The inclusion of boxing for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles has been proposed by the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the 144th IOC Session. The final determination could be made this week in Costa Navarino, Greece. The decision from the EB follows the recommendation made by the Olympic Programme Commission and the provisional recognition granted in February 2025 by the EB to World Boxing as the new international federation within the Olympic Movement governing the sport of boxing at world level. Boxing was not included on the initial sports program approved by the IOC Session in February 2022 because of the then-ongoing concerns arbout [the corrupt] International Boxing Association (IBA), whioch was the former international federation. Following the withdrawal of the IBA’s recognition in June 2023, the inclusion of boxing on the LA28 sports programme remained on hold.

 

The Paris 2024 boxing competition and its qualifying tournaments were organized under the authority of the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit, an ad hoc task force created by the EB. This decision was taken in order to protect athlete participation at the Olympic Games and deliver a clear, fair and transparent pathway for boxers to qualify, ensuring a fair and just competition. At Paris 2024, 68 national Olympic committees (NOCs) were represented in the boxing competition, with the IOC Refugee Olympic Team and 31 different NOCs medalling across the 13 events. This was the highest ratio of competing NOCs to medal in one sport at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

 

Last year, the IOC made it clear that National Boxing Federations had to reach a consensus around a new International Federation in order for boxing to be included in the 2028 Olympic Games. Following an assessment of the various criteria regarding governance and sports integrity, the EB decided on February 26th to provisionally recognise World Boxing, which is currently composed of 84 National Federations over the five continents.