Paris Olympics 2024: IOC excludes IBA from all boxing competitions, qualifiers

The International Boxing Association (IBA) will no longer have control over the boxing qualifying events and competitions pertaining to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), after deliberations, has excluded the IBA from taking charge of events for the Olympics.

The IOC is aiming for the betterment of the athletes and the boxing community. They have had concerns in connection with sub-standard refereeing, ethical issues, governance, as well as finances of the IBA.

In 2019, the IOC stripped the IBA of its status due to various concerns, questioning the authenticity of the sport, including its governance, refereeing, and judging system. The suspension is still in place today.

The Olympic body, in a statement after an executive board meeting, said:

"(The decision) follows the continuing and very concerning issues of the IBA, such as its governance and its refereeing and judging system."

The statement further read:

"The various IOC concerns around the governance of the IBA, including the refereeing and judging process and its financial dependency on the state-owned company Gazprom, are still ongoing."

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2028 Los Angeles Olympics: Inclusion of boxing in doubt

The 2028 Olympics will take place in Los Angeles

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has sanctioned the initial sports program with as many as 28 sports for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. However, doubts still prevail over the inclusion of boxing and weightlifting.

The decision was made during the 139th Session of the IOC in Beijing on February 3, 2022.

IOC President Thomas Bach was part of the Executive Board meeting in Lausanne ahead of the 2022 Beijing Games. He has long voiced concerns in connection with issues concerning authenticity and doping in the sport.

IOC president Thomas Bach, who has long voiced concerns in connection with issues concerning authenticity and doping in the sport, said:

"The three sports left isolated still have a pathway for inclusion at the 2023 annual meeting of the IOC membership. AIBA must demonstrate that it has addressed concerns around its governance, its financial transparency, and the integrity of its refereeing and judging."