Gennady Golovkin Poised to Become Elected International Boxing President, Will Guide Boxing Toward 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Former world middleweight champion Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and guide boxing as it prepares for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Golovkin, who earned a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Games and went on to make the most world title defences in middleweight history, is the only presidential candidate approved by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for Sunday’s election. Consequently, he will take charge of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing this year.
This position used to be held by the former international boxing body, but it was expelled by the International Olympic Committee in the year 2023 following a series of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.
In his platform, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose first term lasts through 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic programme, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.
“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 stated. “As a professional, I won numerous world titles, recognized for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to fair play.
“I am dedicated to strengthening governance, ensuring financial transparency, advancing tech solutions to ensure impartial scoring, and creating more chances for athletes of all genders 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 granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in the city of Liverpool. For the championships, World Boxing implemented compulsory gender verification, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a step which the Olympic committee is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.