Golovkin Set to Be Elected World Boxing President, To Steer Boxing Towards 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin will be elected president of World Boxing and guide boxing 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 highest number of title defenses in the history of the middleweight division, is the sole nominee for president endorsed by the sport’s independent vetting panel for the upcoming vote. As a result, he will assume leadership of World Boxing, which was established as the authority for amateur Olympic boxing this year.
This position was previously occupied by the International Boxing Association, but it was banished by the International Olympic Committee in 2023 following a string of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
In his manifesto, the boxing veteran, whose initial term runs until 2027, promised to rebuild confidence in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.
“As an amateur, I proudly won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that define Olympic boxing,” he stated. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to fair play.
“I am committed to strengthening governance, ensuring financial transparency, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities for men and women in every region of the world.”
The International Olympic Committee directly managed the boxing events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, after the recent Games were overshadowed by disputes about gender eligibility, it said it needed a fresh collaborator by the 2028 Olympics.
In the month of February, it granted recognition to World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in the city of Liverpool. For the championships, World Boxing introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to assess qualification of boxers of both sexes, a move that the IOC is also evaluating for LA 2028.
