The outspoken Murphy is fiercely disputing the action taken against him, saying he never joined the ANABA board and denied he was involved with the Victorian Amateur Boxing League.
Murphy has been told his registration will be re-assessed in a year.
The Australian team enjoyed its equal best ever Olympic performance in Paris last year with Charlie Senior, right, among two bronze medallists.Credit: Getty Images
“I ended up rejecting ANABA’s invitation to sit on the board because of the BV reaction to my post,” Murphy said.
“I asked to be present or have representation at the BV board meeting that decided to ban me illegally for 12 months but was given no answer to my email.
“BV is acting in a bombastic manner which goes against their charter to be fair and inclusive to all members and officials. They have left me no option but to take legal action against them.”
In a further twist Murphy’s case has been taken up by Canberra lawyer Garry Hamilton, who is the president of Boxing ACT, another member association of Boxing Australia.
World Boxing said in a statement it did not prevent members from being part of another federation or taking part in its competitions and it was the choice of national governing bodies whether to oppose such activities. It said it would review its position on the issue as it worked towards a pathway to ensure boxing was restored to the Olympic programme.
The IOC is expected to make a call within the next month on whether to include boxing in its programme for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Australian officials are hopeful World Boxing will be approved as the Olympic movement’s newest partner federation and the troubled sport will gain a reprieve.
The US and Britain are behind World Boxing but the sport’s landscape has remained split, with the well-resourced IBA still claiming 190 members and scheduling global championships despite the IOC urging national federations to sever links with it.
While Boxing Australia has gone all in with World Boxing, its highly experienced former head of referees and judges Wayne Rose joined the IBA as a senior technical official. The IBA also counts Australian Kristy Harris, a former world championship bronze medallist, as one of its independent board members.
Boxing Australia received a major uplift in federal government funding after Australia qualified its largest-ever team at an Olympics and equalled its best performance with Charlie Senior and Caitlin Parker collecting bronze medals.
Its support from the Australian Sports Commission in 2024-25 is $2.5 million, up from $425,500 in 2023-24.
