With Olympic-style boxing in a state of flux, the action outside the ring has been grabbing the most attention. Meanwhile, several U.S. stars from the last Olympics have moved on to the next chapter of their careers.
Below are some of the biggest storylines from the world of boxing that will have an impact on the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games.
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Boxing faces uncertain Olympic future
The biggest developments have concerned the future of boxing as an Olympic sport. After suspending the International Boxing Association (IBA, formerly AIBA) in 2019 due to long-standing governance, financial and competitive integrity issues, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) oversaw the boxing competition at the Tokyo Games in 2021. The IOC will once again oversee Olympic boxing at the Paris Games after formally withdrawing its recognition of the IBA as the sport's governing body in 2023.
Beyond 2024, however, boxing's status remains up in the air. The IOC has cast doubts on its inclusion for Los Angeles 2028, saying the Olympic program won't be able to include the sport unless a new governing body is in place to run it. A rival organization to the IBA, World Boxing, was formed in 2023 with support from several countries, including the United States, but has not yet gained recognition from the IOC.
Olympic boxing achieves gender parity
For the first time, an equal number of men and women will compete in Olympic boxing. For the Paris Games, one men's weight class (light heavyweight) was dropped and one women's weight class (bantamweight) was added. Because there are still more divisions overall for men (7) than women (6), the women's tournaments will have more participants on average.
Team USA's silver medalists find pro success
Although U.S. men haven't won boxing gold since 2004, a trio of athletes — Duke Ragan, Keyshawn Davis and Richard Torrez Jr. — all earned silver in Tokyo to give Team USA its best medal output in men's boxing in 21 years.
None of the American silver medalists will return for Paris, as all three are now focused on their professional boxing careers. (Ragan and Davis were already pro before Tokyo, and Torrez turned pro shortly afterward.) The early returns have been good, with Ragan (9-0-0), Davis (10-0-0) and Torrez Jr. (8-0-0) all unbeaten so far in their pro careers.