The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has approved for boxing to return to the 2028 Olympics after a unanimous vote ― reportedly a rare occurrence ― from the IOC’s executive committee. Boxing had initially barred boxing from the competition.
The IOC’s decision follows roughly two years of effort from the recently-established World Boxing organization who rose in the wake of uncovered corruption by the International Boxing Association (IBA) who have regulated amateur boxing for the better part of eight decades.
However, with IBA heavily-implicated in having bribed, amongst a number of accusations, officials during the 2016 Olympics and prior, they were put on the sidelines and boxing would officially be suspended from the 2028 Olympics.
Prior to their recent deliberation, the IOC identified IBA as the reason for boxing’s exclusion in the Olympics and had urged for a new, international governing body for amateur boxing to emerge in order for them to be able to reinstate boxing in the competition.
In lieu of this, World Boxing rose as a viable alternative to the IBA, now counting a membership of 84 national boxing federations, including prominent organizations such as USA Boxing ― responsible for regulating and governing amateur boxing in the United States.
Though World Boxing has yet to establish any competition of note, their inaugural “World Boxing Champions” will commence this year from September 4 to September 15, marking the official shift from amateur boxing governed by the IBA to World Boxing ― who have been instrumental in bringing boxing back to the Olympics.
At the head of these efforts was partially due to Dutchman Boris van der Vorst, a former president of the Dutch Boxing Federation ― having led the body from 2013 to 2024 and managed to help the Netherlands win their first-ever gold medals in boxing during the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. Serving as the president of World Boxing, Van der Vorst helped World Boxing gain eventual recognition by the IOC to be considered amateur boxing’s primary and international governing body.
Surprisingly, retired middleweight (160 lbs) unified champion Gennady Golovkin, from Kazakhstan, would also prove to be instrumental in this regard ― despite his relatively short tenure as the president of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Having only been elevated to the position last year, Golovkin would further become a part of World Boxing’s Olympic Committee to help form a bridge between the IOC and World Boxing ― reportedly leading to the Kazakhstani acting as a prevalent intermediary between the two organizations.
With World Boxing now solidifying their position in not just amateur boxing but worldwide boxing, a potential new era has arrived in boxing when it comes to its developmental ranks. With boxing set to return in 2028 to the Olympics, a precedent has been set for amateur boxing to represent, govern, regulate and promote the sport to the highest degree.
However, whether these changes will impact professional boxing as positively remains to be seen.
