Gennady Golovkin Poised to Become Chosen as International Boxing President, To Steer Sport Towards 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Ex-middleweight world titleholder Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and lead the sport as it prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in Athens in 2004 and achieved the most world title defences in middleweight history, is the only presidential candidate endorsed by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for the upcoming vote. As a result, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, 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 string of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.
In his manifesto, the boxing veteran, 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 2028 LA Olympics.
“During my amateur career, I earned with pride a second-place finish at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that define Olympic boxing,” he stated. “As a professional, 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, developing technology to ensure impartial scoring, and creating more chances for men and women in all corners of the globe.”
The IOC directly managed the boxing events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Paris 2024 Games. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by disputes about gender eligibility, it declared a need for a fresh collaborator by 2028.
In February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For that event, World Boxing implemented compulsory gender verification, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a move that the Olympic committee is also evaluating for LA 2028.
