Gennady Golovkin Set to Be Elected International Boxing Leader, To Steer Boxing Toward Olympic Games in LA 2028
Ex-middleweight world titleholder Golovkin will be elected president of World Boxing and guide boxing as it prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
The boxing legend, who won Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and achieved the most world title defences in middleweight history, is the sole nominee for president endorsed by the sport’s independent vetting panel for Sunday’s election. As a result, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, which was established as the authority for amateur Olympic boxing recently.
This position used to be held by the International Boxing Association, but it was expelled by the International Olympic Committee in 2023 following a string of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
In his platform, the boxing veteran, whose initial term lasts through 2027, promised to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place 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, representing not only Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that characterize the sport,” he wrote. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, known for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to clean competition.
“I am committed to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities for men and women in every region of the world.”
The IOC directly managed the boxing events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after the recent Games were marred by rows over gender eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner by the 2028 Olympics.
In February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For that event, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of boxers of both sexes, a step which the IOC is also considering for LA 2028.
