Golovkin Set to Be Chosen as World Boxing President, To Steer Boxing Toward 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is slated to be elected president of World Boxing and guide boxing as it prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Games and achieved the highest number of title defenses in the history of the middleweight division, is the sole nominee for president approved by the sport’s independent vetting panel for the upcoming vote. Consequently, he will take charge of World Boxing, which became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing this year.
This position was previously occupied by the former international boxing body, but it was expelled by the International Olympic Committee in the year 2023 following a string of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
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, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.
“As an amateur, I earned with pride a second-place finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics, representing not only Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline 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 strengthening governance, ensuring financial transparency, developing technology to ensure impartial scoring, and expanding opportunities for men and women in every region of the world.”
The IOC organized the boxing tournaments itself at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Paris 2024 Games. Nonetheless, after the recent Games 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 Liverpool. For that event, the organization implemented compulsory gender verification, to assess qualification of boxers of both sexes, a move that the Olympic committee is also evaluating for LA 2028.