The International Boxing Association (IBA) has asked the new administration of United States President Donald Trump to “look into” why boxing has been left out of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the IBA in 2019 due to concerns about its finances, management, ethics, and the quality of refereeing and judging. Because the IBA did not meet the reforms the IOC required, it lost its role in running the Olympic boxing program. This decision was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in April 2024, after the IBA appealed.
Since then, the IOC has managed boxing at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics. Although the IOC has said it won’t handle boxing in the future, it hopes to see the sport return to the Olympics through a new international federation.
Boxing is not currently part of the 2028 plans, but the final decision on its inclusion has not yet been made. World Boxing, the organization hoping to take over Olympic boxing, has gained 60 members so far.
The Russian-led IBA, which wants to regain control of Olympic boxing, has asked President Trump for help. In an open letter, the IBA said, “They [the IOC] have announced in the last 12 months that boxing will not be part of the Olympic program for LA28; it would be very much appreciated if your team could look into this situation.”
The IBA hopes boxing will be part of the 2028 Olympics and will show the world the American nation’s love for the sport.
Trump, who briefly promoted boxing in the early 1990s, was elected for a second term as president and will be in office during the 2028 Games.
The IBA also welcomed Trump’s views on “the participation of ineligible athletes” in boxing. A gender eligibility issue caused controversy during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting won gold in Paris, even though the IBA had disqualified both athletes from the 2023 World Championships, saying they did not meet the eligibility rules for the women’s competition.
