Boxing is set to make a comeback at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board has recommended including the sport after it was initially left out when the event program was announced in 2022.
The final approval is expected this week at the IOC session in Greece. Outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach is confident that the decision will be confirmed, giving boxers worldwide the opportunity to compete on the Olympic stage once again.
The biggest challenge for boxing’s return was the creation of a recognized international governing body. The IOC had been overseeing Olympic boxing since 2019 after suspending the International Boxing Association (IBA) due to governance, financial, and ethical concerns. The IBA, led by Russia, lost its recognition in June 2023 for failing to implement reforms.
To fill this gap, World Boxing was established in April 2023 and has since gained 84 member federations across five continents, including Great Britain. In February 2024, World Boxing was granted provisional recognition, meeting several IOC criteria.
With this development, only athletes whose national federations are members of World Boxing at the start of the qualification period will be eligible to compete in the 2028 Olympics. The official dates for qualification have yet to be announced, but this decision secures the future of boxing on the Olympic platform.
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