Gennady Golovkin Poised to Become Chosen as World Boxing President, Will Guide Boxing Toward 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Ex-middleweight world titleholder Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of World Boxing and lead the sport as it heads toward the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
Golovkin, who won Olympic silver in the 2004 Athens Games and achieved the highest number of title defenses in middleweight history, is the only presidential candidate approved by the sport’s independent vetting panel for the upcoming vote. Consequently, he will assume leadership of World Boxing, which was established as the authority for amateur Olympic boxing recently.
This position was previously occupied by the International Boxing Association, but it was banished by the IOC in the year 2023 following a series of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
In his manifesto, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose first term lasts through 2027, vowed to rebuild confidence in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic programme, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.
“As an amateur, I earned with pride a second-place finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that characterize the sport,” he stated. “In my pro career, I won numerous world titles, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to fair play.
“I am committed to strengthening governance, ensuring financial transparency, developing technology to ensure impartial scoring, and creating more chances for men and women in all corners of the globe.”
The International Olympic Committee directly managed the boxing events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were marred by rows over sex eligibility, it said it needed a new partner in time for 2028.
In the month of February, it officially recognized the new boxing federation, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in 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 evaluating for LA 2028.
