IOC still playing coy on Tokyo ring fling

TOKYO - The International Olympic Committee will "work hard" to keep boxing in the 2020 Games in Tokyo despite freezing preparations over a governance crisis in the sport, the body's chief said on Saturday.

On Friday, the IOC said it was halting preparations for boxing at the 2020 Games and had launched a probe into the sport's troubled governing body - the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA).

Speaking at a press conference, IOC president Thomas Bach declined to promise that boxing would be part of the 2020 Games, but said "we will make all efforts to protect the athletes as we always do."