Boxing is likely to be a part of the Los Angeles 2028 roster after the World Boxing was granted provisional recognition as the sport’s international governing federation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Boxing is currently not a part of the LA 2028 with the new body creating more hurdles for the sport’s inclusion in the next Olympic Games.
“The (IOC) assessment concluded that World Boxing has continued to make progress regarding the identified areas of consideration,” IOC said in a statement.
The IOC ran the boxing event in the last two Olympic Games after the International Boxing Association (IBA) was suspended as the sport’s world governing body in 2019 due to governance, finance, refereeing and ethical issues.
On welcoming the decision by IOC, World Boxing president said, “This is a very significant day for everyone connected with the sport of boxing in the Olympic Movement. 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.
“It has taken a huge team effort from a large number of people across the globe to get to this point and none of it would 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 make this possible.
“Today’s decision by the IOC 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.”