ATHENS, March 17. /TASS/. The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has proposed to include boxing in the program of the 2028 Olympic Games, IOC President Thomas Bach told reporters.
In February, the IOC temporarily recognized World Boxing as the global governing body for the sport, replacing the International Boxing Association (IBA), which was expelled from the Olympic movement in June 2023. Russia’s Umar Kremlev is the president of the IBA. In October 2023, Bach ruled out the possibility of reinstating the IBA to the Olympic movement. The IOC organized and oversaw the boxing event at the 2024 Games in Paris.
"After the provisional recognition of World Boxing in February we were in the position to take this decision so that this recommendation has to go to the session. I am very confident that the session will approve it so that all the boxers of the world then have certainty that they can participate in the Olympic Games LA 2028 if their national federation is recognized by World Boxing," Bach said.
Kremlev has helmed the IBA since December 2020. The international federation refused to follow the IOC’s recommendations to deprive athletes from Russia and Belarus of national identification in connection with the events in Ukraine. At its events, boxers from both countries fight without any restrictions. The IOC ultimately voted to exclude the IBA from the Olympic movement, citing its failure to resolve longstanding financial and governance concerns.
Later, the boxing federations of the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and several other countries withdrew from the IBA in protest to form a new international organization called World Boxing. According to the IOC, the new organization includes 78 national federations from five continents. The boxing organization has applied to become a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code adopted by the World Anti-Doping Agency, has contracted with the International Anti-Doping Agency, and has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The IOC also stated that World Boxing had made progress in certain areas, allowing the organization to be provisionally recognized as the global governing body of boxing.
The 2028 Olympic Games will be held in Los Angeles from July 14-30. The IOC session, to be held in Athens from March 18-21, is expected to approve the inclusion of boxing in the competition program.