Golovkin Poised to Become Elected World Boxing President, To Steer Sport Towards Olympic Games in LA 2028
Former world middleweight champion Golovkin is slated to be elected president of World Boxing and guide boxing as it prepares for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Golovkin, who won Olympic silver in the 2004 Athens Games and went on to make the highest number of title defenses in the history of the middleweight division, is the sole nominee for president approved by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for the upcoming vote. Consequently, he will take charge of World Boxing, which was established as the authority for amateur Olympic boxing this year.
That role was previously occupied by the former international boxing body, but it was banished by the International Olympic Committee in the year 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 programme, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.
“As an amateur, I earned with pride a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, representing not only Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he wrote. “As a professional, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, recognized for my integrity, respect, and commitment to fair play.
“I am committed to strengthening governance, ensuring financial transparency, advancing tech solutions to ensure impartial scoring, and creating more chances for men and women 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 marred by rows over gender eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner in time for 2028.
In February, it granted recognition to World Boxing, which then ran the 2025 world championships in the city of Liverpool. For the championships, World Boxing implemented compulsory gender verification, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a step which the IOC is also considering for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
