Gennady Golovkin Poised to Become Chosen as World Boxing Leader, To Steer Sport Towards Olympic Games in LA 2028

Ex-middleweight world titleholder Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and guide boxing 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 highest number of title defenses in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate endorsed by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for the upcoming vote. Consequently, he will take charge of World Boxing, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing this year.

This position used to be held by the former international boxing body, but it was banished by the IOC in the year 2023 following a string of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.

In his platform, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose initial term lasts through 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic programme, beginning at the Los Angeles 2028.

“As an amateur, I proudly won a second-place finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he stated. “As a professional, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, recognized for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to clean competition.

“I am committed to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities for men and women in all corners of the globe.”

The IOC organized the boxing tournaments itself at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, after the recent Games were marred by rows over gender eligibility, it said it needed a fresh collaborator by 2028.

In February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then ran the 2025 world championships in the city of Liverpool. For the championships, World Boxing introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of boxers of both sexes, a move that the Olympic committee is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.