Kellie Harrington of Team Ireland makes her way to the ring before the Women's 60kg Final match at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. GETTY IMAGES

Irish boxing chiefs are under pressure to make a final decision on where their allegiance lies as a divided boxing world makes a messy potential transition from the International Boxing Association to the more recently established World Boxing.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is encouraging the Olympic Federation of Ireland to cut ties with the Irish Amateur Boxing Association if the latter votes against leaving the International Boxing Association (IBA) to join the World Boxing (WB).

IBA was suspended in 2019 due to finance, governance and integrity concerns before the IOC then withdrew recognition of IBA as the International Federation for boxing. IBA has consequently not been involved in boxing at the last two Olympic Games and now faces being replaced by the recently launched World Boxing which is run by former IBA presidential candidate Boris van der Vorst.

With the IOC maintaining that IBA will not be involved at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, it is hoping to work out "a partner international federation for boxing by early 2025" and has World Boxing keenly seeking International Olympic Committee recognition. IBA, meanwhile, has previously attempted to denounce World Boxing claiming that it is "unfit" to represent boxers.

Up until now, the Irish Amateur Boxing Association has voted to remain with the IBA but the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) is now applying pressure for them to change their stance if they want Irish boxers to be able to compete at the next summer Olympics.

"I think it's getting less complicated. Decisions are being made internationally now" said Sarah Keane, President of the Olympic Federation of Ireland. "If they vote to stay within the IBA, which means that the federation won’t be part of boxing, we’ve been asked as an Olympic committee to cease their membership in the coming months."

"Then it’s a case if you want boxing at the Olympic Games and if you want to support high performance this way you have to create a new national federation", she explained. "The IOC have asked. We will in the coming months have to say to the IABA we can’t recognize you as a National Olympic Committee anymore because the international federation is not recognized by the IOC."

"From our perspective, we are very clear. We support World Boxing," she finished. We will have no choice but to comply with the IOC. We hope in the next couple of months that the IABA will ask its community a question so at least then we know how they feel."

Boxing has historically been central to Ireland's Olympic Games efforts with nearly half of Ireland's medals ever won and the Olympics coming from boxing.