‘Let the bouts begin’
JOA president welcomes boxing inclusion to LA 2028 Olympics
Published:Sunday | March 23, 2025 | 9:51 PMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
JAMAICA OLYMPIC Association (JOA) president Christopher Samuda has welcomed the recommendation for the inclusion of boxing at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games after the sport was initially excluded from the programme.
In an announcement made yesterday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board, chaired by IOC president Thomas Bach, approved the recommendation for boxing to be included in the upcoming Olympic cycle.
The decision was made after the provisional recognition of World Boxing as the sport’s global body by the IOC.
“After the provisional recognition of World Boxing in February, we were in a position to take this decision,” Bach announced yesterday.
“This recommendation has to go to the session, but I am very confident they will approve it so that all the boxers of the world then have certainty they can participate in the Olympic Games in LA.”
Boxing was excluded from LA’s programme after uncertainty around the sport’s global body due to the breakdown in the relations between the IOC and the International Boxing Association (IBA).
The IBA was suspended by the IOC in 2019 and then stripped of its status as the sport’s governing body in 2023 due to its failure to implement reforms.
Samuda, in reacting to the news, said it is a positive step forward as it ensures a traditional Olympic sport will maintain its place within the programme.
He also stated this ensures aspiring boxers will have the opportunity of achieving their dreams of competition at the sport’s pinnacle event.
“The decision of the IOC Executive Board to include boxing in the LA Olympic games is great news,” Samuda said.
“Boxing as a combat sport is symbolic of the strength, resilience, and valour of the Olympic spirit and embodies quintessentially the physical culture and traditional history of the games and movement.”
He continued, “Let the bouts begin. Several aspiring Olympic boxers, including our own, have been waiting at ringside to go on the canvas in making their mark. I am impressed with the work of our local association, which continues to build the sport from a pool of talented boxers.”
The recommendation will still need to be approved at the IOC session set to begin today in Greece.
Samuda is confident the recommendation will be approved as he voiced his support of the IOC Executive Board’s decision.
“The sport, internationally, in the past year has taken body blows, but thankfully, it was not TKOed. It has lived to see another Olympic Games,” he said.
“Let’s not introduce sports politics into the decision. The executive board of the IOC has made the right decision in the interest of the Olympic movement, and I have no doubt that the members in session will approve.”