IOC omit boxing from provisional list of 2028 Olympic sports
Boxing has been excluded from the provisional list of sports to feature at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Along with weight lifting, boxing was labeled as one of the IOC’s ‘problem children’ at a press conference at the end of a three-day International Olympic Committee Executive Board in Lausanne.
IOC President Thomas Bach warned Boxing, Ireland’s most successful Olympic sport ordered the AIBA to address governance, finance and judging concerns ahead of Paris 2024.
“AIBA must demonstrate that it has addressed concerns around its governance, its financial transparency and the integrity of its refereeing and judging,” Bach said.
The International Boxing Association have expressed their gratitude for being afforded the chance to prove they have addressed the issues outlined and remained on the Olympic Programme for Paris 2024.
They also revealed they were happy a pathway has been established for inclusion on the Olympic Programme of Los Angeles 2028.
AIBA President Umar Kremlev said: “We are grateful for the opportunity being given to boxing and its athletes. And we are also grateful to the IOC for its acknowledgement of our progress. The establishment of a clear roadmap is very helpful. There will certainly be more to do in terms of sporting integrity, financial integrity and governance. We remain fully committed to meeting all the objective criteria for reform established by the IOC. AIBA is determined to put itself in a position to be able to organise Olympic qualification and the Paris 2024 boxing tournament.”
Boxing is Ireland’s most successful Olympic Sport and accounts for more than half the medals the country has won across 29 Olympic Games.
Before Tokyo Irish boxing boasted fifteen medal winners, sixteen Olympic medals, and a production line of pugilistic brilliance that has firmly established this little island as a genuine global boxing heavyweight.
After two weeks in Japan, those numbers were increased. Ireland now boasts seventeen boxing medal winners and eighteen medals.
The problems within the AIBA were never more highlighted than when Michael Conlan was robbed in Rio. The Belfast fighter’s now-famous reaction is deemed in some quarters as the catylst for change.
