Boxing may not feature at the 2024 Paris Olympics

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that boxing may not feature at the 2024 Paris Olympics, due to the global governing body, the International Boxing Association (IBA) displaying “no real interest” in the sport and its athletes. The IBA was not involved for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and has so far not been included in the current programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

However, qualification events for the boxing events at the 2024 Paris Olympics are to be organized by the IOC, even though the governing body has asserted that if the desired reforms are not implemented by the IBA, then boxing may be dropped ahead of the Olympics.

The IBA is currently helmed by Russian Umar Kremlev, along with Russian energy giant Gazprom, with whom the IBA has extended its deal as the main sponsor. The continued dependence of the IBA on a Russian government-controlled company, is what he IOC has raised objections against.

Furthermore, the IBA have recently voted against holding fresh elections, which denied Dutch candidate Boris van der Worst the chance to contest, and thereby permitted Kremlev to continue as president. This has been described by an IOC official to be representative of the IBA’s interest its own power, rather than the sport of boxing, or the boxers themselves. The IBA, meanwhile, have accused the IOC of persecution after it was prevented from being involved in the Tokyo games, due to finance issues.