POC: BOXING HAS FIGHTING CHANCE IN LA

Boxing, the Philippines’ biggest source of medals in the Olympics, may be on the ropes facing exclusion from the 2028 Los Angeles Games but hopes are high for it to be saved by the bell.

- JOHN BRYAN ULANDAY

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said there’s a fighting chance the discipline, a staple in the Olympic calendar, would stay if the newly-formed World Boxing (WB) gets the nod of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as an an official international federation (IF).

“Definitely, ang magla-lobby dyan ‘yung bagong IF. We need more than 50 (member) countries. Malapit na so may pag-asa pa sa LA,” said Tolentino, a guest in “The Agenda” forum at the Club Filipino in San Juan yesterday.

World Boxing entered the picture last year after the IOC stripped the governing body of the sport, the International Boxing Association (IBA), of recognition due to governance issues and controversies.