A photo shows a general view of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 144th IOC Session prior to a vote on boxing in Costa Navarino, Greece, on the election day of the next IOC President. Fabrice Coffrini, AFP

COSTA NAVARINO -- Boxing will feature at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after International Olympic Committee members voted unanimously for its inclusion on Thursday.

The sport had passed a major hurdle when the IOC Executive Board on Monday recognized World Boxing as the federation to oversee the sport.

It ends years of divisions over the way the sport -- which has featured at every Olympic Games since 1904, except Stockholm in 1912 as it was barred under a Swedish law -- is run.

The IOC stepped in to organize the boxing tournaments at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Paris Olympics last year after breaking with the Russian-led International Boxing Association over financial, governance and ethical concerns.

IOC president Thomas Bach had warned that boxing's national federations needed to find a new and "reliable" international partner if it wanted to be included at the 2028 Games.

Last month, the IOC provisionally recognized World Boxing as the body to oversee the sport at future Olympics and on Thursday the IOC Session rubber-stamped the move.

The president of World Boxing, Boris van der Vorst, said in a statement: "World Boxing is very grateful to the IOC for the faith they have placed in our organization by restoring boxing to the programme for LA2028, and I can reassure them that we will do everything in our power to ensure that we operate to the highest standards of governance and transparency and deliver sporting integrity."

Former Olympic boxing champions welcomed the green light for the sport's inclusion in 2028.

Ukraine's Wladimir Klitschko, who took gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games, said: "This is absolutely fantastic news. Winning Olympic gold was one of the biggest highlights of my career and I would hate to see that opportunity get taken away from future generations.

"The Olympic Games is so important to our sport and to have not been part of it would have been a disaster for boxing and boxers everywhere from the grassroots to the professionals."

It is one of the last votes to be conducted under Bach, whose 12-year tenure is coming to a close.

His successor as president will be decided in a vote later on Thursday.

There are seven candidates, with the front-runners IOC veteran Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., World Athletics president Sebastian Coe and former Olympic swimmer Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe.

© Agence France-Presse