An Olympic boxing gold medal is the perfect springboard to success in the professional ranks. One thinks of Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Anthony Joshua and Katie Taylor as standout examples. However, once Paris 2024 concludes, boxing’s future as part of the greatest amateur sporting competition in the world will be in doubt.
Last year, the International Olympic Committee stripped the International Boxing Association of its recognition as a governing body for Olympic tournaments. Among the reasons for this highly publicized decision were reports of financial and competitive-integrity issues during the IBA's governance.
As was the case with Tokyo 2020, the IOC will exclusively organize the Paris 2024 boxing tournament. That all sounded fine until the committee dropped a huge bombshell last year, stating that if a new governing body wasn’t in place for Los Angeles 2028, then boxing would not be part of the Olympic schedule at those games.
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A governing body named World Boxing was founded last year and has been given the backing of several countries including the U.K. and the U.S. However, the organization has yet to be recognized by the IOC, so the situation is far from resolved.
Whatever happens, the relationship between the IOC and the IBA appears permanently fractured. The latter’s decision to pay Olympic boxers has been met with scorn by the committee, who are dead against this decision.
Almost in defiance, the IBA continues to take the approach that the cup is half-full.
"The future of boxing is the best and brightest we can possibly imagine," IBA president Umar Kremlev told Reuters.
"In the world, there are only two sports that can always fill out stadiums, football and boxing. We just need to continue with the work that we have been doing and prove that boxing is the flagship of all Olympic sports."
How long has boxing been part of the Olympics?
Boxing has been a mainstay of the modern Olympics since 1904. Since that time, the only Games that didn’t feature the sport was Stockholm 1912 because Sweden had a permanent ban on boxing.
By the time Paris 2024 concludes, the Olympics will have hosted 28 boxing tournaments over the past 120 years.
How to watch the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
- U.S.: Peacock | USA Network | FUBO
- CAN: Olympics.com
- U.K.: BBC and Olympics.com
- AU: Stan Sport