Golovkin Poised to Become Elected International Boxing Leader, To Steer Boxing Towards Olympic Games in LA 2028
Former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is slated to be elected president of World Boxing and lead the sport as it heads toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Games and achieved the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate endorsed by the sport’s independent vetting panel for Sunday’s election. Consequently, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, which was established as the authority for amateur Olympic boxing recently.
That role used to be held by the former international boxing body, but it was expelled by the International Olympic Committee in 2023 following a string of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
In his manifesto, 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 lineup, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.
“As an amateur, I proudly won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that define Olympic boxing,” he stated. “As a professional, I won numerous world titles, known for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to clean competition.
“I am committed to improving oversight, ensuring financial transparency, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, and creating more chances for men and women in every region of the world.”
The IOC organized the boxing tournaments itself at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by rows over gender eligibility, it said it needed a new partner in time for 2028.
In the month of February, it granted recognition to World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For the championships, the organization implemented compulsory gender verification, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a move that the Olympic committee is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
