Uzbekistan may join the World Boxing

On October 7, World Boxing President Boris van der Vorst visited the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Uzbekistan. The NOC press service reported that van der Vorst was warmly welcomed by the Minister of Sports, Adham Ikramov, Secretary General of the NOC, Saken Pulatov, and Deputy Chairman of NOC Sherzod Tashmatov.

During the visit, van der Vorst was briefed on the activities of the NOC and the rich history of Uzbek sports. A meeting was held in which the World Boxing president shared insights about the organization's goals and current projects. He highlighted that 49 countries are already members of the international federation and that several initiatives aimed at advancing boxing globally are in the pipeline.

Uzbekistan's recent achievements in boxing were also discussed, including the national men's boxing team's impressive performance at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, where they secured gold medals in five of the seven weight categories. Uzbekistan is recognized as one of the top countries in the world for boxing, and local officials expressed strong support for maintaining boxing in the program for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics.

Negotiations are currently underway between Uzbekistan and World Boxing. If the organization gains recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), boxing federations affiliated with World Boxing may have the opportunity to participate in the 2028 Olympics.