International Olympic Committee votes to include boxing at 2028 Games

With the help of Gennadiy Golovkin, boxing has officially joined the program for the Los Angeles Olympics

After a lengthy stretch of uncertainty, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted this morning to include boxing at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

As the article points out, said uncertainty revolved around the lack of an International Federation (IF) to oversee the event. The IOC split with the infamous IBA in 2023 after years of controversy and formed an in-house force to govern boxing in Paris, but “National Boxing Federations had to reach a consensus around a new IF in order for boxing to be included on the sports programme of the Olympic Games LA28.”

Enter World Boxing, an increasingly widespread federation formed in 2023. Last year saw its president, Boris van der Vorst, name Kazakh legend Gennadiy Golovkin the chair of their Olympic Commission to lead what’s officially become a successful bid for partnership with the IOC.

Tokyo and Paris weren’t without their controversies, but they were a far cry from the scandal-plagued Rio Games. Let’s hope that these newcomers can maintain the upward trend.