In a significant victory for boxing fans and athletes worldwide, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially recommended the inclusion of boxing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games program, reversing its initial exclusion from the sporting lineup.
The decision comes after months of uncertainty surrounding the sport’s Olympic future due to persistent issues with governance, funding, and ethics that had threatened to end boxing’s long Olympic tradition.
“After the provisional recognition of World Boxing in February, we were in a position to take this decision,” said outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach. “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.”
Boxing joins softball, baseball, cricket, lacrosse, flag football, and squash as sports that will be featured in the Los Angeles Games. The City of Angels will host the Olympics for the third time in its history and expects to welcome approximately 15 million visitors across 50 venues.
The path to inclusion wasn’t straightforward. Boxing was notably absent from the initial LA28 program due to governance concerns. For the past two Olympics, the IOC had taken the unprecedented step of operating as the sport’s governing body after suspending the Russian-led International Boxing Association (IBA) in 2019 and ultimately stripping it of recognition in 2023 when mandated reforms weren’t implemented.
The controversial Tokyo and Paris Olympics saw tensions between the IOC and IBA heighten, particularly regarding gender eligibility of female competitors.
The breakthrough came with the IOC’s provisional recognition of World Boxing, a new governing body created in April 2023, which has now been deemed fit to oversee the sport for the 2028 Games. The organization has made sufficient progress in key governance areas to satisfy Olympic standards.
Boris van der Vorst, President of World Boxing, expressed gratitude for the IOC’s trust: “On behalf of everyone at World Boxing I would like to thank the Executive Board of the IOC for the trust they have placed in our organization and we hope for a positive outcome when the IOC Session meets this week.”
He continued, “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.”
The final approval is expected during an upcoming IOC session in Greece, where members will vote to formalize boxing’s place in the 2028 program.
World Boxing currently boasts 84 member nations, including Great Britain. For the LA Games, only athletes representing national federations that hold membership with World Boxing at the start of the 2028 Olympic qualification events will be eligible to participate.
While boxing celebrates its return, breaking—the competitive dance sport that made its controversial Olympic debut in Paris—will not return for the Los Angeles Games.
For boxing athletes worldwide, this decision ends a period of uncertainty and restores the Olympic dream that has inspired generations of champions in the storied sport.
