Gennady Golovkin Set to Be Elected International Boxing Leader, Will Guide Sport Toward Olympic Games in LA 2028
Former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is slated to be elected president of World Boxing and guide boxing 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 most world title defences in middleweight history, is the only presidential candidate approved by the sport’s independent vetting panel for Sunday’s election. As a result, he will take charge of the boxing governing body, which was established as the authority for amateur Olympic boxing this year.
This position was previously occupied by the former international boxing body, but it was banished by the IOC in the year 2023 following a series of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.
In his platform, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose initial term runs until 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic programme, beginning at the Los Angeles 2028.
“As an amateur, I proudly won a silver medal at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that define Olympic boxing,” he wrote. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, recognized for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to fair play.
“I am dedicated to improving oversight, ensuring financial transparency, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, 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. However, 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 ran the 2025 world championships in the city of Liverpool. For that event, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to assess qualification of boxers of both sexes, a step which the IOC is also considering for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
