How to qualify in Boxing
How boxers qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
Boxing at Los Angeles 2028 has 248 places: 124 for men and 124 for women, in seven weights each. Places are won by the boxer, by name. A country can have one boxer per weight.
There are four rounds of qualifying between April 2027 and May 2028, and a boxer must enter at least one of them:
- The 2027 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, in April 2027: 22 places for men and 22 for women.
- Five continental qualifiers, one each for Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania and the Americas: 56 places per gender. Asia's qualifier carries two places in every weight.
- A first world qualifier in 2028: 24 places for men, 22 for women.
- A second world qualifier in 2028: the last 14 to 20 places.
A country that already has a boxer qualified in a weight cannot enter that weight again in a later round.
The United States as host is guaranteed three men and three women, minus any it qualifies on its own. Eight universality places go to countries with few Olympic athletes.
The weights and places
| Women | Places | Men | Places |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 kg | 18 | 55 kg | 18 |
| 54 kg | 18 | 60 kg | 18 |
| 57 kg | 20 | 65 kg | 20 |
| 60 kg | 18 | 70 kg | 20 |
| 65 kg | 18 | 80 kg | 16 |
| 70 kg | 16 | 90 kg | 16 |
| 75 kg | 16 | over 90 kg | 16 |
| Total | 124 | Total | 124 |
One boxer per country per weight: up to seven men and seven women.
Who can box: born between 1 January 1988 and 31 December 2009, affiliated to and in good standing with World Boxing, bound by the LA28 World Boxing Event Regulations (to be published in March 2027), and entered in at least one qualifying tournament. That last rule applies to host and universality places too.
Where the places come from
| Route | When | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships, Astana | April 2027 | 22 | 22 |
| Asian qualifier | 2027, to be decided | 14 (2 per weight) | 14 (2 per weight) |
| European Games qualifier | 2027, to be decided | 14 | 14 |
| African qualifier | 2027, to be decided | 7 (1 per weight) | 7 |
| Oceania qualifier | 2027 or 2028, to be decided | 7 | 7 |
| Pan American qualifier | 2027 or 2028, to be decided | 14 | 14 |
| First world qualifier | 2028, to be decided | 22 | 24 |
| Second world qualifier | 2028, to be decided | 16 to 20 | 14 to 18 |
| Host country | 0 to 4 | 0 to 4 | |
| Universality | 4 | 4 |
Per weight: the World Championships give four places in each of the four lighter weights and two in each of the three heavier ones. Host and universality places are only in the four lighter weights.
How a place is won
At each tournament, the highest-placed eligible boxers in each weight win the places on offer, keeping within one per country per weight.
- World Championships: any country may enter.
- Continental qualifiers: only countries without a boxer already qualified in that weight. A continental qualifier counts only if the weight has at least four boxers and the top boxer has won at least one bout. Where the qualifier is part of a continent's multi-sport games, a country may still send a boxer in a weight it has already qualified, but that boxer cannot take a place; if they finish in a qualifying position the place passes on.
- World qualifiers: only countries without a boxer qualified in that weight by the earlier rounds.
The host country
The United States is guaranteed three places per gender if its boxers meet the eligibility rules. After its continental qualifier and the first world qualifier, it confirms the places it has won; the guaranteed places are then reduced by those. With none won it picks three host places per gender; with one, two; with two, one; with three or more, none.
Where the document disagrees with itself. Section B lists three host places per gender. The tables in section D show host places as "0 or 1" in each of the four lighter weights, up to four per gender. The text of D.2 says three.
Universality places
Eight, four per gender, in the four lighter weights. The IOC invites requests on 1 October 2027, with a deadline of 15 January 2028.
Places turned down
A place not confirmed, or declined, goes to the boxer beaten by the qualifier in the bout that decided the place, then down the same event. If no one is left, it becomes a universality place; failing that, it goes to the host. Unused host and universality places go into the second world qualifier.
Dates
The qualifying period runs from 1 April 2027 to 31 May 2028. The World Championships are set for April 2027 in Astana; every other qualifier and most deadlines are still marked "to be decided". The entries deadline is 26 June 2028, and the Games run from 14 to 30 July 2028. World Boxing tells countries of their places within three working days of each event; countries then have two weeks to confirm.
Where to follow it
worldboxing.org publishes results and quota places.