Former world heavyweight champions Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko have called on the WBA to ban Russian fighter Dmitry Bivol from clashing with Canelo Alvarez.
Bivol is the light-heavyweight world champion in the body and is set to battle Mexican icon Alvarez in May. However, the Klitschkos believe the WBA must follow the lead of other sporting governing bodies by banning Bivol from competition.
FIFA and UEFA have banned Russian teams and clubs from all competitions until further notice, ruling them out of the men's World Cup in Qatar later this year and the Women's European Championships in England this summer.
Russian club Spartak Moscow have also been expelled from the Europa League, while UEFA has terminated its sponsorship deal with energy firm Gazprom.
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Elsewhere, Formula 1 cancelled the Russian Grand Prix while driver Nikita Mazepin was sacked by Haas.
The younger brother Wladimir is confident such sanctions can affect and put pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin.
When asked if Bivol should be allowed to fight Canelo, the 45-year-old told BBC 5 Live: “Absolutely not. Every sanction, and it’s nothing against the personality or athletes, it’s about the politics of Russia.
"Every Russian representative in this case needs to be sanctioned, because this way we show to Russia that the world is against this senseless war and that there’s no good in this war.”
His elder brother Vitali agreed, with the Mayor of Kyiv calling on the Russian population to speak out and protest against Putin - and he believes a sports ban would signal to Russian citizens that the war is wrong.
“The Russian population have to put pressure on the government, on Putin, from inside the country and show that it’s actually a senseless war,” Klitschko said. “People pay with their lives, already thousands from both sides have died. The question is: for what?
“For what [purpose] is the war? For our idea of being part of the European Union? For our idea of being part of the European family? We see our future as a democratic, modern country and that’s why we’re fighting for values, for principles, for our country.”
The Klitschko brothers have a Russian mother and believe Ukraine was a diverse home to Ukrainians and Russians as well as number of other ethnicities and religions.
The former boxing world champions are physically fighting to defend their country and are battling on the front line in Kyiv, with Vitali reportedly killing at least six Russian soldiers.
Russian airstrikes have been launched nearer to the capital, leading to thousands fleeing the outskirt towns of Irpin and Bucha - but the brothers have stayed. Vitali, who has worked as Kyiv mayor since 2014, declared he is ‘willing to die’ for his country.
Before his political career, Vitali and brother Wladimir dominated the heavyweight boxing division for years. Unified champion Wladimir remained unbeaten for more than a decade before he was dethroned by Tyson Fury in 2015.
Meanwhile, Vitali held the WBC belt for more than eight years before retiring on top in 2012 to turn his attention from the ring to the political arena.
