Boxing Nears Spot on LA28 Program as IOC Recognizes World Boxing

World Boxing has been provisionally recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the international governing body for the sport, clearing a crucial obstacle for the sport to remain on the program ahead of the 2028 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles.

The IOC said that World Boxing showed that 62% of boxers from last year’s Paris Olympics were affiliated with its members. The IOC added that World Boxing “has demonstrated strong willingness and effort in enhancing good governance and implementation, to be compliant with the appropriate standards.”

The IOC had set a deadline of “early 2025” to work with a new governing body replacing the Russian-led International Boxing Association, which was banished from the Olympic movement last year.

World Boxing was launched in April 2023 with six inaugural members including USA Boxing, which resigned its membership in the IBA. The organization now has 78 members around the world and will host its inaugural world championships later this year in Liverpool, England.

For an international federation to be recognized by the IOC it must have at least 75 countries on four continents, which World Boxing achieved with its latest announcement of new members on February 18.

The recognition of World Boxing completes what has been a multi-year drama surrounding the sport’s future within the Olympic movement since the IBA was first suspended by the IOC in 2019 before withdrawing its recognition in 2023 following disputes over governance, its finances and the integrity of bouts and judging.

Boxing has been part of the Olympic program since 1094 and the U.S. has been the most successful program in Olympic history, but the sport’s place in LA28 remained in doubt as the IOC repeatedly said it would not organize any boxing competition in Los Angeles as it had in both Tokyo and Paris.

The IOC had previously told boxing federations that stay loyal to the IBA that it would be cut off from funding and liaison with their national Olympic committee. The IBA has been a persistent annoyance to the IOC and President Thomas Bach, with a number of missives back and forth between the organizations.

The IBA is run by Umar Kremlev, who has close ties to Russia President Vladimir Putin; since Kremlev’s reign began in 2017, the IBA has essentially been bankrolled by Russian interests. For last year’s Olympics, the IBA offered prize money to all medalists, including $100,000 for gold, even though they were not involved in Paris.

Since it was suspended, the IBA have continued to feud with the IOC, particularly over the rules on eligibility for women’s boxing at the Paris Games with a focus on gold medalists Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting. The IBA said this month it planned to file criminal complaints against the IOC in the United States, France and Switzerland.