Boxing proved one of the biggest winners in UK Sport's Rio 2016 funding announcement in December as it received £13.8 million ($22.4 million/€16.9 million) for the 2013-2017 cycle compared to the £9.5 million ($15.5 million/€11.7 million) it was allocated for 2009-2013.

It marked a £4.25 million ($6.9 million/€5.2 million) or 44.5 per cent increase in funding - more in percentage terms than any other sport

The funding boost followed the performance of British boxers at London 2012 Olympics where they won five medals to finish as top nation, with super heavyweight Anthony Joshua, bantamweight Luke Campbell and female flyweight Nicola Adams all winning gold, while welterweight Fred Evans took silver and middleweight Anthony Ogogo claimed bronze.

But boxing has been put on a one-year probation, meaning it is only guaranteed the first year of the four-year funding, which equates to £3.45 million ($5.6 million/€4.2 million).

This is largely because two of the the Home Nations - Scotland and Wales - refuse to accept a number of key changes that were recommended by a sub-group of the BABA Board.

The proposed changes, approved by UK Sport, aimed to increase checks and balances by giving more members of the BABA Board voting rights and decreasing the voting power of the Home Nation federations, meaning that no one group or political faction can dominate.

The situation has now escalated, with Scotland, in particular, refusing to accept the BABA as their ruling body.

They now have called for an Emergency General Meeting (EGM) on May 28, in which they are planning to push for the removal of BABA chairman Derek Mapp.


Scotland claim they want more say in running the sport and that the BABA are not allowing it.

They also allege they were not consulted over plans to set the UK-based World Series of Boxing (WSB) franchise the British Lionhearts.

The Lionhearts were launched at the end of last year as they competed in season three of the WSB, reaching the quarter-final stage before being eliminated by the Mexico Guerreros.

Scotland believe forcing the removal of Mapp, a millionaire who made his money in the brewing industry, would help the situation, despite the fact that he was seen as one of the key architects of Britain's huge success at London 2012.

Mapp claims he is not concerned by the attack and has a powerful ally in Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE) chairman Richard Caborn, the influential former Minister for Sport, who has backed continually backed the BABA chairman in his role.

In the meantime, though, Caborn faces his own problems at the ABAE

He has faced resistance from some of his own ABAE Board members to the process of modernisation he is trying to implement.

The ABAE Board are reluctant to make changes to their governance arrangements, despite the fact that they must be made at the behest of Sport England, who have also tied future grassroots funding to condition of these changes being made.

Caborn is also said to be furious by the way in which certain Board members want to exercise the ABAE's status as a shareholder in the BABA, which he believes will severely damage the Olympic boxing programme and harm the future medal prospects of English boxers.

UK Sport and Sport England are fully aware of the two situations and - as the paymasters of BABA and the ABAE - have the power and influence to address these issues before they go any further by imposing serious sanctions or putting in place alternative solutions.

UK Sport revealed that they are now keeping a particularly close eye on the situation as they decide whether or not to release the full funding for Rio 2016.

"UK Sport is closely monitoring the relationship between BABA and the other home country boxing associations," a UK Sport spokesperson told insidethegames.

"Our priority is to ensure British boxers preparing for Rio continue to be backed with world class funding and support."

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