[3] The International Boxing Association (IBA) had been suspended by the IOC in 2019 due to issues surrounding its governance and finances.

Further scrutiny emerged under the presidency of Umar Kremlev—which began in 2020—including allegations of increased Russian influence (including close ties to president Vladimir Putin, a sponsorship agreement with state-owned oil company Gazprom, and having moved some of its operations to Russia), and concerns over governance, finances, and the integrity of officiating.

[4][5][6][7][8] Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, 18 boxing national federations formed a consortium known as the "Common Cause Alliance" (CCA), which called for greater transparency on its finances (including the aforementioned Gazprom agreement), determine the detrimental effects of the invasion on the IBA, and for it to take stronger action against the Russian Boxing Federation.

[14] In April 2023, the IOC stated that it needs to have a partner International Federation for boxing by early 2025, otherwise the sport's presence at the 2028 Summer Olympics would be at risk.

[15] On 13 April 2023, World Boxing was launched as a competitor to the IBA, with its interim board including officials from member organizations of the CCA, and van der Vorst named inaugural president.

[19][20] On 22 June 2023, the IOC Executive Board voted to permanently withdraw its recognition of the IBA, citing a continued lack of progress on governance, finances, and addressing corruption since its original suspension.