Outgoing International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach looks to have ticked one important box in his to-do list before he resigns as an IOC member after 23 June.
The executive board (EB) of the IOC on Monday put forward boxing for the sports programme of the LA28, marking the most significant step yet in the rapid ascension of Western powers-backed World Boxing, which Bach has fully supported from the get-go.
Bach made the announcement at Monday’s IOC EB press conference in Costa Navarino, Greece where members have gathered for the 144th Session set to take place from 19-21 March.
The decision follows the IOC’s granting of provisional recognition to World Boxing last month, effectively sidelining the International Boxing Association (IBA) and transferring authority to the new governing body.
The IOC Session, which will also elect a new president to succeed Bach, is expected to rubber stamp the executive board’s decision for inclusion of boxing in the 2028 LA Games roster.
Bach said: “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 L.A. 2028 if their national federation is recognised by World Boxing (emphasis ours).”
World Boxing, which was founded in April 2023 in the US, and had signed up most of the top Western federations soon after its formation, welcomed the EB’s decision, with its president Boris van der Vorst stating: “This is a very significant and important decision for Olympic boxing and takes the sport one step closer to being restored to the Olympic programme. I have no doubt it will be very positively received by everyone connected with boxing, at every level throughout the world, who understands the critical importance to the future of the sport of boxing continuing to remain a part of the Olympic Movement.
“On behalf of everyone at World Boxing, I would like to thank the EB of the IOC for the trust they have placed in our organisation and we hope for a positive outcome when the IOC Session meets this week. World Boxing understands that being part of the Olympic Games is a privilege and not a right and I assure the IOC that if boxing is restored to the programme for LA28, World Boxing is completely committed to being a trustworthy and reliable partner that will adhere to and uphold the values of the Olympic Charter.”
While on the subject of World Boxing, it bears noting that the now official global governing body received a major shot in the arm last Wednesday when Asian powerhouse China and five more federations agreed to join its ranks.
China, Turkey, Sudan, Greece, Slovakia and Montenegro are the most recent members of World Boxing that now has 84 national federations among its membership. The new governing body had only 37 at the conclusion of the Paris Olympics in August 2024. It goes without saying that it was the full backing of the Bach-led IOC that more than facilitated the rapid expansion of World Boxing,
China has emerged as a top boxing nation since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Its team finished second in the medal table in Paris last year with three gold medals and two silvers, behind Uzbekistan – which is also among World Boxing’s 25 Asian members – that won five golds. Turkey also has a thriving federation, winning two silver medals and a bronze in Paris.
It is also worth noting for the record that the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) was among the “early movers” in Asia to align with World Boxing (in May 2024).
