🔗 Share this article

Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady Golovkin will be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and guide boxing as it prepares for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Golovkin, 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 independent vetting panel for Sunday’s election. Consequently, he will take charge of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing recently.

That role was previously occupied by the former international boxing body, but it was banished by the International Olympic Committee in 2023 following a series 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 secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic lineup, beginning at 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 wrote. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, recognized for my integrity, respect, and commitment to clean competition.

“I am dedicated to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to ensure impartial scoring, and expanding opportunities for athletes of all genders in every region of the world.”

The International Olympic Committee 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 new partner in time for 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, World Boxing 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.