ISTANBUL — Boxing brought me from Los Angeles to Istanbul this week, where the International Boxing Association outlined ambitions that stretch from amateur competition to professional heavyweight fights.
With boxing reshaped in recent years by Turki Alalshikh’s growing influence and Saudi investment in major fights, the emergence of Zuffa Boxing and ongoing criticism of the major sanctioning bodies, I was eager to hear how the IBA plans to expand its role in the changing landscape.
At the Çırağan Palace Kempinski on October 6, the organization outlined plans to support established professional boxers and increase investment in the amateur system. IBA President Umar Kremlev, Secretary General and CEO Chris Roberts, and British heavyweight Derek Chisora addressed international media, discussing substantial prize money, new tournaments and a proposed pathway connecting amateur and professional competition.
“We are an ecosystem, not a promotion,” Kremlev said, describing an approach that combines investment in amateur boxing with professional opportunities, athlete management and new projects for fans.
On athlete compensation, Kremlev announced a $20 million prize fund for the next IBA World Championships, with each gold medallist receiving $1 million, a substantial increase from the $8 million fund he cited for the championships in Dubai.
That investment will also extend to the inaugural IBA President’s Cup, scheduled for Istanbul in December alongside the organization’s Elective Congress. The tournament will offer a $3 million prize fund across 12 weight categories, with announced payouts of $100,000 for gold, $50,000 for silver and $25,000 for bronze, plus $1,000 for each victory beginning in the opening round.
The initiatives outlined also included plans for a women’s edition of the President’s Cup in 2027. For those of us covering women’s boxing, the prize fund and competition format will be key details as plans for the event take shape.
Roberts also outlined IBA Elite and an IBA Management platform intended to bring amateur and professional competition under a single ranking system. Boxers will begin earning points at the President’s Cup, with the platform designed to support participation at both IBA Elite and IBA.PRO levels.
Further details will help clarify how the system will work alongside existing professional rankings and management arrangements. Kremlev also expressed openness to cooperation with World Boxing, including aligning competition calendars to give athletes more flexibility to participate across events.
Chisora added a heavyweight fight to the discussion, announcing plans to face Murat Gassiev in December in either London or Manchester, with IBA and WBA belts proposed for the contest.
“In December it will be me versus Gassiev,” Chisora said. Kremlev offered his support, though a final date and venue were not announced.
The IBA’s expansion plans also include its first gym in Uzbekistan this October, a Miami event in December and five bare-knuckle tournaments in the United States in 2027. New digital projects are scheduled to launch at December’s Elective Congress in Istanbul, for which Roberts said more than 120 national federations had registered.
For me, the trip from Los Angeles was an opportunity to hear directly how the IBA intends to expand its role in boxing. The organization outlined substantial financial commitments in Istanbul. The next story is how those commitments translate into tournaments, payments to fighters and opportunities across both amateur and professional competition.
This special report was filed from Istanbul, Türkiye, by Jeandra LeBeauf, reporting on behalf of Best Women’s Boxing Show PERIOD.
