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Olympic Boxing On The Brink
In 2012, the United States Treasury Department identified a group called “The Brothers’ Circle” alongside the infamous Japanese Yakuza as being a “significant Transnational Criminal Organization” and, prompted by the then President, Barack Obama, set out in “pursuing additional sanctions against their members and supporters.”
This has been and remains standard practice for the U.S. in working against its enemies when they lie beyond its borders and ordinary legal jurisdiction. Typically a key member of a criminal or political organization will find his or her assets frozen and their ability to move freely restricted. More, they have been branded, publicly and loudly, as being the worst kind of criminal: organized, powerful and dangerous. This can make doing business and establishing new professional relationships difficult – or at least, that is the theory.
The Yakuza are well known but “The Brother’s Circle” I had never heard of, and apparently with good reason. In 2012, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project spoke to sometime Guardian journalist and expert in Russian and Eurasian criminal activity Mark Galeotti on the subject of The Brother’s Circle and he had this to say: “I have not found anyone in Russian law enforcement or elsewhere who actually says ‘yes, the brother’s circle is an organization and it exists.’ It’s either complete myth, or 99% myth.”
I spoke to Mark today and he confirmed that this remained his position.
“I suspect,” wrote Galeotti after the action was handed down, “that given the absence of any other meaningful specific individual gangs to identify, reference to the Circle represents a convenient catch-all term, a way of making sure that Russian OC is included.”
Among those included is Gafur Rakhimov (pictured).
“Rakhimov,” claims the Treasury Department, “is one of the leaders of Uzbek organized crime with a specialty in the organized production of drugs in the countries of Central Asia. He has operated major international drug syndicates involving the trafficking of heroin.”
His passport number and an “alternative” passport number is listed as are other personal details including an address. His alleged background as car thief through to fixer through to drug dealer is laid out, albeit in very little detail. A power-point presentation illustrating some of the names of his associates and their subservient relationship to him is available. He is directly connected to and often identified as being in a position of authority over numerous men linked to murder, the trafficking of human beings and in one instance the assassination of a Ukrainian politician.
The U.S. Treasury Department is as serious about Gafur Rakhimov as they were about Al Capone.
Yesterday, Rakhimov was elected as the International Boxing Association (AIBA) president, amateur boxing’s global governing body.
If you were unaware of this story, and it has not been widely or properly reported by boxing media, take a moment to allow it to sink in.
The most acute problem here relates to the status of Olympic boxing. For some time the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has harbored concerns about the AIBA and the corruption which purveys the sport it runs. Most Americans reading this will think of the alleged match fixing in Seoul that saw local Park-Si hun “triumph” over Roy Jones; perhaps for the Europeans it may be a fresher memory, that of Michael Conlan who branded the AIBA “f****** cheats” and “cheating bastards” who were “paying [off] everybody” after an inexplicable loss at the 2016 games.
Sporadically, good journalism has actually outed corrupt judging, as in 1996 when Independent boxing journalist Steve Bunce was all set to travel to Russia to interview a judge caught with a thousand dollar bung. Unfortunately the judge was murdered before Bunce could get to him.
Japanese administrator Akira Yamane resigned this summer after his association with gangsters and allegations of tampering with officials emerged. The 2012 Azerbaijani amateur boxing scandal was as embroiled and confounding as to defy any thumbnail explanation here, suffice to say that once every four years the Olympics spotlights amateur boxing’s vast and varied shortcomings but they remain a problem year round. The gloom outwith the illumination of the Olympic torch fuels dark deeds.
So even before the election of Rakhimov as permanent AIBA president, the IOC were “extremely worried” about the governance of the sport and were prepared to take “bold action” against it. Hideous financial mismanagement was as much a concern as corruption, as the AIBA flirted with bankruptcy behind its involvement with Eurasian loans. Rakhimov, who stepped out from behind the shadow of the hapless outgoing president Wu Ching-Kuo, proceeded to direct the rescue of the AIBA to the everlasting gratitude of many of its members.
The IOC, horrified by the corruption and financial irresponsibility in the sport of amateur boxing seemed dumbfounded by the appearance of Rakhimov as its potential savior. The AIBA was, however, preparing to launch itself out of the proverbial frying pan into the proverbial fire with all the force of an institution actively seeking its own demise.
“The IOC reserves the right to review the inclusion of boxing,” it offered, “in the programs of the Youth Olympics 2018 and Tokyo 2020.”
Boxing was included at the Youth Olympics but Rakhimov was reportedly not accredited. This is as clear an indication as the IOC could make to the AIBA of their opinion of the AIBA’s unopposed nominee for president. It responded by reluctantly allowing opposition which had previously been excluded for petty technical reasons, but nobody was going to beat Rakhimov cold; it’s arguable that nobody could have beaten him with even a fair shake such was his position of power after his handling of the Ching-Kuo debacle. Had Rakhimov come from nowhere it is likely his past would have counted against him but his association with the AIBA is long and strong.
How this came to be is explained in some small way by the OCCRP who deemed Rakhimov “the classic Uzbek gangster,” and noted that “you don’t get to be an Uzbek gangster without being a partner of powerful people in the state apparatus.”
Or, as Mark Galeotti so elegantly put it, “whatever you say about Russian OC, it’s outgunned by the state.”
It is Rakhimov’s very involvement in the upper echelons of organized crime that would provide him with access to the upper echelons of administrative power in his country.
It should be noted here that Rakhimov protests his innocence, and vigorously, but this, in a sense, misses the point. It is unfair that Rakhimov’s being accused of unproven criminality by the United States government, Mark Galeotti and the OCCRP, among others, should exclude him from working for the AIBA – but it should. Unquestionably and inarguably, it should. It should absolutely exclude him from running that organization. He could be the most effective administrator to have ever lived and the fact would remain that his overall influence upon the sport he claims to love would be almost entirely negative. But his protestations of his innocence must be recorded.
In his own words, his inclusion as a U.S. Treasury target is a “mistake” that he hopes can be “corrected” within six months.
But he’s had six years.
Rakhimov has declared the date of his own election “a great day for the AIBA” and “an important step forward in boxing.” He spoke of the AIBA’s “commitment to the Olympic movement and Olympic values.” The IOC, meanwhile, are rumored to be weighing three options: excluding boxing from the Olympic games; staging an Olympic tournament without the inclusion of the AIBA (thereby withdrawing funding); or allowing the AIBA to run the Olympic boxing tournament under certain agreed-upon conditions.
None of these options are appealing, but I regretfully suggest that the third of these is the most harmful. While excluding boxing would deal a hammer blow to the sport that would be felt for a generation and the damage done to grassroots boxing by cutting off funding to the AIBA by the IOC would be enormous, either arrangement is likely preferable to doing nothing.
If there is a line of corruption our sport cannot be allowed to cross, I would suggest that it was reached and breached today. It saddens and shocks me that this has occurred in the world of amateur rather than professional boxing.
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A Knockout of the Year doesn’t have to be a one-punch knockout, but it must arrive with the suddenness of a thunderclap on a clear day and the punch or punches must be so harsh as to obviate the need for a “10-count.” And, if rendered by an underdog, that makes the KO resonate more loudly.
Within these parameters, Lucas Bahdi’s knockout of Ashton “H2O” Sylva still jumped off the page. The thunderclap happened on July 20 in Tampa, Florida, on a show promoted by Jake Paul with Paul and the great Amanda Serrano sharing the bill against soft opponents in the featured bout.
The 30-year-old Bahdi (16-0, 14 KOs) and the 20-year-old Sylva (11-0, 9 KOs) were both undefeated, but Bahdi was accorded scant chance of defeating Jake Paul’s house fighter.
Sylva was 18 years old and had seven pro fights under his belt, winning all inside the distance, when he signed with Paul’s company, Most Valuable Promotions, in 2022. “We believe that Ashton has that talent, that flashiness, that style, that knockout power, that charisma to really be a massive, massive, superstar…” said the “Problem Child” when announcing that Sylva had signed with his company.
Jake Paul was so confident that his protege would accomplish big things that he matched Sylva with Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield. Currently 18-0 and ranked #2 by the WBA, Schofield was further along than Sylva in the pantheon of hot lightweight prospects. But Schofield backed out, alleging an injury, opening the door to a substitute.
Enter Lucas Bahdi who despite his eye-catching record was a virtual unknown. This would be his first outing on U.S. soil. All of his previous bouts were staged in Mexico or in Canada, mostly in his native Ontario province. “My opponent may have changed,” said Sylva who hails from Long Beach, California, “but the result will be the same, I will get the W and continue my path to greatness.”
The first five rounds were all Sylva. The Canadian had no antidote for Sylva’s speed and quickness. He was outclassed.
Then, in round six, it all came unglued for the precocious California. Out of the blue, Bahdi stiffened him with a hard right hand. Another right quickly followed, knocking Sylva unconscious. A third punch, a sweeping left, was superfluous. Jake Paul’s phenom was already out cold.
Sylva landed face-first on the canvas. He lay still as his handlers and medics rushed to his aid. It was scarifying. “May God restore him,” said ring announcer Joe Martinez as he was being stretchered out of the ring.
The good news is that Ashton “H2O” Silva will be able to resume his career. He is expected back in the ring as early as February. As for Lucas Bahdi, architect of the Knockout of the Year, he has added one more win to his ledger, winning a 10-round decision on the undercard of the Paul vs Tyson spectacle, and we will presumably be hearing a lot more about him.
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Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh
Oleksandr Usyk left no doubt that he is the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury tonight at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But although the Ukrainian won eight rounds on all three scorecards, this was no runaway. To pirate a line from one of the DAZN talking heads, Fury had his moments in every round but Usyk had more moments.
The early rounds were fought at a faster pace than the first meeting back in May. At the mid-point, the fight was even. The next three rounds – the next five to some observers – were all Usyk who threw more punches and landed the cleaner shots.
Fury won the final round in the eyes of this reporter scoring at home, but by then he needed a knockout to pull the match out of the fire.
The last round was an outstanding climax to an entertaining chess match during which both fighters took turns being the pursuer and the pursued.
An Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, the amazing Usyk improved his ledger to 23-0 (14). His next fight, more than likely, will come against the winner of the Feb. 22 match in Ridayh between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker which will share the bill with the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Fury (34-2-1) may fight Anthony Joshua next. Regardless, no one wants a piece of Moses Itauma right now although the kid is only 19 years old.
Moses Itauma
Raised in London by a Nigerian father and a Slovakian mother, Itauma turned heads once again with another “wow” performance. None of his last seven opponents lasted beyond the second round.
His opponent tonight, 34-year-old Australian Demsey McKean, lasted less than two minutes. Itauma, a southpaw with blazing fast hands, had the Aussie on the deck twice during the 117-second skirmish. The first knockdown was the result of a cuffing punch that landed high on the head; the second knockdown was produced by an overhand left. McKean went down hard as his chief cornerman bounded on to the ring apron to halt the massacre.
Photo (c): Mark Robinson
Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs after going 20-0 as an amateur) is the real deal. It was the second straight loss for McKean (22-2) who lasted into the 10th round against Filip Hrgovic in his last start.
Bohachuk-Davis
In a fight billed as the co-main although it preceded Itauma-McKean, Serhii Bohachuk, an LA-based Ukrainian, stopped Ishmael Davis whose corner pulled him out after six frames.
Both fighters were coming off a loss in fights that were close on the scorecards, Bohachuk falling to Vergil Ortiz Jr in a Las Vegas barnburner and Davis losing to Josh Kelly.
Davis, who took the fight on short notice, subbing for Ismail Madrimov, declined to 13-2. He landed a few good shots but was on the canvas in the second round, compliments of a short left hook, and the relentless Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) eventually wore him down.
Fisher-Allen
In a messy, 10-round bar brawl masquerading as a boxing match, Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, won a split decision over British countryman David Allen. Two judges favored Fisher by 95-94 tallies with the dissenter favoring Allen 96-93. When the scores were announced, there was a chorus of boos and those watching at home were outraged.
Allen was a step up in class for Fisher. The Doncaster man had a decent record (23-5-2 heading in) and had been routinely matched tough (his former opponents included Dillian Whyte, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and three former Olympians). But Allen was fairly considered no more than a journeyman and Fisher (12-0 with 11 KOs, eight in the opening round) was a huge favorite.
In round five, Allen had Fisher on the canvas twice although only one was ruled a true knockdown. From that point, he landed the harder shots and, at the final bell, he fell to canvas shedding tears of joy, convinced that he had won.
He did not win, but he exposed Johnny Fisher as a fighter too slow to compete with elite heavyweights, a British version of the ponderous Russian-Canadian campaigner Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Other Bouts of Note
In a spirited 10-round featherweight match, Scotland’s Lee McGregor, a former European bantamweight champion and stablemate of former unified 140-pound title-holder Josh Taylor, advanced to 15-1-1 (11) with a unanimous decision over Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). The judges had it 96-92 and 97-91 twice.
A cousin and regular houseguest of Tyson Fury, Lowe fought most of the fight with cuts around both eyes and was twice deducted a point for losing his gumshield.
In a fight between super featherweights that could have gone either way, Liverpool southpaw Peter McGrail improved to 11-1 (6) with a 10-round unanimous decision over late sub Rhys Edwards. The judges had it 96-95 and 96-94 twice.
McGrail, a Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, fought from the third round on with a cut above his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads. It was the first loss for Edwards (16-1), a 24-year-old Welshman who has another fight booked in three weeks.
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Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?
In professional boxing, the heavyweight division, going back to the days of John L. Sullivan, is the straw that stirs the drink. By this measure, the fight on May 18 of this year at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the biggest prizefight in decades. The winner would emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 when Lennox Lewis out-pointed Evander Holyfield in their second meeting.
The match did not disappoint. It had several twists and turns.
Usyk did well in the early rounds, but the Gypsy King rattled Usyk with a harsh right hand in the fifth stanza and won rounds five through seven on all three cards. In the ninth, the match turned sharply in favor of the Ukrainian. Fury was saved by the bell after taking a barrage of unanswered punches, the last of which dictated a standing 8-count from referee Mark Nelson. But Fury weathered the storm and with his amazing powers of recuperation had a shade the best of it in the final stanza.
The decision was split: 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk who became a unified champion in a second weight class; 114-113 for Fury.
That brings us to tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 21) where Usyk and Fury will renew acquaintances in the same ring where they had their May 18 showdown.
The first fight was a near “pick-‘em” affair with Fury closing a very short favorite at most of the major bookmaking establishments. The Gypsy King would have been a somewhat higher favorite if not for the fact that he was coming off a poor showing against MMA star Francis Ngannou and had a worrisome propensity for getting cut. (A cut above Fury’s right eye in sparring pushed back the fight from its original Feb. 11 date.)
Tomorrow’s sequel, bearing the tagline “Reignited,” finds Usyk a consensus 7/5 favorite although those odds could shorten by post time. (There was no discernible activity after today’s weigh-in where Fury, fully clothed, topped the scales at 281, an increase of 19 pounds over their first meeting.)
Given the politics of boxing, anything “undisputed” is fragile. In June, Usyk abandoned his IBF belt and the organization anointed Daniel Dubois their heavyweight champion based upon Dubois’s eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic in a bout billed for the IBF interim title. The malodorous WBA, a festering boil on the backside of boxing, now recognizes 43-year-old Kubrat Pulev as its “regular” heavyweight champion.
Another difference between tomorrow’s fight card and the first installment is that the May 18 affair had a much stronger undercard. Two strong pairings were the rematch between cruiserweights Jai Opetaia and Maris Briedis (Opetaia UD 12) and the heavyweight contest between unbeatens Agit Kabayal and Frank Sanchez (Kabayel KO 7).
Tomorrow’s semi-wind-up between Serhii Bohachuk and Ismail Madrimov lost luster when Madrimov came down with bronchitis and had to withdraw. The featherweight contest between Peter McGrail and Dennis McCann fell out when McCann’s VADA test returned an adverse finding. Bohachuk and McGrail remain on the card but against late-sub opponents in matches that are less intriguing.
The focal points of tomorrow’s undercard are the bouts involving undefeated British heavyweights Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) and Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs). Both are heavy favorites over their respective opponents but bear watching because they represent the next generation of heavyweight standouts. Fury and Usyk are getting long in the tooth. The Gypsy King is 36; Usyk turns 38 next month.
Bob Arum once said that nobody purchases a pay-per-view for the undercard and, years from now, no one will remember which sanctioning bodies had their fingers in the pie. So, Fury-Usyk II remains a very big deal, although a wee bit less compelling than their first go-around.
Will Tyson Fury avenge his lone defeat? Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the unofficial czar of “major league” boxing, certainly hopes so. His Excellency has made known that he stands poised to manufacture a rubber match if Tyson prevails.
We could have already figured this out, but Alalshikh violated one of the protocols of boxing when he came flat out and said so. He effectively made Tyson Fury the “A-side,” no small potatoes considering that the most relevant variable on the checklist when handicapping a fight is, “Who does the promoter need?”
The Uzyk-Fury II fight card will air on DAZN with a suggested list price of $39.99 for U.S. fight fans. The main event is expected to start about 5:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm PT.
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