CARLO Paalam and other Filipino boxers are on the verge of getting knocked out of the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. MOHD RASFAN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
If boxing gets knocked out in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, then what happens to the program geared towards winning the elusive gold medal?
This early, boxing is not on the list of sports that will be played in 2028 owing to the absence of a governing body that will oversee its staging four years from now.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) took over from the International Boxing Association (IBA) when it created a group that presided over the competitions in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The IOC did the same thing in Paris recently but made it clear that boxing has to be governed by an approved body for it to be included in 2028.
So far, 37 national boxing federations have pledged their allegiance to World Boxing.
The Philippines is one of them with former Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) president Ricky Vargas as one of its top officials.
World Boxing, according to reports, has to get at least 50 federations to gain recognition from the IOC.
Following the controversy in Paris, ranging from gender row and spotty officiating, the IOC has decided to exclude boxing until such time major issues are resolved.
The United States, Canada, England, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, India, the Netherlands, South Korea, Australia, and of course, the Philippines are among the prominent members of World Boxing.
Notably absent are powerhouse nations Uzbekistan, which ruled Paris boxing, and Kazakhstan, China and even traditional contender Cuba.
“We would love to see boxing, we want to see boxing on the program in LA,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams in a press conference during the Paris Olympics.
“Now it is up to the boxing community to organize themselves for the sport and for the athletes.”
But given boxing’s image in the Olympics, it is just a matter of time before World Boxing meets the standard and receives the IOC’s seal of approval.
Since its Olympic debut in 1904, boxing remains one of the Summer Games’ premier sports.
Among the fighters who won Olympic golds were Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Teofilo Stevenson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya, Vasyl Lomachenko and Anthony Joshua.
‘We would love to see boxing, we want to see boxing on the program in LA.’
And with the Olympics back on United States soil, the American team, which has recently languished, is determined to stage a dramatic return, making boxing’s exclusion unlikely even amid the threat of it being entirely removed from the 2028 calendar.
But in case it happens, it is going to leave a jarring effect on the ABAP and the others as their fighters all dream of an Olympic gold.
The ABAP could face a serious problem if the IOC decides to dump boxing because many members of the national pool decided to fight as amateurs not just to suit up in the lowly Southeast Asian Games or even the Asian Games but to one day compete in the Olympic Games.
If that happens, there would be an influx of talent into the professional ranks and the ABAP would eventually find itself tweaking its plans aimed at the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia.
And that’s a sad story to tell.
