Gennady Golovkin Set to Be Chosen as International Boxing President, Will Guide Boxing Toward 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Former world middleweight champion Golovkin is slated to be elected president of World Boxing and guide boxing as it heads toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The boxing legend, who won Olympic silver in the 2004 Athens Games and achieved the highest number of title defenses in middleweight history, is the only presidential candidate endorsed by the sport’s independent vetting panel for Sunday’s election. Consequently, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing recently.
This position 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 first term runs until 2027, promised to rebuild confidence in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic programme, beginning at the Los Angeles 2028.
“As an amateur, I earned with pride a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, representing not only Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he stated. “As a professional, I won numerous world titles, known for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to clean competition.
“I am committed to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, advancing tech solutions to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities for athletes of all genders in all corners of the globe.”
The International Olympic Committee organized the boxing tournaments itself at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. However, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by rows over sex eligibility, it declared a need for a fresh collaborator in time for the 2028 Olympics.
In the month of February, it officially recognized the new boxing federation, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For that event, the organization implemented compulsory gender verification, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a step which the Olympic committee is also considering for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
