🔗 Share this article

Former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is slated to be elected president of the global boxing federation and guide boxing as it heads toward the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.

The boxing legend, who won Olympic silver in the 2004 Athens Games and achieved the highest number of title defenses 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. As a result, he will take charge of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing this year.

This position used to be held by the International Boxing Association, but it was banished by the International Olympic Committee 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 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, representing not only Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that define Olympic boxing,” he wrote. “As a professional, I won numerous world titles, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to clean competition.

“I am committed to improving oversight, ensuring financial transparency, developing technology 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 Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Paris 2024 Games. Nonetheless, after the recent Games were marred by disputes about sex eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner in time for the 2028 Olympics.

In the month of February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in the city of Liverpool. For that event, World Boxing introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a step which the Olympic committee is also considering for LA 2028.