(ATR) The resignation of suspended president CK Wu allows the boxing federation to "turn the page", says AIBA executive Pat Fiacco.
"Through discussions with Franco Falcinelli, our interim president, and CK Wu, they were able to come to a resolution," Fiacco tells Around the Rings in an exclusive interview. "We need to move forward and now we have the opportunity to do so."
Wu resigned as AIBA president on Nov. 20 following months of accusations, civil court hearings and confrontations that Fiacco says has been a major distraction for the federation. Wu was suspended by the AIBA Disciplinary Commission on Oct. 10 and was appealing the decision in a Swiss court.
However, Monday’s surprise announcement cancels all legal disputes between Wu and the AIBA executives seeking to oust him. When asked about the sudden change in heart, Fiacco emphasized that a peaceful resolution was always in the best interests of both parties. It seems the resolution was orchestrated by acting president Falcinelli with knowledge of the talks by his fellow executives.
"The executive have always been made aware of the activity," Fiacco says. "However, the executive also made it very clear to Franco [Falcinelli] that if there can be a resolution to this we should find one with certain parameters obviously and indeed that was the case."
Possibly among these parameters is the nomination of Wu as an honorary president of AIBA. The nomination will be put forth to the AIBA Extraordinary Congress set for Jan. 27 in Dubai.
With his resignation, Wu has the opportunity to cement a positive legacy as an AIBA president during the Congress instead of facing the planned motion of no confidence which could have ended his presidency and forever smudged his presidential record.
"I step down in the best interests of both AIBA and boxing but I remain committed to ensure a smooth handover to the new leadership," Wu said in a statement. "I am thankful for the time I was allowed to serve our sport, AIBA and the boxing community."
The January 2018 Congress will also seek to strengthen AIBA’s constitution so that a months-long dispute like this one between Wu and the federation can be avoided in the future.
"The congress is going to be an important one because the issues that probably led us to here are the weak statutes we are governed by," Fiacco tells ATR. "That’s the first thing we’re going to resolve is there will be a number of recommendations made to ensure the statutes are changed so we are never put in this situation again."
Fiacco says the federation can look to the future now that the long-running saga is over.
"Now the hard work starts," he says. "We’ve been working on a plan for the financial stability of the organization and we’ll continue with that. We have to have some discussions with our creditors but we’ve been doing that for the last couple of months."
There are no plans to hold new elections for the AIBA presidency. Falcinelli will remain acting president at least until an ordinary AIBA congress can be held, possibly at the end of 2018.
As for Wu, his resignation as AIBA president could have some bearing on his other roles within the Olympic Movement. Wu is an IOC Executive Board member as a representative of ASOIF, the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations.
The seven-member ASOIF Council meets in Lausanne on Wednesday where the resignation of Wu could cause discussions about replacing him on the IOC EB.
Wu is currently scheduled to attend the EB's next meeting in December. Any changes to his IOC EB status wouldn’t occur until the next IOC Session in PyeongChang in February.
Written by Kevin Nutley
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