Former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin will be elected president of the global boxing federation and guide boxing as it heads toward the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
Golovkin, who earned a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Games and achieved 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 Sunday’s election. Consequently, he will take charge of World Boxing, which was established as the authority for Olympic-style amateur boxing recently.
This position was previously occupied by the International Boxing Association, but it was banished by the International Olympic Committee in 2023 following a series of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
In his platform, the boxing veteran, whose initial term runs until 2027, promised to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic lineup, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.
“As an amateur, I proudly won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, 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, recognized for my integrity, respect, and commitment to fair play.
“I am dedicated to improving oversight, ensuring financial transparency, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities for athletes of all genders 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. Nonetheless, after the recent Games were marred by disputes about sex eligibility, it said it needed a fresh collaborator by the 2028 Olympics.
In the month of February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For the championships, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a step which the Olympic committee is also considering for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
