Gennady Golovkin Poised to Become Elected International Boxing President, To Steer Boxing Toward 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
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 Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The boxing legend, who won Olympic silver in the 2004 Athens Games and achieved the highest number of title defenses in middleweight history, is the only presidential candidate approved by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for the upcoming vote. Consequently, he will take charge of the boxing governing body, which was established as the authority for amateur Olympic boxing this year.
That role used to be held by the International Boxing Association, but it was expelled by the International Olympic Committee in 2023 following a series of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.
In his manifesto, the boxing veteran, whose first term runs until 2027, vowed to rebuild confidence in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, beginning at the Los Angeles 2028.
“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 define Olympic boxing,” he stated. “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 improving oversight, ensuring financial transparency, advancing tech solutions to ensure impartial scoring, and creating more chances for athletes of all genders in every region of the world.”
The IOC organized the boxing tournaments itself at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by disputes about gender eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner by 2028.
In February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then ran the 2025 world championships in the city of Liverpool. For the championships, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of boxers of both sexes, a move that the Olympic committee is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
