Golovkin Set to Be Chosen as International Boxing Leader, To Steer Boxing 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 heads toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in Athens in 2004 and achieved the highest number of title defenses in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate approved by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for Sunday’s election. As a result, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing recently.
That role used to be held by the International Boxing Association, but it was banished by the IOC in the year 2023 following a string of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.
In his manifesto, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose initial term lasts through 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic lineup, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.
“During my amateur career, I earned with pride a second-place finish at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that define Olympic boxing,” he stated. “As a professional, I won numerous world titles, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to clean competition.
“I am dedicated to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, advancing tech solutions to ensure impartial scoring, and expanding opportunities for men and women in all corners of the globe.”
The IOC organized the boxing tournaments itself at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. However, after last year’s Olympics were marred by rows over gender eligibility, it said it needed a fresh collaborator in time for 2028.
In February, it officially recognized the new boxing federation, which then ran the 2025 world championships in the city of Liverpool. For that event, World Boxing implemented compulsory gender verification, to assess qualification of boxers of both sexes, a step which the Olympic committee is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
