🔗 Share this article

Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady Golovkin will 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 went on to make the most world title defences in middleweight history, is the only presidential candidate endorsed by the sport’s independent vetting panel for the upcoming vote. Consequently, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing recently.

This position used to be held by the former international boxing body, but it was expelled 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 lasts through 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.

“As an amateur, 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. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to clean competition.

“I am committed to strengthening governance, guaranteeing open finances, advancing tech solutions to ensure impartial scoring, and creating more chances for men and women in all corners of the globe.”

The International Olympic Committee directly managed the boxing events at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. Nonetheless, after the recent Games were overshadowed by rows over gender eligibility, it declared a need for a fresh collaborator by 2028.

In February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then ran the 2025 world championships in Liverpool. For that event, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to assess qualification of male and female athletes, a move that the Olympic committee is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.