00:00Sec. Gen. Marcos Jarwin Manalo believed that boxing will still be a popular sport in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
00:09even though the state of the sport is still on the sidelines.
00:12We'll find out why in the story of teammate Rafael Bandejel.
00:16In 1904, boxing was the first to advance to the St. Louis Summer Games.
00:24It quickly gained popularity and became one of the most anticipated events in the Olympics.
00:32But in the upcoming Los Angeles Olympics in 2028,
00:35it may not be included in the sports on the agenda.
00:40As of today, boxing is not yet recognized by the International Olympic Committee or IOC.
00:49In 2023, the IOC returned their recognition to the International Boxing Association or IBA
00:56because of corruption in the so-called agency.
01:00Despite this, Marcos Jarwin Manalo,
01:03Sec. Gen. of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines or ABAP,
01:08still believes that not everything is over.
01:11At the moment, there is no boxing in the program for LA 2028.
01:17But there's a good opportunity for boxing to be reinstated.
01:22And the only chance for IOC to bring back boxing is
01:26if there is a new recognized international federation.
01:31World Boxing is now leading a non-profit international sports federation campaign
01:38to bring back boxing to the sports recognized by the IOC.
01:44So, but now we have World Boxing.
01:46That's the new IF seeking recognition from IOC.
01:49And, you know, we have 68 members at the moment.
01:53So it has grown from just 27, 28 members in 2023.
02:00So, you know, there are a lot of good steps in the right direction taken by World Boxing.
02:06And we are actually expecting for a provisional recognition.
02:12First quarter of this year.
02:42This is just the beginning.
02:44Meanwhile, just last week, the IBA submitted to the United States President Donald Trump
02:52through an open letter to the new president of the United States
02:58to review the decision of the IOC.
03:01The IBA also asked President Trump for help to bring back their state
03:08as the official sponsor of amateur boxing.
03:12But for now, President Trump's camp has yet to respond.
03:16Rafael Bandayrel for Atletang Pilipino for Bagoong Pilipinas.
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