Golovkin Poised to Become Elected World Boxing President, Will Guide Sport Toward 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady Golovkin will be elected president of the global boxing federation and lead the sport as it prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
Golovkin, who earned a silver medal in Athens in 2004 and achieved the highest number of title defenses in middleweight history, is the sole nominee for president approved by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for the upcoming vote. As a result, he will assume leadership of World Boxing, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing this year.
That role used to be held by the International Boxing Association, but it was banished by the IOC in 2023 following a string of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
In his platform, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose initial term lasts through 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic programme, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.
“During my amateur career, I earned with pride a silver medal at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, representing not only Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that define Olympic boxing,” he stated. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, recognized for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to fair play.
“I am committed to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to ensure impartial scoring, and creating more chances for men and women in every region of the world.”
The IOC directly managed the boxing events at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. Nonetheless, after the recent Games were overshadowed by disputes about gender eligibility, it said it needed a new partner in time for 2028.
In the month of February, it officially recognized the new boxing federation, which then ran the 2025 world championships in Liverpool. For the championships, World Boxing implemented compulsory gender verification, to assess qualification of male and female athletes, a step which the IOC is also evaluating for LA 2028.