MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. Boxing is sport in its purest form and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) cannot keep it out of the Olympics, President of the International Boxing Federation (IBA) Umar Kremlev said on Friday.

"Boxing will be fine. If the sport of boxing is not included in the Olympics, it will be the Olympics’ loss. Boxing will always be a part of the Olympic Games. Only the sports of boxing and football sell out stadiums," the IBA chief said speaking at a news conference in Moscow.

"Boxing has a long history, it is a true sport," Kremlev noted. "Boxing is the most popular sport; in football 22 players pack a stadium, whereas in boxing it only takes two."

In late May, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) declared that boxers representing national federations that are members of the International Boxing Association (IBA) would be banned from the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in the United States.

IBA’s situation

In 2019, the IOC announced a decision to temporarily revoke the IBA's recognition status with the organization citing the financial and management crisis within the IBA as the reason. The IOC demanded the international boxing federation make reforms and suspended it from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In June 2023, the IOC ruled at its session to strip the IBA of its Olympic membership stating that the boxing federation "failed to fulfil the conditions set by the IOC in its decision communicated to the IBA on 9 December 2021 - which was not challenged by the IBA - for lifting the suspension of the IBA’s recognition."

Russia’s Umar Kremlev took the reins of the IBA in late 2020 and the international boxing federation took a stance against the IOC's recommendations to strip athletes representing Russia and Belarus of their national identity. Boxers from both countries compete in IBA-sponsored events without any international restrictions.

The boxing federations of the United States, Great Britain, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and the Philippines canceled their membership in protest and formed a new international organization, World Boxing.

In mid-October 2023, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach ruled out any chance of the International Boxing Association (IBA) being reinstated to the Olympic movement.

"With the IBA there’s no ongoing process, for us the case is closed… There will be no boxing with IBA in the Olympic program. It’s done. Full stop."

Commenting on the status of World Boxing, Bach said it still had some work to do if it wants to be recognized by the IOC.