site.btaBulgarian Sports Minister Confers with World Boxing President

Bulgaria’s Youth and Sports Minister Ivan Peshev conferred with World Boxing President Boris van der Vorst here on Tuesday.

Vorst is visiting Bulgaria at the invitation of Bulgarian Boxing Federation President Krasimir Ininski.

The discussions centred on the Bulgarian Boxing Federation’s prospective membership in the international organization, which was recently granted provisional membership by the International Olympic Committee.

"Boxing is one of the most exciting Olympic sports, and I strongly believe that it will keep its place in the Olympic family. We hope that the Bulgarian Boxing Federation will be accepted into the organization as soon as possible, as this is relevant to the preparation of our athletes and their participation in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles," Minister Peshev said during the meeting.

The sides also talked about the unprecedented situation boxing faced at the Paris Olympics, which directly affected Bulgaria due to the ambiguity surrounding eligibility rules for the women's tournament. Minister Peshev said that sport should promote equality and respect and protect the rights of all participants. In his words, any form of violence is unacceptable and goes against the basic principles of sport.

Peshev expressed hope that the World Boxing team’s efforts to develop a structure and documentation for proper governance, including a code of ethics and an anti-corruption policy, will help ensure transparency, fairness, and security in the sport.

World Boxing President Boris van der Vorst stressed the importance of the partnership with the Bulgarian federation for the sport’s development and committed to helping ensure the faster processing of the Bulgarian Boxing Federation’s membership application.