Gennady Golovkin Poised to Become Chosen as World Boxing President, To Steer Boxing Toward Olympic Games in LA 2028
Former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of World Boxing and guide boxing as it heads toward the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
The boxing legend, who won Olympic silver in the 2004 Athens Games and went on to make the highest number of title defenses in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate endorsed by the sport’s independent vetting panel for Sunday’s election. As a result, he will take charge of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing this year.
This position was previously occupied by the International Boxing Association, but it was expelled by the IOC in 2023 following a series of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.
In his platform, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose first term runs until 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic programme, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.
“During my amateur career, I proudly won a second-place finish at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, representing not only Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that define Olympic boxing,” he stated. “As a professional, I won numerous world titles, recognized for my integrity, respect, and commitment to fair play.
“I am dedicated to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, advancing tech solutions to ensure impartial scoring, and expanding opportunities for athletes of all genders in every region of the world.”
The International Olympic Committee organized the boxing tournaments itself at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Paris 2024 Games. However, after the recent Games were overshadowed by rows over gender eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner by the 2028 Olympics.
In February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in the city of 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.
