Gennady Golovkin Poised to Become Chosen as World Boxing President, Will Guide Sport Toward 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of World Boxing and lead the sport as it heads toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Games and achieved the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the sole nominee for president endorsed by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for Sunday’s election. Consequently, he will take charge of World Boxing, 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 IOC in 2023 following a string of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.
In his manifesto, the boxing veteran, whose first term lasts through 2027, promised to rebuild confidence in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.
“During my amateur career, I proudly won a second-place finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics, representing not only Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he stated. “As a professional, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to clean competition.
“I am committed to strengthening governance, ensuring financial transparency, advancing tech solutions to guarantee fair judging, and creating more chances for athletes of all genders in all corners of the globe.”
The International Olympic Committee directly managed the boxing events at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were marred by rows over gender eligibility, it declared a need for a fresh collaborator by 2028.
In the month of February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then ran the 2025 world championships in Liverpool. For the championships, World Boxing introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of boxers of both sexes, a step which the Olympic committee is also evaluating for LA 2028.
