Costa Navarino (Greece), Mar 18 (UNI) The executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has green-lit the inclusion of boxing in the sports program of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach confirmed the news at a press briefing on Monday following an IOC executive board meeting in the Romanos Resort in Costa Navarino.

Bach, who is set to step down as the IOC chief in June, said that it still needs an approval from the full IOC session later this week but has confidence in boxing's return to the Olympics.

"I am very confident that the session will approve it so that all the boxers of the world then have certainty that they can participate in the Olympic Games L.A. 2028 if their national federation is recognized by World Boxing," Bach said.

Boxing has been an Olympic sport since 1904, but due to issues related to governance, officiating and financial management, the IOC suspended its recognition of the International Boxing Association in 2019.

With no new governing body recognized for boxing, the boxing competitions at the Tokyo Olympics

in 2021 and the Paris Olympics last year were run directly by the IOC.

Last month, the IOC recognized a new governing body, World Boxing.

UNI/XINHUA BM