Boxing Sports Threatened To Be Crossed Out Of 2028 Olympics

Imane Khelive, drew controversy at the 2024 Paris Olympics (Instagram/@imane_khelif_10).

JAKARTA The boxing sport (sports) is threatened that it will not be competed in the Los Angeles Olympics, United States, in 2028.

The boxing competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics which had just passed was run by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after the International Boxing Association (IBA) was frozen for failing to implement governance and financial reforms.

The problem made the IOC not include boxing sports in the Los Angeles 2028 program. They urged boxing federations to form new boxing bodies so that their sports could still be contested.

The IOC has also set a deadline until 2025 to decide whether boxing will be entered into the Los Angeles Olympics or crossed out.

"We can't wait any longer than the end of next year," said IOC President Thomas Bach, highlighting the urgency of the formation of a new boxing body widely recognized, quoted by Marca.

The previous boxing sport has always been competed since the 1904 Olympics. However, the complexity of the current situation risks getting boxing removed from the program for the first time in Olympic history.

In fact, a new boxing body called World Boxing was launched in 2023 and currently has 37 members or fewer than IBA members. However, this agency was not recognized by the IOC.

World Boxing president, Boris van der Vorst, remains optimistic about the challenges currently being faced. He expects his members to reach 50 federations in the weeks following the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"There is only one reason to join (with World Boxing), namely to save our sport," said Van Der Vorst, underscoring the importance of unity in this global sports community.

The IOC suspended IBA in 2019 and then did not involve the agency in a boxing match at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics which was postponed for a year due to the corona pandemic. They then withdrew their confession of IBA in 2023.

The IOC and IBA clashed for days at the 2024 Paris Olympics regarding the participation of two female boxers, Imane Khelf from Algeria and Lin Yu-ting from China Taipei.

IBA previously banned the two names from competing in the 2023 World Championships after chromodynamic tests. They argued the two boxers did not qualify, but the IOC allowed the two of them to compete.