Gennady Golovkin Set to Be Chosen as World Boxing Leader, Will Guide Boxing Towards 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Former world middleweight champion Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and lead the sport as it heads toward the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
Golovkin, who earned a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Games and went on to make the highest number of title defenses in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate endorsed by the sport’s independent vetting panel for the upcoming vote. As a result, he will take charge of World Boxing, which became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing this year.
That role 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 manifesto, the boxing veteran, whose first term lasts through 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.
“As an amateur, I earned with pride 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 integrity, respect, and commitment to clean competition.
“I am dedicated to strengthening governance, ensuring financial transparency, advancing tech solutions to ensure impartial scoring, and expanding opportunities for men and women in all corners of the globe.”
The International Olympic Committee organized the boxing tournaments itself at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by disputes about sex eligibility, it said it needed a new partner in time for 2028.
In February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in the city of Liverpool. For the championships, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of boxers of both sexes, a step which the IOC is also evaluating for LA 2028.
