The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board is going to vote on the recommended that the boxing be included on the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The executive board, which meets in Greece between March 19 to 25, will also elect the next IOC president ro succeed Thomas Bach.
Bach was confident that the board will vote in favour of boxing, which was not part of the initial programme of LA28 when it was announced in 2022 as the IOC continued to isolate the International Boxing Association (IBA) over governance, finance, refereeing and ethical issues.
“After the provisional recognition of World Boxing in February we were in a position to take this decision,” Bach said on Monday.
“This recommendation has to go to the session, but I am very confident they will approve it so that all the boxers of the world then have certainty they can participate in the Olympic Games in LA.”
The IOC was in in charge of boxing at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics after suspending and expelling the IBA in 2019 and 2023 respectively over governance, finance, refereeing and ethical issues.
But it said it needed a credible governing body to run Olympic boxing otherwise, it would be off the LA28 playlist.
Now after World Boxing, a rival faction seeking to replace IBA, got the IOC’s provisional recognition as the new international governing body, the fate of boxing at LA28 looks promising.
“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,” WB president Boris van der Vorst, said in a letter we have seen.
“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, that World Boxing is completely committed to being a trustworthy and reliable partner that will adhere to and uphold the values of the Olympic Charter.”
Boxing has featured at the Olympics since 1904 in St. Louis, USA but the disputes between IOC and IBA, which is led by Russian Umar Kremlev was threatening to knock it out of Los Angeles.