The Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) has formally approved a proposal to join World Boxing at an extraordinary general meeting of its member clubs on Saturday, which paves the way for Irish boxers to compete at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The IABA, which governs amateur boxing in Ireland, has been affiliated to the International Boxing Association (IBA).
But on Saturday morning at the National Stadium in Dublin, IABA member clubs voted in favour of removing reference to IBA/AIBA from the national governing body's constitution by a margin of 116 out of 117 votes.
That in turn paved the way for a subsequent vote on dual membership with both the IBA and World Boxing. The latter motion also passed by the same 116 out of 117 margin.
The IABA has now submitted an application to join World Boxing.
The move comes after the International Olympic Committee's executive board last month recommended the inclusion of boxing in the LA 2028 summer Olympics programme, having already provisionally granted recognition to World Boxing.
The boxing competition at the Paris 2024 Games was run by the IOC after it had stripped the IBA of recognition in 2023 over its failure to implement reforms on governance and finance.
The IOC had originally not included boxing on the initial LA 2028 programme, having urged the sport's national federations to create a new global body. World Boxing, now with more than 80 national federations as members, was launched in 2023.
The IOC said only athletes whose national federations were members of World Boxing by the time of the start of the qualification events for the 2028 Olympics could take part in Los Angeles.
Last October, the IABA, which governs amateur boxing in Ireland, removed all references to the IBA from its constitution before the IABA chairperson Niall O'Carroll last month indicated that it would issue a 'Letter of Intent' to join World Boxing which would be then voted on at today's EGM.
"Irish Boxing has spoken today, and has chosen to be able to plot its own course," O'Carroll said after Saturday's votes.
"The removal of reference to IBA/AIBA in our constitution isn't about any one international federation, it's about clubs giving themselves the ability to choose.
"They’ve exercised that right for the first time today, voting to also affiliate with World Boxing. When clubs last voted on this in August 2023, there was concern about the international competition opportunities for underage boxers – that’s since been firmly addressed, with a full World Boxing calendar at confederation and global levels, across all age groups."
Boxing has been Ireland's most successful sport in the summer Olympics, with Kellie Harrington's lightweight gold in Paris last summer the 19th medal - and fourth gold - that Irish boxers have secured in the ring.
