McAtee, Boxing Canada President Ryan O'Shea, Czech Boxing Association leader Marek Šimák, Swedish Boxing Association chair Per-Axel Sjöholmv and and Boxing New Zealand President Steve Hartley are under investigation by the IBA's Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU).

Disciplinary proceedings have been opened after the BIIU announced it had "received a complaint against certain individuals for a breach of the IBA Constitution and its Disciplinary and Ethics Code with their public actions".

The BIIU added that it would also investigate any role in the boycott by the officials of other National Federations which have decided to withdraw from the World Championships.

According to the BIIU, the complaint is based on a violation of several articles in the IBA's Disciplinary and Ethics Code, including "inciting a boycott" relating to the Women's and Men's World Championships.

The IBA stressed that it would continue "doing its utmost to protect the organisation and all its member National Federations from any harm caused by individuals".

"In boxing, there is no place for any form of discrimination, and IBA sees it as its mission to protect its values," a statement from the IBA read. 

"Moreover, the IBA will defend its integrity and reputation and will not let any individuals damage it through their unethical behaviour."

USA Boxing became the first national governing body to boycott the two events, citing the "the ongoing failures of IBA and respect for the Olympic Charter" as reasons for the country's withdrawal on February 8.

Since then, the National Federations of Norway, Ukraine, Poland, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Britain, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Canada have announced that they will not be sending boxers to the Women's World Championships, scheduled to be held from March 14 to 26 in Indian capital New Delhi.

Many of those organisations have also decided to pull out of the Men’s World Championships, due to take place from May 1 to 14 in Uzbek capital Tashkent.

Hartley announced that Boxing New Zeland would "prefer" that its athletes did not attend the Women’s World Championships but the governing body has not officially boycotted the event in India.

The presence of Russian and Belarusian boxers has been cited as a reason why the boycotting nations have refused to participate in IBA's flagship events.

The IBA, led by controversial Russian official Umar Kremlev, lifted a ban on boxers from Russia and Belarus competing under their own flag last October despite the IOC’s recommendations to the contrary because of the war in Ukraine.

Following the boycotts of the US and Ireland, Kremlev responded by claiming that officials who voted for it are "worse than hyenas and jackals".

Several of the boycotting bodies are members of the Common Cause Alliance, led by Dutch official Boris van der Vorst that seeks to prioritise the preservation of boxing's place at the Olympics from Los Angeles 2028, which is in doubt because of governance concerns.

The IBA has pledged to provide financial assistance for athletes from countries boycotting the World Championships to enable them to participate and ensure boxers are not victims of "the political games of a few National Federations".