Donald Trump Urged to Intervene in Boxing’s LA28 Olympic Status

Donald Trump’s new administration has received an appeal from the International Boxing Association (IBA) to intervene in the sport’s exclusion from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the IBA in 2019 due to concerns over its governance, finances, ethics and the quality of refereeing and judging. Despite the IBA’s efforts to meet the IOC’s required reforms, the IOC stripped the organization of its responsibility to organize Olympic boxing.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld this decision in April 2024. Although boxing is currently excluded from the 2028 Olympic Games, the final decision on its inclusion remains pending. The IOC has organized boxing for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 but hopes to reinstate the sport through a new international federation. World Boxing, the group aiming to take over Olympic boxing has already gained recognition from 60 countries.

The IBA, led by Russia has urged Donald Trump, who took office for his second term on January 20, to support its efforts to regain control of Olympic boxing. The IBA sent an open letter to Trump asking his team to look into the issue and help restore boxing for the Los Angeles Games, emphasizing the importance of the sport in the Olympic celebrations. Trump, who briefly promoted boxing in the 1990s will serve as president during the 2028 Olympics.

Additionally, the IBA has raised concerns about gender eligibility in boxing, pointing to the controversial cases of Algerian Imane Khelif and Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting. Both were disqualified from the 2023 World Championships for failing to meet eligibility criteria, despite winning gold in Paris 2024.