Los Angeles has been home to some fights of epic proportions. But when the Olympic Games come to LA in 2028, boxing will not be on the invite list.
As a result of the investigation into corruption in Olympic Boxing in the 2016 Rio De Janeiro games, and the resulting governance issues, organizers have not put Olympic boxing on the program. Olympic organizers, however, have not ruled out the sport from future games.
The Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) said in a statement that the changes that are being made "have been implemented to ensure sporting integrity at current AIBA competitions."
Some national amateur boxing teams now, such as Great Britain, are starting social media campaigns to bring boxing back to the LA 2028 Olympics.
The History Of Boxing In The Olympics
Boxing is considered to be one of the Olympic's original sports, with its inclusion going all the way back to ancient Greece. The Olympic Gold Medal has long been considered the premiere prize in amateur boxing, even above the prestigious Golden Gloves. Yet in all of its years as part of the games, scandal has never rocked boxing like it did in 2016.
An independent investigation revealed that more than ten bouts deemed "suspicious matches" were held as part of a "bout manipulation" scheme in the Rio De Janeiro games, including one that carried a six-figure bribe with it. Most notably, the report says that there may have been manipulation regarding the decision to award the gold medal to France's Tony Yoka over Britian's Joe Joyce. Other bouts carried a bribery price tag of up to $250,000 to fix the outcome of the lightweight semi-final bout between Mongolia's Otgondalai Dorjnyambuu and France's Sofiane Oumiha. Though the bribe was not accepted, analysts still noted "very unusual scoring" in the bout which reflected on all the judges cards.
The report also confirmed that matches were manipulated in order to be officiated by specific referees and judges to ensure specific outcomes. All officiants whom were discovered to be corrupt in the 2016 games were banned from officiating in the 2020 Tokyo games, and the sport itself was governed directly by the International Olympic Committee in 2020 instead of the AIBA.
There is no indication if boxing will make a comeback yet in 2032.
