Boxing news: Boxing remains in Olympic programme for 2028 Games

By Geoffrey Latayan

Olympic boxing has been handed another lease of life after the issues that knocked the sport down in the past.

This as the International Olympic Committee officials included the discipline in the programme of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and beyond.

The sport gained a unanimous vote for inclusion in the LA Games programme a month after its mother organisation, World Boxing, secured provisional recognition from the IOC.

This week, the IOC executive board gave the green light to include boxing on the Olympic programme.

Thursday’s landslide verdict ensured the sport’s presence in the quadrennial meet remains in the coming years.

Bach hails officials for giving boxing another lifeline

Outgoing president Thomas Bach hailed the officials for not quitting on the sport. In a statement, Bach said that he’s looking forward to a “great tournament” in LA.

World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst also praised the sport’s stakeholders for working hard to give boxing another lease of life after the IOC stripped its recognition of the International Boxing Association over its inability to institutionalise reforms on governance and finance.

“This is a great day for boxers, boxing and everyone connected with our sport at every level across the world,” van der Vorst said.

“This outcome has been achieved by a massive team effort…and would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment of all of the national federations, boxers, coaches, officials and boxing leaders that have worked together to enable this to happen.”

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World Boxing president pledges to uphold the values of the Olympic Movement

Van der Vorst emphasised that the inclusion of boxing in the Games requires greater responsibility.

He also noted that it will ensure the values of the Olympic Movement are upheld by being a trustworthy and reliable partner of the IOC.

The IOC also announced that World Boxing-affiliated national federations during the time of the 2028 Olympic qualifiers are eligible to contend for the medal in Los Angeles.

The Umar Kremlev-run IBA was knocked down by the IOC. They handed them a suspension in 2019 over issues of governance, finance, refereeing and ethical issues.

The association was not recognised as the main organiser of boxing events in the 2021 and 2024 Games in Tokyo and Paris, respectively, as the IOC handled the proceedings in both events.

Kremlev and the IBA proceeded to battle with the IOC, particularly on the eligibility requirement for women’s boxing in the Paris Olympics.

In February, the organisation said it planned to file a criminal case against the IOC in the United States, France and Switzerland.

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