It's D-Day for boxing as an Olympic sport

IT is a nervous moment for amateur boxing. The fate of the sport as an Olympic event is to be decided at the 141st session of the general assembly, which begins in Mumbai tomorrow.

- BARRY McGUIGAN

Boxing, which made its Olympic debut in 1904, is confirmed for Paris next year, but not yet for Los Angeles in 2028.

Concerns over unreliable judging, financial irregularities and corruption led the IOC to threaten exclusion unless the governing body, the IBA, introduced reforms.

The refusal of the IBA to act led to its expulsion from the Olympic movement and left boxing vulnerable to replacement by other sports including cricket, baseball/softball, lacrosse and squash.

But despite assurances at an extraordinary meeting of the IOC in June that boxing is safe, it was not included in a provisional list of 28 sports for 2028 issued last year.