Boxing to be dropped at 2028 Olympics
The IOC has written to the International Boxing Association (IBA), the sport’s ruling body
Boxing’s long-term future at the Olympics is under threat after the IOC raised the prospect of the sport being dropped from the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
The IOC has written to the International Boxing Association (IBA), the sport’s ruling body, saying its suspension will continue due to concerns over governance, financial transparency and referees. The qualifying tournament for Paris 2024 will be controlled by the IOC instead.
However, boxing has not been included on the initial programme for LA and unless the IBA brings in changes it faces being excluded altogether.
Kit McConnell, the IOC’s director of sport, told a news conference there was no timescale fixed for a decision on 2028 but warned: “In regard to LA there was no discussion around alternatives and no specific timeline, just that the requirements have not been met and are a long way from being met.”
The IOC has demanded a “drastic change of culture” from the IBA, whose Russian president, Umar Kremlev, has been criticised for continuing to take money from the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom and for reinstating Russian and Belarusian boxers when most sports have banned them from competition after the invasion of Ukraine.
The IOC’s letter reads: “Boxing is currently not included in the initial sports programme of Los Angeles 2028. If a decision had to be taken today regarding LA 2028, the IOC executive board would not be able to recommend the IOC Session to include boxing in the sports programme under the authority of the IBA.
“The IBA has not demonstrated that it has successfully addressed the ongoing concerns around its governance, its financial transparency and sustainability and the integrity of its refereeing and judging processes.
“There are multiple signals that the drastic change of culture requested by the IOC in order to lift the suspension of IBA’s recognition has not been implemented.”
A group of campaigners led by Roy Jones Jr, the former world champion and a Kremlev ally, staged a protest outside the IOC headquarters in Lausanne before the executive board’s meeting.
The letter adds: “The issue is not about the sport of boxing or boxers, but IBA and its practices and activities. As a result, the IOC is not in a position today to reverse its stance with regard to the suspension of IBA’s recognition.”
