Gennady Golovkin Set to Be Chosen as International Boxing Leader, To Steer Sport Toward Olympic Games in LA 2028
Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of World Boxing and guide boxing as it heads toward the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
Golovkin, who earned a silver medal in Athens in 2004 and achieved the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate endorsed by the sport’s independent vetting panel for the upcoming vote. As a result, he will take charge of World Boxing, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing recently.
That role used to be held by the former international boxing body, but it was expelled by the IOC in the year 2023 following a series of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
In his manifesto, the boxing veteran, whose first term runs until 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic programme, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.
“During my amateur career, I proudly won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, representing not only Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that define Olympic boxing,” he stated. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, known for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to fair play.
“I am dedicated to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to ensure impartial scoring, and expanding opportunities for men and women in every region of the world.”
The IOC organized the boxing tournaments itself at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by rows over sex eligibility, it declared a need for a fresh collaborator in time for the 2028 Olympics.
In February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For that event, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a step which the IOC is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
