The pathway designed by World Boxing towards the Los Angeles Games received the backing of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last week, outlining a framework with 248 quota places, gender parity and a programme divided into 14 weight categories.
The process will unfold through three world competitions and five continental tournaments, meaning each boxer may have up to four opportunities to secure their Olympic berth.
The first filter will be the 2027 World Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan; this will be followed by the Asian, European, African, Oceanian and American qualifiers between 2027 and 2028, before the pathway concludes with two World Qualification Tournaments in 2028.
The official qualification period will run from April 1, 2027 to May 31, 2028, before the sport entries deadline, set for June 26, and the Games themselves, scheduled from July 14 to 30.
World Boxing will oversee and manage both the qualification pathway and the competition in Los Angeles, in its capacity as the international federation recognised by the IOC to govern the sport worldwide within the Olympic Movement.
The approved framework sets 124 men’s quota places and 124 women’s quota places.
The men’s competition will feature the 55, 60, 65, 70, 80, 90 and over-90 kilogram categories; the women’s competition will feature the 51, 54, 57, 60, 65, 70 and 75 kilogram categories.
The technical document allocates 234 places through sporting performance, six for the host country and eight universality places, all assigned by name to individual athletes.
Each national Olympic committee may qualify a maximum of 14 athletes, one per category, with a limit of seven men and seven women.
The distribution by category will be uneven. In the women’s draw, the 51, 54, 60 and 65 kilogram divisions will have 18 places each, the 57 kilogram division will have 20, and the 70 and 75 kilogram divisions will offer 16.
In the men’s draw, the 55 and 60 kilogram divisions will have 18 quota places each, the 65 and 70 kilogram divisions will have 20, and the 80, 90 and over-90 kilogram divisions will be limited to 16.
The continental events will award 112 berths, the 2027 World Championships will provide 44 and the first world Olympic qualifier in 2028 will add 48, before a second tournament conditioned by the confirmation of the host-country places.
Eligibility is also delimited, with hopefuls required to have been born between January 1, 1988 and December 31, 2009, comply with the Olympic Charter, the World Anti-Doping Code, competition-manipulation rules, the IOC policy on protection of the female category and World Boxing’s regulations.
World Boxing Secretary General Tom Dielen described the decision as a turning point.
“The boxing competition at LA28 will be a historic moment for the sport as it will be the first to feature gender parity and is a sign of the rapid progress that has been made since female boxing was first included in the Games at London 2012”, he said. –Insidethegames
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