IOC provisionally recognises World Boxing as federation for Olympics

LAUSANNE: The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday provisionally recognised the recently created World Boxing as the body to oversee the sport at future Games.

The IOC severed links with the International Boxing Association (IBA), the long-standing ruling body of amateur boxing, over financial, governance and ethical concerns and took over the organisation of the sport at last year’s Paris Olympics.

The IBA is chaired by the Kremlin-linked Russian Umar Kremlev. World Boxing was founded in 2023 and boasts 78 members led by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and Brazil.

IOC president Thomas Bach had warned that boxing’s national federations needed to find a new and “reliable” international partner if it wanted to ensure that the sport features on the programme at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.