AIBA: No fear of going bankrupt, finances are in good shape

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) says it no longer faces the fear of going bankrupt after having restored a "healthy and sustainable financial situation", which was among the tasks mandated by the IOC to secure the sport's Olympic future.

The AIBA's finances were a cause of concern for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is still to take a final call on whether to retain boxing in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

"...following the full review of its financial control systems, AIBA has managed to restore a healthy and sustainable financial situation," the embattled world body said in a statement issued late Thursday night.

The IOC has stopped funding the AIBA and threatened to expel it from the Olympic roster, citing concerns about its governance structure, the judging system and the finances.

After claiming to have revamped the judging system, the AIBA now stated that even its finances are in good shape.

The AIBA said it has implemented a significant number of changes to its policies and procedures to improve accountability and fiscal responsibility.

"AIBA has come a long way in getting over this financial crisis...The fear of going bankrupt due to past financial mismanagement is now far behind us," AIBA President Gafur Rakhimov said.

"It is time to turn the page and look further to the development of Boxing worldwide.

"After having spent a lot of time and energy in closing deals and bringing the AIBA finances under control, these many positive statements from our members are also a very strong motivation personally," he added.

The AIBA said the "stringent financial controls" implemented recently allowed the organisation to operate under budget for the first time in history.

(With inputs from agencies.)