Golovkin Set to Be Chosen as World Boxing President, To Steer Sport Towards 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

Ex-middleweight world titleholder Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and lead the sport as it heads toward the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.

Golovkin, who won Olympic silver in the 2004 Athens Games and went on to make the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the sole nominee for president approved 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 Olympic-style amateur boxing this year.

This position was previously occupied by the International Boxing Association, but it was expelled 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, vowed to rebuild confidence in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic lineup, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.

“As an amateur, I proudly won a second-place finish at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he wrote. “As a professional, I won numerous world titles, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to clean competition.

“I am committed to strengthening governance, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, and creating more chances for athletes of all genders in every region of the world.”

The IOC organized the boxing tournaments itself at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. However, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by disputes about sex eligibility, it said it needed a fresh collaborator by 2028.

In February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in the city of Liverpool. For that event, the organization implemented compulsory gender verification, to assess qualification of boxers of both sexes, a step which the IOC is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.