IBA development director Chris Roberts, left, claims the digitisation of the bout review system introduced by the IBA will make refereeing transparent ©IBA

International Boxing Association (IBA) development director Chris Roberts has said that the digitisation of the bout review system introduced by the governing body will make refereeing transparent.

Refereeing and judging was among the many concerns raised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was one of the reasons why the IBA was suspended in 2019.

An investigation led by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren found that the manipulation of bouts continued "unabated" at several major events even after Rio 2016.

At the recently concluded IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi, a Danish referee was reportedly axed after a controversial knock out call between Italy and Colombia.

There were some unhappy faces and protests at the Men's World Boxing Championships here too.

But Roberts said the IBA is working on fixing and updating the system to make it "as transparent as possible".

"Earlier, if a review was called, the observer and the evaluator would just raise their red or blue paddle.

"What happens now is there is a device.

"On the screen, they score the bout.

The IBA has digitised the bout review system in collaboration with Sportdata ©IBA
The IBA has digitised the bout review system in collaboration with Sportdata ©IBA

"With this, it's a lot quicker.

"Press the buttons and the result goes in. It's efficient and smooth.

"The results are in the system and automated.

"This is part of the ecosystem we are creating with Sportdata so that all information is collated in one space.

"You can evaluate the performance of the referee and how the bout review is done.

"It is transparent. We can put the referees and judges into a performance-related order.

"This is also available for everyone to see.

"We are constantly challenged on manipulation of results, and we wanted to make it as transparent as possible.

Roberts said that the new system will help boxers as well.

The review is completed as soon as the bout finishes, and the boxers know the result by the time step out of the ring.

"We review the bout for every 3-2 result whether it is being challenged or not.

"The ownership of the review sits with subject matter experts."

Refereeing and judging was among the many concerns raised by the IOC and was one of the reasons why the IBA was suspended in 2019 ©IBA
Refereeing and judging was among the many concerns raised by the IOC and was one of the reasons why the IBA was suspended in 2019 ©IBA

In Tashkent, every 3-2 decision has been reviewed so far.

The bout review was first introduced in November last year.

A vetting process has been put in place by the IBA to ensure that a repeat of the Rio 2016 judging scandal does not happen.

An IOC Boxing Task Force handled the sport at Tokyo 2020 and is set to do so at Paris 2024, although that is not guaranteed due to a row over technical officials.

Boxing remains off the initial programme for Los Angeles 2028 as well.

An IBA Ad-Hoc Communication Committee has been set up to "establish a better channel of communication between the organisation and the IOC".

Secretary general and chief executive George Yerolimpos, Asian Boxing Confederation President Pichai Chunhavajira, European Boxing Confederation chief Ioannis Filippatos, American Boxing Confederation President Jose Laureano, African Boxing Confederation President Bertrand Mendouga, Oceania Boxing Confederation President Tauhiti Nena, IBA Board Member Jinqiang Zhou and IBA vice-president Ajay Singh are all part of the Committee.