The Irish team for Paris 2024 has ten qualified boxers. However the country's high performance director is calling for a solution to the post-Games uncertainty. The Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) remained under the IBA structure in 2023 following the creation of World Boxing. Now it has doubts about the future.

Heberle, who will not continue leading Ireland's High Performance structure regardless of what happens with boxing beyond Paris 2024, believes it could be detrimental for boxing to be removed from the Olympic programme.

"We go to the clubs and there are Olympic rings everywhere, and if you talk to any of these athletes, many of them started as young children in a club with the dream of going to the Olympic Games," she said, clearly indicating that boxing has a rich Olympic tradition and the new generations would be left with fewer opportunities if this were to happen.

"Boxing will always survive, but there's something very special about boxing in the Olympic Games, particularly for Ireland, as it is the most successful sport," said Heberle.

"When you talk to the children, they aren't talking about going to the European Games or European Championships. Yes, they are representing their country, but there is a strong Olympic focus. We need to be at the Olympics and our board, our central council, and the membership have to make that decision," she said.

Olympic boxing has brought Ireland much joy. Ireland is currently ranked 19th in the medal table among all countries, with three gold medals, five silver, and ten bronze. These days, the Irish delegation is finalising preparations to attend the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, this year with a record number: 125 athletes. Never before have so many athletes qualified for the final phase of the Games. Among them, ten are boxers currently training in a camp in Germany.

Heberle is concerned about the Olympic future given the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) insistence that it will not organise the boxing tournament in Los Angeles 2028. With the IOC stripping the International Boxing Association (IBA) of its status last year, the fledgling organisation World Boxing hopes to rescue the situation.

Both organisations present their arguments. World Boxing has 33 National Federations under its tutelage and aims to continue its expansion. The IBA still maintains over one hundred Federations and continues to defend its interests in the courts. This week, it received news that the Swiss Court accepted its appeal, in which it argued that its interests had not been respected following the IOC's decision.

Meanwhile, uncertainty remains, and there is concern for the future of boxing and many boxers who see the Olympics as the realisation of their dreams. Before the end of the year, there should be a recognised organisation responsible for directing and managing the future of boxing on the road to Los Angeles 2028. If this does not happen, the situation would be unprecedented.