🔗 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.

The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in Athens in 2004 and achieved the highest number of title defenses in middleweight history, is the only presidential candidate 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 IOC in 2023 following a string of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.

In his platform, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose first term lasts through 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic lineup, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.

“During my amateur career, I earned with pride a silver medal at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, representing not only Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he stated. “As a professional, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, recognized for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to clean competition.

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

The IOC directly managed the boxing events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Paris 2024 Games. However, after the recent Games were marred by rows over sex eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner in time for 2028.

In the month of February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then ran the 2025 world championships in Liverpool. For the championships, World Boxing introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a move that the Olympic committee is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.