Gennady Golovkin Poised to Become Elected World Boxing President, Will Guide Boxing Toward 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Former world middleweight champion Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and guide boxing as it heads toward the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
The boxing legend, who won Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and went on to make the highest number of title defenses in middleweight history, is the sole nominee for president approved by the sport’s independent vetting panel for Sunday’s election. Consequently, he will assume leadership of World Boxing, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing this year.
This position used to be held by the former international boxing body, but it was expelled by the IOC in 2023 following a series of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.
In his platform, the boxing veteran, whose initial term runs until 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic programme, beginning at the 2028 LA Olympics.
“During my amateur career, I earned with pride a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, representing not only Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that characterize the sport,” he stated. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, recognized for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to fair play.
“I am committed to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to ensure impartial scoring, and expanding opportunities for athletes of all genders in every region of the world.”
The IOC organized the boxing tournaments itself at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Paris 2024 Games. However, after the recent Games were marred by disputes about gender eligibility, it declared a need for a fresh collaborator in time for 2028.
In the month of February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in the city of Liverpool. For that event, World Boxing introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a step which the Olympic committee is also considering for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
