The International Olympic Committee has granted provisional recognition to World Boxing as the sport’s international governing body, signifying a major step towards the inclusion of the sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Boxing is yet to be officially included in the Olympic programme for LA, with turmoil surrounding the sport’s governing body proving a tricky obstacle to overcome.
The IOC has taken charge of boxing for the past two Olympics after the Russian-led International Boxing Association (IBA) was suspended as boxing’s global governors in 2019.
This ruling was made due to an array of governance, financial, refereeing and ethical issues – and after failing to implement reforms, the IBA was stripped of its status in June 2023.
The IOC had also been at odds with the IBA over the participation of two fighters during Paris 2024: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting and Algeria’s Imane Khelif, the latter of whom was the subject of intense global media scrutiny during the Games.
The IBA previously banned the boxers during the 2023 World Championships after claiming they had failed gender eligibility tests, but the IOC allowed them to compete in Paris, where they both won gold medals in their respective weight classes.
After the stripping of the IBA’s status, the creation of a new world governing body became the order of the day for boxing in efforts to include the sport at the next Games – which led to World Boxing coming into fruition.
World Boxing was formed in April 2023 and now comprises of 78 members, with Great Britain among those.
The IOC has now provisionally recognised World Boxing as the sport’s new global body, stating that it has ‘made progress regarding the identified areas of consideration’ and met several key criteria including gaining sufficient members across five continents.
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In handing over the reins to World Boxing, the sport has reached an important milestone in its quest to feature at LA 2028.
However, World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst insists there is still work to do before the sport can start Olympic preparations.
“Keeping its place at the Olympic Games is absolutely critical to the future of our sport at every level, from the grassroots to the highest echelons of professional boxing, and this decision by the IOC takes us one step closer to our objective of seeing boxing restored to the Olympic programme,” Van der Vorst said.
“[It] is an important milestone, however, everyone connected with World Boxing understands that being part of the Olympic movement is a privilege and a responsibility and not a right.
“There is still a lot of work to do, and everyone is as committed as ever to continuing to work together and doing everything within our power to deliver a better future for our sport and ensuring that boxing remains at heart of the Olympic movement.”
