Boxing’s Olympic future plunged into further doubt after Iba backs president

• Governing body denies leadership challenge to Umar Kremlev
• Boxing dropped from 2028 Games amid IOC's grave concerns'

The future of Olympic boxing was plunged into further doubt on Sunday as delegates of the sport's world governing body for amateurs, the International Boxing Association (Iba), voted emphatically against permitting a leadership challenge to the incumbent president, Umar Kremlev.

Kremlev was backed to continue by 106 votes to 36 at a special congress in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, after a 45-minute delay caused by a power cut. The verdict is widely assumed to shatter hopes of the sport reclaiming its place on the Olympic programme for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.