The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially confirmed boxing’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. During the 144th IOC session in Greece on Thursday, members unanimously voted in favor of the sport’s participation, with all raising their hands in support when IOC President Thomas Bach called for the vote.
This decision comes despite the IOC’s suspension of the International Boxing Association (IBA) due to concerns over governance, financial management, and the integrity of judging and bouts. While the IBA remains sidelined, boxing’s Olympic future is now secure for the Los Angeles Games.
“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.”
With World Boxing granted provisional status, boxing’s return to the Olympic program was inevitable. Under President Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has worked to exclude the International Boxing Association (IBA) from the Olympic charter, citing concerns over its Russian leadership, financial transparency, and ongoing scoring controversies. Since the adoption of the 10-9 scoring system at the 2016 Rio Olympics, judging issues have remained a major challenge for the sport.
“I thank you for the approval of having boxing back in the Olympic programme. We can look forward to a great boxing tournament,” Bach said on Thursday after the approval. “It doesn’t happen often that the proposal for programmes happen unanimously but this commission is breaking record after record.”
Boxing was initially left out of the LA 2028 sports program approved by the IOC Session in February 2022 due to concerns surrounding the International Boxing Association (IBA) and its governance issues.
