With 235 fights and 52 medals, the Olympic boxing tournament filled the stands of a magnificent venue, Roland Garros. However, more attention has been paid to the problems outside the ring than to what is happening inside with the young boxers. Just as doubts were growing about the future of boxing, a controversy erupted over the eligibility of two boxers whose participation in Paris 2024 has raised suspicions.

Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting were crowned Olympic champions in their respective categories. However, their rivals protested, claiming they were at a disadvantage. This damaging controversy over gender eligibility has once again put the sport under the microscope at a time when it needs the opposite.

It is by no means certain that boxing will be included in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic programme, nor can anyone imagine it. Boxing is a staple of the modern Olympics. It made its debut in 1904 and has been included in every edition since, with the exception of 1912.

Olympic boxing is a showcase. The next stars of the global boxing scene will be people like Dusmatov, Khalolov, Jalolov, Erislandy Álvarez and Kellie Harrington, as well as all the Paris 2024 champions. The Games will be their springboard, just as it was for Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather and Lennox Lewis, to name but a few.

Boxing was already starting to get doubted. The sport has been without a global governing body since May 2023, when the IOC expelled the International Boxing Association (IBA). This was followed by an ongoing legal dispute between the IBA and the IOC. However, if that uncertainty wasn't enough, the gender eligibility controversy erupted in the French capital, overshadowing the action in the ring and putting the sport and its leadership under even more scrutiny.

"Steve Bunce, a veteran British boxing journalist, told the BBC: "I think it has damaged Olympic boxing at a crucial time when its future is still being debated. Spencer Oliver, a former British boxer who was in the French capital as a radio commentator, agrees. "It's a mess because boxing is back in the spotlight," Oliver told AFP.

At the heart of boxing's problems is the dispute between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Boxing Association (IBA). Olympic boxing will be organised by the IOC itself from Tokyo 2020 after the IBA was expelled. The President of the IOC, Thomas Bach, has warned that the national boxing federations will have to find a new "reliable"international partner for the IOC to ensure that the sport is included in the programme for 2028. 

That partner has yet to be identified. The IBA has been fighting a legal battle in defence of its interests, which it claims have been damaged by the IOC's exclusion. A Swiss court has accepted its appeal and we will have to wait for the decision. Meanwhile, time is running out, as the IOC and its president Bach reiterated last Friday that a decision on admission will be made in the first half of 2025.

In an attempt to explain why it disqualified Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan from last year's World Championships, the IBA held a press conference in Paris. The controversy arose because the IOC had given them permission to compete in Paris after their disqualification.

The IBA claimed that the two boxers had "undergone genetic tests which show that they are male", according to its president Umar Kremlev. The IOC cleared them to compete and expressed doubts about the IBA's testing and motives. "I am a woman like any other," Khelif said after winning the gold medal on Friday. Lin Yu-Ting also won gold on Saturday. "They hate me and I don't know why," Khelif said of the IBA.

The controversy is on the table. Women's rights organisations have protested. Taiwanese sports officials have threatened legal action against the IBA.

Those who understand the importance of Olympic boxing to the sport point out that excluding boxing from the Olympics would have multiple repercussions. Ireland's Kellie Harrington, who retained her title in Paris, fears that countries will stop funding their boxing programmes if there is no Olympics to aspire to. "That would be a shame. I think everyone has to do a little bit more to keep it there," she told The Sun.

Oliver pointed out that many of Britain's top professional boxers, including former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, have used the Olympics as a springboard to success. "The Olympics made Joshua," he said. "The Olympics are great for boxers because they get recognition and it's the grassroots for them. And then they can go on and make a lot of money, so it's life-changing," Oliver said.

"I think the Olympics without boxing would be a shame. It would be very, very sad. So I hope they can sort out all the politics behind the scenes. I hope boxing goes on. I'm sure it will," Oliver concluded.

Doubts remain. The Paris Olympics were a success as regards the quality of the boxers involved. There is talent and a bright future for the athletes, but the structures are in limbo. It would be a shame if the future of these boxers were to be in jeopardy as a result of political disagreement between leaders.

The Paris Games are over and there is a short period of time to resolve boxing's future on the road to Los Angeles. For now, boxing is on the ropes. The referee is counting. We will have to see if he gets up or stays down for the count.