Russia stripped of hosting world amateur championships

Moscow has been stripped of the world amateur boxing championships after failing to meet conditions for hosting the event, the world governing body said Monday.

Photo: Russia stripped of hosting world amateur championships

The International Boxing Federation, or AIBA, awarded its showcase championships to the Russian capital at a meeting last month in Taipei, Taiwan. Moscow was chosen over Jeju, South Korea.

However, AIBA said the Russian boxing federation "failed on a number of issues pertaining to the agreement despite continuous assistance from AIBA."

"It is regrettable that we were put into a situation where we had to make such a decision but we also had to honor the conditions of the agreement," AIBA president C.K. Wu said.

Russian media said financial problems, including uncertainty over a US$1.5 million line of credit, was behind the decision, reports AP.

Russian federation chief Eduard Khusanov told the ITAR-Tass news agency that AIBA imposed "groundless demands" and organizers had met all necessary conditions.

AIBA did not say where the Sept. 15-30 championships considered a major qualifier for the 2008 Olympics would now be held.