Gennady Golovkin Poised to Become Elected International Boxing President, To Steer Boxing Toward Olympic Games in LA 2028
Former world middleweight champion Golovkin will be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and guide boxing as it heads toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in Athens in 2004 and went on to make the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate approved by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for Sunday’s election. Consequently, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing recently.
That role was previously occupied by the International Boxing Association, but it was banished by the IOC in 2023 following a series of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
In his manifesto, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose first term lasts through 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic lineup, beginning at the Los Angeles 2028.
“During my amateur career, I earned with pride a silver medal at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, representing not only Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he stated. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, known for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to clean competition.
“I am dedicated to strengthening governance, guaranteeing open finances, advancing tech solutions to guarantee fair judging, and creating more chances for men and women in all corners of the globe.”
The International Olympic Committee organized the boxing tournaments itself at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by rows over gender eligibility, it said it needed a new partner in time for 2028.
In February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then ran the 2025 world championships in the city of Liverpool. For that event, the organization implemented compulsory gender verification, to determine the eligibility of boxers of both sexes, a step which the IOC is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
