Golovkin Set to Be Chosen as World Boxing President, To Steer Sport Toward Olympic Games in LA 2028
Ex-middleweight world titleholder Golovkin will be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and guide boxing as it prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.
Golovkin, who won Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and achieved the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate approved by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for Sunday’s election. Consequently, he will take charge of World Boxing, which became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing recently.
This position used to be held by the International Boxing Association, but it was expelled by the International Olympic Committee in the year 2023 following a string of judging, corruption and governance scandals.
In his manifesto, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose initial term lasts through 2027, promised to rebuild confidence in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.
“As an amateur, I earned with pride a second-place finish at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, 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 clean competition.
“I am committed to strengthening governance, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities for men and women in every region of the world.”
The IOC directly managed the boxing events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Paris 2024 Games. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were marred by disputes about sex eligibility, it said it needed a fresh collaborator by 2028.
In February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then ran the 2025 world championships in Liverpool. For that event, World Boxing implemented compulsory gender verification, to assess qualification of male and female athletes, a step which the IOC is also evaluating for LA 2028.
