The International Boxing Association (IBA) has requested that President Donald Trump and his administration look into the exclusion of boxing from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had suspended the IBA in 2019 due to concerns over its finances, governance, ethics, refereeing, and judging. The IBA’s failure to meet the IOC’s required reforms led to its removal from organizing the Olympic boxing program, a decision that was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in April 2024.
Although the IOC has managed the boxing events for the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics, it has stated that it will not continue to do so for future Games. The IOC is hopeful that boxing can return to the Olympic program under a new international federation. Currently, boxing is not included in the 2028 Olympic plans, though a final decision has yet to be made.
World Boxing, a new organization vying for recognition to oversee Olympic boxing, has already gained 60 members. Meanwhile, the Russian-led IBA is seeking to restore its role in governing Olympic boxing and has called on President Trump to assist in bringing boxing back to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The IBA also voiced support for Trump’s stance on “participation of ineligible athletes” in boxing, referencing a controversy that emerged during the Paris 2024 Olympics. The issue arose when two athletes, Imane Khelif from Algeria and Lin Yu-ting from Taiwan, won gold despite being disqualified by the IBA from the 2023 World Championships for failing to meet gender eligibility criteria.
Trump, who had a brief involvement in boxing promotion in the early 1990s, will be in office during the 2028 Games, which may present an opportunity for the IBA to push its case for the inclusion of boxing in the Olympics.
