Despite recent years of turmoil the Olympic Games has worked as breeding ground to produce some of boxing’s greatest fighters. The Olympic Gold medal, a precursor, providing amateur champions ready to replicate their achievements in the pro’s has provided the sport with; Lennox Lewis, George Foreman, Oscar De La Hoya, Pernell Whittaker, Joe Frazier and the great Muhammad Ali.
In recent times the likes of Vasyl Lomachenko, Claressa Shields, Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk have all won Olympic Gold medals going on to achieve similar success in the paid ranks. It’s the one amateur tournament that comes above all else in boxing as future stars represent their nation’s at the world’s most prestigious sporting event.
The Games has never fallen too far away from controversy. The boxing segment of the Olympics providing some mind blowing decisions from the judges. Roy Jones Jr. being denied the chance to be gold medalist at Seoul 1988 had even his opponent Park Si-Hun shocked when his hand was raised. This was probably the most famous case of open corruption at the Olympic Games. The likes of Floyd Mayweather, Evander Holyfield, Michael Conlan and Gary Russell Jr. have all fallen foul to Olympic judges also.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) formally known as AIBA had until yesterday been the governing body for all Olympic related boxing tournaments. They were yesterday expelled by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Boxing has been in grave danger of being expelled as a sport from the Olympic Games, however the IOC has today “guaranteed” that boxing will be a part of Los Angeles 2028 following on from Paris 2024 where boxing will continue to be present.
"Yes of course we can guarantee that boxing will be on the program in Paris and LA 28," said Christophe De Kepper, the director general of the (IOC) said to Inside the Games.
IOC president Thomas Bach added. “We do not have a problem with boxing, we do not have a problem with boxers. On the contrary, we appreciate the boxers for living the values of their sport. If we had a problem with boxers there would not have been a competition in Tokyo, there would be no boxing competition in Paris.”
The IOC will take charge and responsibility for governing the upcoming Olympics in France, much like the previous Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The IBA and its president Umar Kremlev have indicated they plan to turn their hand to “pro-style boxing” since the news came of their expulsion from the Olympic Games.
