Boxing organisation defends seeding system

Amateur boxing’s world governing body AIBA launched a vigorous but flawed defence of their seedings system for the World Championships in Baku today, describing “insinuations” contained in media reports as a “cheap shot”.

The organisation denied that a controversial new rule introduced in August, which allows all host nation boxers to be seeded for the competition, which doubles as a qualifier for the London Olympics, was designed deliberately to favour Azeri boxers.