Boxing is teetering on the brink of exclusion from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, a decision driven by the longstanding rift between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Boxing Association (IBA).

This seismic shift could mark the first time in 116 years that boxing fails to feature on the Olympic stage.

The recent IOC session in Mumbai, India, unveiled a cloud of uncertainty around the sport's participation in the Los Angeles Olympics.

The IOC's reluctance to endorse boxing's inclusion in the 2028 Games has thrust the discord between the two organizations back into the limelight.

If these issues remain unresolved and the IOC decides to remove boxing from the 2028 Olympics, it would be the first time since the 1912 Stockholm Games that the sport would not grace the Olympic arena.

Boxing first made its Olympic debut in 1904 during the St. Louis Games, hosted by the United States.

Despite facing a brief exclusion in the 1912 Stockholm Games due to Swedish legal constraints, boxing has remained a fixture in subsequent Olympic events, including the forthcoming Los Angeles Games.

However, should the IOC choose to omit boxing, it would represent a significant departure from tradition, marking 116 years since the sport was last left out of the Olympics.

The rift between the IOC and the IBA, formerly known as the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), has been festering since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The committee stripped the international federation of its rights to organize boxing events at both the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the upcoming 2024 Paris Games, with the same decision set to apply for Los Angeles 2028.

The decision was fueled by several concerns, ranging from the federation's inability to effectively address referee errors and issues with the scoring system to broader structural concerns, including governance, finance and ethical matters.

Additionally, the IBA's financial dependence on the Russian energy company Gazprom raised eyebrows within the IOC.

Another source of discontent for the IOC was the IBA's actions surrounding the Ordinary Elective Congress held in Istanbul in 2022.

In the lead-up to the Congress, the IBA's Provisional Nomination Unit rejected the candidacy of Dutch contender Boris van der Vorst and three others, a move that prompted legal action.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that van der Vorst was wrongly prevented from participating and that IBA President Umar Kremlev had violated the same rules but stood unopposed in the election.

Yet, van der Vorst's proposal for a new election was ultimately rejected by IBA delegates.

In response, the IOC, during a meeting in June 2023, withdrew the IBA's status as the global governing body for boxing.

The IBA vehemently contested the decision, asserting that all of the IOC's recommendations had been effectively implemented.

Their response shared on the organization's website, claimed that the IOC had committed a grave error, unmasking its politicized nature.

In light of these developments, the newly formed World Boxing Federation (World Boxing), composed of 16 member nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil and Canada, expressed their satisfaction with the IOC's decision.

They viewed it as a turning point for the sport of boxing.

As a result of the IOC's stance, IBA-organized events, such as the World Championships, failed to attract prominent athletes, marking a significant departure from the norm.

Turkish boxers Busenaz Sürmeneli, a gold medalist, and Buse Naz Çakıroğlu, a silver medalist, were notably absent from the most recent World Championships, as were many other high-profile fighters.

The route to securing slots for Paris 2024 also witnessed a transformation.

The European continent's initial quotas for the 2024 Olympics were awarded at the European Games organized by the European Olympic Committees (EOC), following the precedent set during the Tokyo Games.

In contrast to previous Olympics, the quotas for 2024 will not be determined through IBA events but by the IOC's arrangements.

Boxing has always been one of the Olympics' most captivating sports, counting legends like Muhammad Ali among its past participants.

Ali, widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers in history, clinched a gold medal in the lightweight category at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

After an incident where he was refused service at a restaurant due to his race, Ali threw his gold medal into the Ohio River in protest.

He was later reunited with the lost medal in a ceremony during the 1996 Atlanta Games, where he carried the Olympic torch.

Numerous other eminent boxers have graced the Olympic stage, including Oleksandr Usyk, a Ukrainian fighter who won a gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics before going on to have a stellar professional career.

Usyk, known for holding multiple world titles, competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and his achievements underscore the transformative potential of Olympic boxing.

Moreover, legends like Wladimir Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, Anthony Joshua, Joe Frazier, and George Foreman, who have left an indelible mark on professional boxing, also secured gold medals during their Olympic appearances.

Türkiye has its own history of success in Olympic boxing, with Busenaz Sürmeneli's historic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics serving as a shining example.

Before her, Turkish boxers like Eyüp Can and Turgut Aytaç won bronze medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, while Buse Naz Çakıroğlu, Malik Beyleroğlu, Atagün Yalçınkaya and Yakup Kılıç made valuable contributions to Türkiye's medal tally in boxing over the years.

In 2016, the IOC and AIBA took a monumental step by removing headgear from men's boxing competitions.

However, the wearing of headgear was retained in women's boxing, which was introduced to the Olympic program at the 2012 London Games.

The current friction between the IOC and IBA, along with the threat of boxing's exclusion from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, looms as one of the most pivotal moments in the sport's long and illustrious history.

The future of Olympic boxing, once an undisputed cornerstone of the Games, now stands on uncertain ground, awaiting a resolution that will determine its place in the sporting world.