The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO). The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level.
According to the published regulations, the use of flags, anthems, or any state symbolism of Russia and Belarus at events under World Boxing and European Boxing is strictly prohibited.
Temporarily remove Russian and Belarusian boxers from its ranking list. World/regional bouts in Russia will not be WBA sanctioned. Russian and Belarusian officials are banned from world/regional championships and fighters will not be allowed in the ring with their flag, country name, or anthem. Boxers in favor of the war may be excluded from the rankings. Russian boxer Muslim Gadzhimagomedov defeated Chinese Zhang Zhaoxin and won the WBA world title in the weight category up to 101.6 kg. Another Russian, Albert Batyrgaziev, defeated Jono Carroll from Ireland and received the title of interim WBA world champion. World Boxing is returning full flag rights to Russian fighters as part of a major global change. World Boxing has stressed that Russian athletes will now compete in World Boxing competitions on an equal footing with boxers from any other country. However, World Boxing will strictly monitor the conduct of Russian delegations during competitions, as well as compliance with anti-doping protocols.