favour of a recommendation that the title of AIBA Honorary President be bestowed upon Mr Wu, subject to ratification by the forthcoming AIBA Congress.
The 70-year-old Wu said in a statement that he took the decision "for the sport I love and have dedicated my life to. I step down in the best interests of both AIBA and boxing, but I remain committed to ensure a smooth handover to the new leadership. I am thankful for the time I was allowed to serve our sport, AIBA and the boxing community."
Italy's Falcinelli will remain AIBA interim President in accordance with the Statutes. "I would like to thank Mr Wu for his contribution to the sport of boxing and to AIBA over many years and we wish him all the best," he said. "Our focus is now on the future and we will concentrate on our core mission of promoting and developing our sport in collaboration with the 202 National Member Federations."
AIBA further confirmed that all its National Member Federations will convene on 27 January 2018, in Dubai, to notably consider proposed governance changes.
Later, on 20 November 2017, shortly after his withdrawal as AIBA President, it was confirmed that Wu has also resigned from the International Olympic Committee Executive Board, a position he has held since 2012.
For the moment, it seems that this AIBA saga has come to a quite surprising - and not before time - end, and we are curious to see whether there will still be a continuation of this sad story.
[1] Dr. Thilo Pachmann and Alexander Theiler of Pachmann Attorneys at Law, Switzerland and can be reached by e-mail at ‘This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ’ and ‘This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ’
