Gennady Golovkin Poised to Become Chosen as International Boxing Leader, Will Guide Sport Toward 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady Golovkin will be elected president of World Boxing and lead the sport as it heads toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
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. Consequently, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing recently.
This position was previously occupied by the former international boxing body, but it was expelled by the IOC in the year 2023 following a series of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.
In his manifesto, the boxing veteran, whose first term runs until 2027, promised to restore trust in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic programme, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.
“As an amateur, I proudly won a second-place finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he stated. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to fair play.
“I am dedicated to improving oversight, ensuring financial transparency, advancing tech solutions to guarantee fair judging, and creating more chances 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. However, after the recent Games were overshadowed by disputes about gender eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner by the 2028 Olympics.
In the month of February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then ran the 2025 world championships in the city of Liverpool. For the championships, World Boxing introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to assess qualification of boxers of both sexes, a step which the Olympic committee is also evaluating for LA 2028.