World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst is delighted that his federation has received the backing of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) but told Reuters on Thursday that the real work had just begun.

After running the past two Olympic competitions and cutting ties with the previous governing body, the IOC moves toward restoring the sport to the program.

The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday provisionally recognised the recently created World Boxing as the body to oversee the sport at future Games. "Keeping its place at the Olympic Games is absolutely critical to the future of our sport at every level.

The IOC granted provisional recognition to World Boxing (WB), keeping the sport on track for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. With 78 national federations and strong governance, WB is gaining momentum.

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) provisionally recognised World Boxing (WB) as the International Federation (IF) within the Olympic Movement governing the sport of boxing at the world level during a remote meeting held today.

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), during a remote meeting held on Wednesday, provisional

“The (IOC) assessment concluded that World Boxing has continued to make progress regarding the identified areas of consideration in order to be recommended for IOC Provisional Recognition as the IF [International Federation] within the Olympic Movement governing the sport of boxing at world level,” the IOC said.

The International Olympic Committee has taken a key step toward retaining boxing on the program for the Los Angeles Games in 2028 as it recognized a new governing body for the sport.