World Boxing, the rebel governing body launched in April 2023, has secured provisional recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in a major coup.
This essentially means that the IOC now recognizes World Boxing as that sport’s international federation within the Olympic movement.
Go deeper with GlobalData
This represents a significant boost for boxing’s chances of being included in the sporting program for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 – currently, its future as an Olympic sport is in serious doubt, following the International Boxing Association (IBA) having its IOC recognition removed in 2023.
The IOC unveiled its allocation of provisional recognition today, announcing that Switzerland-based World Boxing “has continued to make progress regarding the identified areas of consideration to be recommended for IOC provisional recognition.”
The Olympic body has not yet put boxing back on the LA28 program, having previously said that national boxing federations should create a new global body outside of the IBA to keep the sport on the Olympic program.
World Boxing – which set up an Olympic commission to support its aim of provisional recognition last September – now has 78 members across five continents, with four continental confederations now established.
In terms of the necessary governance criteria for provisional recognition, the IOC has commented that it has “put in place the structure and documentation for good governance … and has demonstrated strong willingness and effort in enhancing good governance and implementation.”
It has also successfully applied for signatory status with the World Anti-Doping Code, and “has provided assurance about its revenue-generating process based on multi-year commercial partnership agreements."
For the last two Summer Olympics (Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024), the boxing events have been run by the IOC itself, following the IBA’s initial suspension in 2019, and then its removal as an Olympic body two years ago.
The IBA’s suspension and then subsequent IOC removal came following a myriad of issues around finances, governance, and competition integrity, which it has continued to say the IBA (headed up by Russia’s Umar Kremlev) did not do enough to resolve.
Ever since World Boxing was launched, the IBA has looked to disparage the new body and has even taken legal action against it.
In a statement, World Boxing’s president Boris van der Vorst said: “This is a very significant day for everyone connected with the sport of boxing in the Olympic movement. Keeping its place at the Olympic Games is absolutely critical to the future of our sport at every level … And this decision by the IOC takes us one step closer to our objective of seeing boxing restored to the Olympic program.
“Today’s decision by the IOC is an important milestone, however, everyone connected with World Boxing understands that being part of the Olympic movement is a privilege and a responsibility and not a right. There is still a lot of work to do, and everyone is as committed as ever to continuing to work together and doing everything within our power to deliver a better future for our sport and ensuring that boxing remains at [the] heart of the Olympic movement.”
Earlier this week, World Boxing announced a new long-term partnership with events management company Exceed Boxing for the continued growth of its commercial business.
Exceed Boxing, owned by sports events agency Sportworx, will manage the commercialization of World Boxing events and the body’s commercial rights as a whole to monetize the amateur boxing body’s portfolio.
In its role, Exceed becomes the exclusive sale and licensing broker for World Boxing competitions, broadcast rights, sponsorship inventory, and other income streams such as gaming and gambling, merchandising, and ticketing.
