Golovkin Set to Be Elected World Boxing Leader, To Steer Sport Toward Olympic Games in LA 2028
Former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of World Boxing and lead the sport as it prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in Athens in 2004 and achieved the highest number of title defenses in middleweight history, is the sole nominee for president endorsed by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for the upcoming vote. Consequently, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing recently.
That role used to be held by the International Boxing Association, but it was banished by the IOC in 2023 following a string of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
In his manifesto, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose initial term runs until 2027, vowed to rebuild confidence in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic programme, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.
“As an amateur, I proudly won a second-place finish at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he stated. “As a professional, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, known for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to clean competition.
“I am committed to improving oversight, ensuring financial transparency, advancing tech solutions to ensure impartial scoring, and creating more chances for men and women in every region of the world.”
The International Olympic Committee organized the boxing tournaments itself at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. Nonetheless, after the recent Games were overshadowed by rows over gender eligibility, it said it needed a new partner in time for 2028.
In February, it officially recognized the new boxing federation, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For the championships, the organization implemented compulsory gender verification, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a move that the Olympic committee is also considering for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
