Los Angeles: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board has recommended that boxing be included in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The decision follows the provisional recognition of World Boxing as the sport’s new international governing body last month. While the recommendation is a crucial step, it still requires formal approval by the IOC at its session in Greece this week.
Outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach remarked that, “After the provisional recognition of World Boxing in February, we were in a position to take this decision.” Boxing’s Olympic future had been uncertain due to governance and ethical concerns within the sport’s previous governing body, the International Boxing Association (IBA).
IOC Executive Board puts boxing forward to the IOC Session for inclusion at @LA28.
IOC President Thomas Bach announces proposal at press briefing. pic.twitter.com/N2x4vSmKtf— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) March 17, 2025
The IOC had been directly overseeing boxing at the last two Olympic Games after suspending the IBA in 2019 over issues related to finance, refereeing, and governance. In June 2023, the Russian-led IBA was officially stripped of its status.
To ensure boxing’s return to the Olympics, World Boxing was established in April 2023, gaining 84 member nations across five continents, including Great Britain. Last month, the IOC determined that World Boxing met key criteria necessary for provisional recognition, paving the way for boxing’s inclusion in the 2028 Games.
The IOC has stipulated that only athletes whose national federations are affiliated with World Boxing by the start of the Olympic qualification period will be eligible to compete in Los Angeles. However, the exact dates for the qualification period have yet to be confirmed.
