Boxing was included Thursday in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics program after a unanimous vote by the International Olympic Committee, ending years of doubt over the sport’s Olympic future.
The IOC last month granted provisional recognition to World Boxing in a major step toward the sport’s inclusion in the Los Angeles Games, and the IOC executive board had approved including boxing on the 2028 program earlier this week. Thursday’s decision formally ensured that the sport’s Olympic presence would continue.
“I thank you for the approval of having boxing back. We can look forward to a great boxing tournament,” IOC president Thomas Bach said.
The boxing competition at the 2024 Paris Games was run by the IOC after it stripped the International Boxing Association of recognition in 2023 over its failure to implement reforms on governance and finance.
The IOC had not included the sport on the initial 2028 program and urged national boxing federations to create a new global boxing body to replace the IBA.
World Boxing, currently with more than 80 national federations as members, was launched in 2023.
“This is a great day for boxers, boxing and everyone connected with our sport at every level across the world,” World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst said. “This outcome has been achieved by a massive team effort … and would not 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 enable this to happen.
“World Boxing understands that being part of the Olympic Games is a privilege and not a right, and we are determined to be a trustworthy and reliable partner that will adhere to and uphold the values of the Olympic Movement.”
The IOC has said that only athletes whose national federations were members of World Boxing by the time of the start of the qualification events for the 2028 Olympics could take part in Los Angeles.
The IOC suspended the IBA, run by Russian businessman Umar Kremlev with close links to the Kremlin, in 2019 over governance, finance, refereeing and ethical issues. It did not involve the IBA in running the boxing events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and in a rare move two years later stripped it of recognition.
Since it was suspended, the IBA and Kremlev have continued to feud with the IOC, particularly over the rules on eligibility for women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics.
The IBA said last month that it planned to file criminal complaints against the IOC in the United States, France and Switzerland.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
