Volodymyr Prodyvus, the IBA vice-president, has suggested GPS tracking of its judges ©IBA

GPS could be introduced at future European and World Boxing Championships for referees and judges to prevent corruption in scoring, according to the International Boxing Association's (IBA) vice-president Vlodymyr Prodyvus.

Speaking exclusively to insidethegames today at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Prodyvus explained the organisation's big challenge was the fight against corruption in the sport.

Scoring in boxing has long been a controversial topic, which has led to athletes - such as the United States' Roy Jones Jr and Ireland's Micky Conlan - from losing matches at the Olympic Games due to judging scandals.

Bout manipulations continued to exist after Rio 2016 - where Conlan accused officials of corruption - and into 2021 when a report from integrity specialist and Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren said match-fixing was still rife.

Officials were bribed to favour certain boxers during bouts.

Prodyvus said that a GPS system could track referees and monitor their movements, as another layer of protecting integrity in the sport.

He also floated the idea of daily alcohol testing to ensure no officials were intoxicated.

Referees and judges could be tracked by GPS in the future at European and World Championships ©Getty Images
Referees and judges could be tracked by GPS in the future at European and World Championships ©Getty Images

"For World Championships and European Championships I think it's necessary that each referee has GPS tracking on his hand for the duration of the competition and all the time so they can see if judges meet and to make sure there is no collaboration between them," said Prodyvus to insidethegames.

"In the morning, everyone should pass a test for alcohol. 

"Everybody is aware that they do not oversleep. 

"The boy who's worked all his life to become champion does not feel he did not win because of someone partying the day before."

He reiterated that a procedure would hopefully be in place for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games - on the assumption that boxing makes the programme - that would give life bans to those who match-fix.

"We're going to test within the next two years a system so if a judge makes a mistake, they would be able to consult the system and see how many hits and how active the boxers are," added Prodyvus, who is recognised by IBA as the President of the Ukrainian Boxing Federation, but this is disputed within his home country.

"They're now working on the system.

"We hope the system is in place at Los Angeles 2028 and will prove to boxers and fans that the sport is fair and there is no corruption. 

"If the judges make mistakes involuntarily, they will be sent on a new course, but if a judge is biased they will be excluded for life from boxing."

Boxing is not yet on the programme for Los Angeles 2028 ©Getty Images
Boxing is not yet on the programme for Los Angeles 2028 ©Getty Images

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) withdrew its recognition of IBA - then known as AIBA - in June 2019 due to concerns over judging and refereeing, financial stability and governance, leading to the IOC Boxing Task Force handling the sport at Tokyo 2020.

This rule is to stay in place for Paris 2024, after the IOC said they were dissatisfied with progress made by IBA, saying "enough was enough" in June.

Among the IOC's concerns were its refereeing and judging system.