🔗 Share this article

Ex-middleweight world titleholder Golovkin is slated to be elected president of the global boxing federation and lead the sport as it heads toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Golovkin, who won Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and went on to make the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate endorsed by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for the upcoming vote. As a result, he will take charge of the boxing governing body, which was established as the authority for Olympic-style amateur boxing this year.

This position was previously occupied by the International Boxing Association, but it was expelled by the IOC in 2023 following a string of judging, corruption and governance scandals.

In his platform, the boxing veteran, whose initial term runs until 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, beginning at the Los Angeles 2028.

“During my amateur career, I proudly won a silver medal at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that define Olympic boxing,” he wrote. “In my pro career, I won numerous world titles, recognized for my integrity, respect, and commitment to fair play.

“I am dedicated to improving oversight, ensuring financial transparency, advancing tech solutions to ensure impartial scoring, and expanding opportunities for athletes of all genders in all corners of the globe.”

The International Olympic Committee organized the boxing tournaments itself at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, after the recent Games were marred by disputes about sex eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner by 2028.

In the month of February, it officially recognized the new boxing federation, which then ran the 2025 world championships in the city of Liverpool. For the championships, the organization implemented compulsory gender verification, to assess qualification of boxers of both sexes, a step which the Olympic committee is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.