Gennady Golovkin Poised to Become Elected World Boxing President, To Steer Sport Toward 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady Golovkin will be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and lead the sport as it prepares for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The boxing legend, who won Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and went on to make the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, 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 Olympic-style amateur boxing this year.
That role was previously occupied by the former international boxing body, but it was banished by the International Olympic Committee in 2023 following a series of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
In his platform, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose initial term lasts through 2027, promised to rebuild confidence in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, beginning at the Los Angeles 2028.
“As an amateur, I proudly won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that define Olympic boxing,” he wrote. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to clean competition.
“I am dedicated to strengthening governance, ensuring financial transparency, advancing tech solutions to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities for men and women in every region of the world.”
The International Olympic Committee directly managed the boxing events at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were marred by disputes about sex eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner by 2028.
In February, it officially recognized the new boxing federation, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in the city of Liverpool. For that event, World Boxing introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to assess qualification of boxers of both sexes, a move that the Olympic committee is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
