Boxing could remain in the Olympics; this is known

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has taken a major step towards keeping boxing on the programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Games by recognising a new governing body for the sport.

The IOC Executive Board granted provisional recognition today, Wednesday, February 26, to World Boxing , a group that was founded in 2023 as a breakaway from the long-standing but troubled International Boxing Association (IBA), and has incorporated many former IBA members.

The IOC said World Boxing had shown that 62% of boxers at the Paris Olympics last year were affiliated with its members. The IOC added that World Boxing "has demonstrated a strong willingness and effort to improve good governance and implementation, to meet appropriate standards."

Gennady Golovkin , the multi-time middleweight champion who heads the commission charged with establishing World Boxing as a credible body to stage Olympic bouts, said it was an important moment but there was still much work to be done.

"Receiving provisional Olympic recognition from the IOC is an important achievement and shows that our sport is on the right path. This decision brings us one step closer to our main goal - preserving boxing at theOlympic Games ," Golovkin said in a statement.

The IOC suspended the IBA in 2019 following protracted disputes over governance, its finances and the integrity of bouts and judges, and took the unusual step of banishing it completely from the Olympic movement in 2023, shortly after the split from World Boxing.

The IOC organised boxing tournaments at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Paris Games last year, but said it needed a new partner in time for 2028.

Since its suspension, the IBA and its Russian president Umar Kremlev have continued to clash with the IOC, particularly over eligibility rules for women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics, targeting gold medallists Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting. The IBA announced this month that it planned to file criminal complaints against the IOC in the United States, France and Switzerland.

*Stay up to date with the news, join our WhatsApp channel

Also read: When does the 2025 F1 season start?

OF