Reher, a staunch supporter of the Russian President of the IBA Umar Kremlev, has been a vocal critic of Dutch Boxing Federation President van der Vorst in the build-up to tomorrow's Extraordinary Congress here.

Van der Vorst has responded to the contents of a letter from Reher addressed to National Federations, and told him that "there is a difference between asking uncomfortable questions and bluntly spreading misinformation about a colleague."

Reher's letter had accused van der Vorst of "propagandising and damaging boxing" through "meaningless political movements."

The IBA leadership hopeful defended his record as Dutch Boxing Federation President, after Reher claimed that the country's "athletes and coaches were extremely unhappy with the lack of funding" for the European Boxing Confederation (EUBC) Youth Championships in Sofia earlier this year.

Van der Vorst insisted that "all expenses related to the participation of a boxer and two coaches" at the Championships were covered by the federation, and that he could provide evidence of this.

He said that he has "always trusted my team in executing the high performance boxer development strategy", which he claimed had led to the country winning boxing medals at Olympic and World Championships.

Nouchka Fontijn's women's middleweight silver at Rio 2016 was The Netherlands' first medal at an Olympics for 24 years, and she followed it up with a bronze at Tokyo 2020.

Reher also questioned van der Vorst's work as chair of the EUBC's Passion for Boxing Commission, referencing that it is no longer listed as an active committee and suggesting that this was because it had been "completely inactive."

In response, van der Vorst said he was "especially proud that the Commission initiated, developed, and updated the concept as well as organised a number of annual European Boxing Award ceremonies together with EUBC."

He cited the work on developing "recreational boxing regulations", the Commission's role in the development of the EUBC Event Management Protocol in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its online challenges including the "Green Light for Women's Boxing."

Van der Vorst referred to the EUBC President's award he received in 2018 "for outstanding performance and enduring efforts promoting the sport of boxing all over the world."

He was also accused by Reher of exploiting the "political and war situation in the world" to his advantage, particularly with reference to IBA's partnership with Russian majority state-owned company Gazprom, which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has argued amounts to "financial dependency."

Van der Vorst insisted that it is "extremely damaging for boxing" and unacceptable "to have an association with a sanctioned state-owned entity that is funding an illegal military invasion of a sovereign state."

Reher also accused van der Vorst of "misleading us" by "claiming that he is close to the IOC" and "will bring IBA back to the Olympic family and return the Olympic money for Tokyo."

Van der Vorst acknowledged concerns over boxing's presence at the Olympic Games, having been left off the initial programme for Los Angeles 2028.

He pledged to restore boxing's Olympic funding within 100 days or resign.

Reher's letter had also questioned van der Vorst's EUBC and IBA electoral record, and claimed "he is not aware of the importance" of the Presidential role.

Van der Vorst concluded that "in regards to the rest of the statements of your letter, I invite everyone to exercise common sense and due diligence to draw conclusions", mirroring Reher's call for National Federations to "apply common sense".

The row is indicative of the increasingly heated nature of the build-up to the Extraordinary Congress in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, where National Federations are set to vote on whether to hold a fresh Presidential election.

The election would follow immediately if such a move is approved, with Kremlev and van der Vorst as the candidates.

Kremlev has been cleared of charges relating to breaching campaign rules by the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU) Interim Nominations Unit, after it received three complaints.

He has held the IBA Presidency since December 2020, being re-elected by acclamation in Istanbul in May after the BIIU ruled van der Vorst ineligible to stand, a decision he successfully appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.