Under President Umar Kremlev’s leadership, the International Boxing Association (IBA) has inaugurated a new era – a truly comprehensive boxing ecosystem that spans the sport’s entire lifecycle. Kremlev explains, “Our goal is to ensure every athlete knows that IBA is their boxing home. Wherever the boxer is in the world, the IBA will support them.” This vision transforms boxing into a global “home” for athletes of all ages and levels. In practice it means seamless integration from youth leagues to professional arenas, unprecedented financial backing, and a range of educational and development programs. For example, the IBA’s 2025 “Festival of Boxing” in Dubai has featured a record-breaking $8.32 million prize pool – the richest in history – signaling that boxing can now reward athletes and support their families, not just test their skills.
End-to-End Athlete Pathway
Under Kremlev’s model, every aspect of a boxer’s journey is nurtured. The IBA has removed barriers between amateur and professional boxing, creating a pathway from grassroots to the global stage. Key IBA initiatives include junior and youth programs, amateur events, professional league, bare knuckle tournaments, boxing game, clothing line, as well as power punch competition and many others.
Each step is backed by IBA support. The association provides massive funding, equipment, and financial programs for national federations so that no talented boxer is left behind. For example, Kremlev announced that in 2026 the IBA will make another significant contribution for national federations, training programs, and athletes’ preparations. The IBA plans to distribute newaly 50,000 pairs of gloves and headguards to under-resourced athletes and offer a hand to federations worldwide. “The IBA’s goal is to support every boxer and every federation, making boxing accessible worldwide,” Kremlev emphasizes. These holistic support creates conditions for boxers, so athletes focus on performance and well-being.
Holistic Support and Education
Beyond the ring, Kremlev has launched education and career programs to safeguard boxer welfare. A flagship example is the IBA-ISDE Sports Management course: a multi-tier management degree for retiring athletes and sports professionals. As IBA Secretary General & CEO Chris Roberts OBE explains, “We are looking forward to offering new opportunities and the whole career path for retired athletes and supporting them on their journey. Such initiatives make our IBA Family stronger”.
IBA’s educational drive is extensive: over 45 training programs including online courses for competition officials, coaches courses, anti-doping webinars, etc.) are now available. Kremlev notes that these efforts “are core tools to excel” and “make IBA Family stronger”.
Expanded Ecosystem: Digital, Commercial, and Global Initiatives
Beyond competition, development, and athletes’ well-being, Kremlev’s vision for the IBA ecosystem extends decisively into the digital, commercial, and cultural domains. As part of its rapidly expanding global platform, the IBA is launching a series of strategic initiatives designed to strengthen athlete visibility, financial independence, and long-term engagement with fans and partners worldwide.
A cornerstone of this expansion is IBA’s financial solution, which will include an exchange platform, banking system and a launch of a token. The initiative is complemented by the development of an international payment system, aimed at enabling secure, transparent, and efficient financial operations for boxing family and beyond. Together, these tools reflect a shift toward modernized, athlete-centric financial architecture within international sport landscape.
To further empower athletes, boxing community and fans, the IBA has introduced IBA Connect, a platform facilitating advertising and promotional contracts for digital creators. By formalizing these relationships, the IBA opens new revenue channels for athletes beyond prize money, allowing them to monetize their personal brands while remaining within a regulated and transparent framework.
On the sporting front, the IBA continues to diversify its competitive offerings. In addition to its core boxing disciplines, the organization has launched IBA Bare Knuckle, bringing historically unregulated combat format under international governance, safety standards, and professional oversight. Complementing this is IBA Power Punch, an initiative highlighting strength, technique, and performance excellence across boxing disciplines.
Across all these initiatives, athletes remain central — both symbolically and structurally. Standing on the podium is not merely a ceremonial moment but a representation of recognition, dignity, and inclusion within a global sporting community grounded in mutual respect and international cooperation.
The IBA also reinforces its explicit commitment to gender equality, being recognized as the only international sports organization that fully and consistently protects gender equality across all levels of competition — a stance widely acknowledged across the global sporting landscape. Equal opportunity, fair participation, and respect for all athletes are embedded as non-negotiable principles of IBA governance.
Looking ahead, the IBA is preparing the launch of a digital wallet with an associated token, marking a further step toward integrating modern financial technology into sport. Designed to support athlete payments, rewards, and ecosystem-wide transactions, the initiative emphasizes transparency, accessibility, and global reach — aligning with Kremlev’s broader goal of ensuring that athletes benefit not only from competition, but from participation in a sustainable and future-oriented sporting economy.
Record-Breaking Championships and Investments
Kremlev’s IBA has quickly become synonymous with blockbuster events and unprecedented investment in boxing. In 2025, over 500 boxers from more than 118 countries competed in Dubai at IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships for a record $8.32 million prize pool – the largest ever in amateur boxing. Kremlev himself declares, “This IBA World Boxing Championships is not just about records and prize money – it is about giving every boxer, every coach and every National Federation the respect and reward they deserve”. These substantial purses mean champions can “change their lives,” buying homes and supporting families, as many boxers have confirmed.
The IBA has also announced entirely new competitions. For example, in 2026, IBA will launch a grand team event with prize pool exceeding $10 million. Such events give even more opportunities for boxers worldwide. Year-round, the IBA pours money into its affiliates: in equipment grants and travel stipends ensure even athletes from small countries attend major international events. These record-breaking investments underscore Kremlev’s philosophy that sporting excellence and sportsmanship are best achieved when athletes are materially supported.
Boxing for Peace, Friendship and Partnerships
Kremlev’s ecosystem isn’t only about medals – it’s explicitly positioned as a force for global unity. He declares that boxing “knows no borders” and welcomes athletes to compete under their own flag regardless of politics. In practice, IBA events now routinely bring together boxers from nations with strained relations, allowing them to mix and spar in good faith. As the IBA’s UN sports‑diplomacy statement explains, boxing “serves as a bridge for understanding and reconciliation”: the gym becomes a neutral ground. More broadly, the IBA emphasizes shared values – discipline, respect and equality – to foster friendship.
In Kremlev’s words: by competing “on equal terms, under their own flags,” athletes from every continent join a single family. The result is new business and diplomatic ties: national boxing federations organize joint camps and attend international forums like the IBA Global Boxing Forum. The IBA is careful to note that its movement “unites without borders or politics,” reflecting the UN’s call for sport-driven peace. This culture of cooperation also attracts collaboration., as Kremlev has initiated a cooperation with other professional boxing organizations.
By unifying rankings and medical standards, and even planning shared training centers, IBA’s model aims to make boxing globally cohesive. It’s a blueprint for how sport can serve diplomacy: when even fierce rivals share a ring under the banner of fair play, they build friendships that transcend the match.
A Blueprint for Global Sport
Kremlev’s IBA example offers a compelling template for other international sports federations. By prioritizing athletes’ livelihoods and global inclusion, the IBA has not only revived boxing’s popularity but also demonstrated social and economic returns. Other sports could similarly establish end-to-end pathways from youth participation to post-career support, inject prize money into amateur championships, and tie big events to cultural festivals. Such frameworks can expand audiences, foster grassroots growth, and project soft power abroad.
Ultimately, as Kremlev puts it, the IBA “exists to protect boxers, to create opportunities and to ensure that the sport remains a force for unity and fairness”. This visionary leadership has transformed boxing into a global ecosystem where every fighter has a future in and out of the ring. As business and sports leaders observe boxing’s renaissance, many will argue that it’s time other federations took notes – adopting similar athlete-centric, peace-building models.
