World Boxing working on using AI to make scoring system transparent: WB Chief Van der Vorst
World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst is determined to transform the sport by exploring the use of modern technology, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), to make the scoring system more objective and transparent, once the breakaway body receives the official recognition from the IOC.
The current scoring system in boxing is a subjective, complex and controversial, with many boxers feeling robbed by dubious decisions. There have been multiple changes over the decade but the system remains opaque.
The most recent controversy arose at the Paris Olympics when India’s Nishant Dev lost in the men’s 71kg quarterfinals, despite seemingly dominating the contest, leading to debate and outrage.
“What we are now exploring is using modern technology, like AI (Artificial Intelligence) to make judging more transparent,” van der Vorst told PTI in an exclusive interview during the 44th Olympic Council of Asia General Assembly here on Sunday.
“There are very interesting projects that have already started to make judging more objective than subjective. We have to rebuild some trust. I agree there is trust deficiency but we are working on modern technology to build that,” he added.
The Dutchman, who was elected as World Boxing chief last November, is hopeful of getting his house in order by the end of this year to receive recognition as the official boxing world body by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The IOC had stripped the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) of Olympic recognition over “financial transparency and governance” last year.
It has time and again reiterated its threat to leave boxing out of the 2028 Olympics if national federations continue to align themselves with the suspended IBA.
World Boxing has also been given time until the end of the year to secure the support of 50 national federations in order to gain provisional recognition and ensure boxing’s inclusion in the LA Games.
In a recent Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) congress, 14 Asian countries voted to join World Boxing while 21 opted to stay with the IBA.
“Some have voted against us but the Asian federations are joining us on individual basis. You can go by IBA structure, you have to join individually and some Asian federations including India have joined us individually and that’s how World Boxing works,” said Van der Vorst, who is confident of reaching the 50-NOC mark.
“I am here to also ask the NOCs about their reluctance to join us. We are running out of time because by the end of this year we have to have professional set up in place or at least some clarity.
“It’s not only the federations, we need to have a roadmap. We need at least 50 national federations to retain our place in Summer Olympic Games. But we want more, we want global representation, we want diversity.
“You need good procedures, develop modern technologies, you need to have finance to manage the operations of World Boxing.” Van der Vorst said Olympics is the pinnacle for any athlete and World Boxing is running out of time to retain its status in the LA programme.
“The governance also must be good. Boxing is not included for LA and the only way to have boxing included in LA is through getting our house in order.
“IOC has made it clear that they will not organise boxing third time in a row. In order to include boxing in LA programme, we need to have an international body who cares for the sport,” he said.
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“For me the Olympics is the pinnacle, a life-time opportunity for a boxer’s career. I am a boxer myself and we must fight to keep the Olympic dream alive. It’s a privilege to be at the Olympics, to be part of multi-sport events like the Asian Games. Everything is at stake, at risk.” According to their website, World Boxing currently has 42 members.
“We have 45 approved federations, so we are nearly there. We need 50 but I am pretty confident of getting more support. It’s important for us to have more representation from Asia.”