The final bell may have already rung for Olympic boxing. The sport will not be on the program at the next Games in 2028.

The scandal-plagued international boxing federation has been stripped of its recognition and excluded from the Olympic movement. A task force of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is responsible for organizing the boxing tournaments in Tokyo 2021 and Paris this year.

However, the IOC will not do this again. Boxing would have to appoint a new international federation and decide to allow the sport to take place in Los Angeles in 2028. But time is running out for that, as preparations for the Los Angeles Games are progressing further and further.

It is “vital” that boxing remains an Olympic sport.

British performance director Rob McCracken, who has produced generations of British boxing stars over four Olympic cycles at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, said Sky Sports: “I think it is extremely important that it remains an Olympic sport.

“I think for boxers who go to gyms and local clubs or volunteer, who put in all their time and effort and work with kids across the country, the UK and the rest of the world, the Olympics is the real pinnacle of their career as an amateur boxer and that’s what they strive for.”

“Many nations have become very strong in boxing. Socially, it is an enormously important sport in communities and regions. It gives children a chance. You don’t need much to start boxing.

“It doesn’t cost much and anyone can do it. It’s a sport that has captivated me since I was 16 and hasn’t let go since. It’s open to everyone and everyone has access to boxing gyms.”

He remains “hopeful” that a solution can be found. This is urgently needed.

The loss of Olympic status would be devastating for amateur sport. However, it would cause serious damage to professional sport.

“Without a doubt. On several levels. Number one is the profile,” said promoter Eddie Hearn Sky Sports.

“If there is no Olympics and there is nothing to strive for, I think that will lead to these kids being exposed to the sport. For me, it is so important that the sport is in the Olympics. I think it would be a huge blow to boxing if it was not in the Olympics.

“We keep our fingers crossed that the IOC is up for the fight.

“It’s so important that boxing stays in the Olympics,” he added. “So important for these young fighters coming from the grassroots, it’s the pinnacle.”

“I’m just overwhelmed by the significance. The camaraderie, the energy, the atmosphere, the pace of the shows and the fame.

“I just find it amazing to see so many people fighting for honor and not just for money.

“The reality is that this is the glory of the sport and it is very refreshing.”

In professional boxing, there is increasing awareness of this immediate threat.

“It is still not guaranteed that we will be at the next Olympic Games,” warned Carl Frampton, the former world champion in both weight classes, who covered Paris 2024 for Eurosport.

“Imagine that, imagine there was no boxing in LA. Look at the great American champions (from the Olympics), Ali and Ray Leonard. I know Roy Jones got beaten in the final, but it was a controversial final to say the least. The knock-on effect would be huge, even for professional boxing. What happens to funding for amateurs?

“(The boxers coming up) won’t be as good, absolutely not.”

Frampton is supporting the newly formed World Boxing Association in gaining recognition from the IOC and adopting the Olympic sport.

“Absolutely, they are the ones who have to do it. The IOC also has to get involved and help,” he said Sky Sports.

“Nobody is to blame here except the IBA and previously the AIBA.”

The AIBA, renamed the IBA, had been warned several times in the years following the infamous Rio 2016 tournament that boxing’s participation in the Olympic Games was in jeopardy as the IOC demanded reforms in refereeing, governance and financial transparency.

World Boxing was only founded in the spring of 2023 with the express intention of saving Olympic boxing.

Its president, Boris van der Vorst, admitted that boxing was on the brink of disaster.

After the conclusion of the 2024 Paris tournament at Roland Garros, van der Vorst said: Sky Sports: “Absolutely. And everything here, the high quality of the competitions, the fantastic venue, the fantastic audience, but also the number of national federations and countries participating and the diversity of boxers here show that boxing should remain at the heart of the Olympic movement.

“What you saw is the energy, the emotion, this is really the pinnacle of a boxer’s career. We have a role, a duty, as boxing leaders to do whatever it takes to ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic movement.

“We are here to keep that dream alive for every boxer in every gym in the world.”

He believes the IOC is still willing to include boxing in LA 2028 if the sport itself can agree on a new governing body.

“Given this fantastic venue and this fantastic crowd, the IOC is convinced that boxing should remain an Olympic sport,” said van der Vorst.

“But they have organised it twice in a row, the Tokyo cycle and now again the Paris Games. We have to be clear that they will not do it a third time in a row. So it’s up to us.”

“They are looking for an international federation that can take care of the sport. And here we are, World Boxing, and we have established ourselves as a reliable partner. We have already hosted high-class competitions and laid the foundation with national federations that were brave enough to join the World Boxing Federation.”

“Now it’s up to us to show the world, to restore the trust of boxers, fans, partners and the IOC and to show that we really care about the Olympic movement.”

World boxing needs enough national associations with a sufficiently large geographical area in time for the IOC to grant it recognition for the next Olympic Games.

“During the Paris Games there were many positive commitments from national federations and I am pleased to say that we have at least 50 national federations eligible for the Congress on November 3,” said van der Vorst.

“Of course, we have a roadmap where we have to meet some requirements in terms of governance, finance, anti-doping and several other milestones that need to be achieved, but I am confident.

“I am absolutely convinced that we will complete one of the most remarkable comeback stories of the Olympic movement and that we will raise our hands at the end of this year.”