Golovkin Set to Be Elected International Boxing President, Will Guide Boxing Towards 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady Golovkin is slated to be elected president of the global boxing federation and guide boxing as it prepares for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in Athens in 2004 and went on to make the most world title defences in middleweight history, is the sole nominee for president approved by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for the upcoming vote. Consequently, he will assume leadership of World Boxing, which was established as the authority for Olympic-style amateur boxing this year.
That role used to be held by the International Boxing Association, but it was banished by the IOC in 2023 following a series of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.
In his platform, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose first term runs until 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic programme, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.
“As an amateur, I earned with pride a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work 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 fair play.
“I am committed to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, and creating more chances for men and women in all corners of the globe.”
The IOC organized the boxing tournaments itself at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. However, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by disputes about gender eligibility, it said it needed a fresh collaborator by the 2028 Olympics.
In the month of February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For the championships, World Boxing introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a move that the IOC is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
