New Zealand was one of four countries suspended by the IBA last week for ties to the breakaway World Boxing.

The IBA claimed the National Federations of New Zealand, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands had breached its "rules and regulations", did not distance themselves from World Boxing and failed to "categorically" refuse their participation in the rival body.

Hartley warned that the IBA's actions had left Boxing New Zealand with no future in the governing body.

"Due to the blatant actions of the IBA I see little future in Boxing New Zealand continuing the association with the International Boxing Association," he told insidethegames.

"Boxing New Zealand at present is not a member of a breakaway organisation, however a member of Boxing New Zealand is a member of this organisation in the capacity as an individual.

"The IBA management have no right to sanction countries based on suspicions that some countries may support another organisation."

The Youth and Junior Men's and Women's Oceania Boxing Championships were held in Samoa's capital Apia, where Hartley was left furious at the treatment of New Zealand's delegation.

He claimed its officials were banned from the field of play and prevented from participating in the Oceania Boxing Confederation Extraordinary Congress, and boxers forced to turn their uniforms inside out to hide New Zealand identification.

Hartley said the "blatant requirement to cover up the New Zealand Silver Fern insignia" represented "the worst insult the IBA could put our country and the mana of our athletes" and "will not be forgotten".

Announcing the suspensions, the IBA claimed it would ensure athletes could compete "under their national flag and anthem but without any symbols of the suspended National Federation".

Hartley alleged the IBA had failed to meet this commitment to not using boxers as  political pawns", and launched a scathing attack on its leadership under Russian President Umar Kremlev, head of the governing body since December 2020.

"The treatment our team received has been the last straw and now I will be encouraging our members to leave the IBA, nothing has changed with the corrupt governance of the IBA in the last 20 years or more and now it appears to be far worse," he said.

"The IBA is desperate and the actions of the President and his compliant Executive show this, they create rule changes without due process, sanction countries without due process or valid reason and run the show with complete disregard for the rights of members.

"The IBA has not given Boxing NZ and other countries the right to be heard, countries have been told they now cannot compete in non-IBA events without IBA approval, once more this is completely unconstitutional and is an arrogant abuse of power."

He also alleged he had witnessed "corruption, intimidation, bribery and threatening behaviour for a number of years", and said he has "had enough" and has "no reason to support an organisation that blatantly flouts the rules".

Under Kremlev's Presidency, the IBA has pointed to increased prize money at its events, but Hartley insisted this "benefits a very select few and first class treatment of key compliant individuals" and was "not financially sustainable" after the expiry of the controversial sponsorship deal with Russian majority state-owned gas giant Gazprom.

The IBA, rebranded from AIBA under Kremlev's leadership in 2021, has been suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2019 due to ongoing governance concerns.

Relations between the IBA and IOC have slumped since Kremlev was re-elected last year, after Dutch Boxing Federation President Boris van der Vorst was wrongly deemed ineligible to stand,

Boxing remains off the initial programme for Los Angeles 2028, and founders of World Boxing say aiming to keep the sport on the Olympic programme is at the heart of their concerns and reasons for creating the breakaway governing body.

Hartley delivered one of the soundbites of last year's IBA Extraordinary Congress in Yereven, warning delegates risked committing an "Olympic suicide" if they voted against staging a fresh Presidential election.

Members voted by a three-quarters majority against staging a re-run of the election with van der Vorst on the ballot paper.

The Boxing New Zealand President said it was now "increasingly clear that under the present management there is little or no chance of the IBA securing IOC recognition" and Olympic revenues this would bring.

"If the IBA sees this as only a threat to their sovereignty then they have not understood the gravity of the Olympic situation for boxing," Hartley said.

"The creation of an entity to keep boxing in the Olympics is entirely the fault of the IBA’s inability to prove good governance and integrity in the sport of Boxing.

"The IBA left concerned members no option but to try to secure access to the Olympic family as the IBA has failed the sport and is failing it further on all counts.

"I fully support USA Boxing who have pulled out of the IBA’s influence and encourage more like-minded countries to now stand up and do the same."

USA Boxing is currently the only governing body which has left the IBA to join World Boxing, which wants to hold an inaugural Congress in November of this year.

The IBA's suspensions of the four governing bodies including New Zealand appear to have deepened the rift in boxing.

insidethegames has asked the IBA for a response to Hartley's statement.

It has described World Boxing as a "rogue organisation".