Gennady Golovkin Set to Be Elected International Boxing President, Will Guide Sport Towards 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady Golovkin is slated to be elected president of the global boxing federation and lead the sport as it prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
The boxing legend, who won Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and went on to make the most world title defences in middleweight history, is the only presidential candidate approved by the sport’s independent vetting panel for the upcoming vote. Consequently, he will take charge of the boxing governing body, which was established as the authority for amateur Olympic boxing recently.
This position used to be held by the former international boxing body, but it was banished by the International Olympic Committee in 2023 following a series of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
In his manifesto, the boxing veteran, whose initial term runs until 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic programme, beginning at the Los Angeles 2028.
“During my amateur career, I proudly won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that characterize the sport,” he stated. “As a professional, I won numerous world titles, recognized for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to clean competition.
“I am dedicated to strengthening governance, guaranteeing open finances, advancing tech solutions to ensure impartial scoring, and creating more chances for athletes of all genders in all corners of the globe.”
The IOC organized the boxing tournaments itself at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after the recent Games were overshadowed by disputes about sex eligibility, it said it needed a new partner in time for 2028.
In February, it granted recognition to World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For the championships, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to assess qualification of male and female athletes, a step which the IOC is also evaluating for LA 2028.
