The Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) is doing its best to help keep boxing in the roster of sports for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

ABAP secretary general Marcus Manalo said he and ABAP chairman Ricky Vargas are attending Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) Congress meetings to help World Boxing get recognized as the new international federation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The IOC reported that the sport needs to have a new governing body by early 2025 to make it to the roster of sports for the Olympics following the expulsion of the International Boxing Association from the Olympic movement in June of last year.

“The Asian federation (ASBC) is still under the international federation so we want to move in a new direction, going for an IOC recognition so that boxing will return to the Olympic program,” Manalo said.

“Me and Mr. Vargas are attending a lot of Congress to keep boxing in the Olympic program because it’s a big deal for us.”

“We’re moving in the right direction and we are hoping and praying for IOC recognition by 2025.”

While the Philippines has yet to secure its first boxing gold medal in the Olympics, it has brought home 10 medals so far.

Nesthy Petecio is currently the most bemedalled boxer after clinching the silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics and a bronze medal in the Paris Summer Games.

Manalo admitted that the national boxers are no longer getting any younger so they need to come up with a solid grassroots program to continue the program’s success in the Olympic stage.

By 2028, Petecio would be 36 years old, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Marcial would be 32 years old, Hergie Bacyadan would be 33 years old, and Aira Villegas will be 31 years old, making it hard for them to reach their peak for the Summer Games.

“For our program, it’s really the grassroots that we need to do a better job for the next Olympic medalist. Our Olympians are not getting any younger so we need to do a better job in finding major talent,” Manalo said.