Golovkin Set to Be Chosen as International Boxing President, Will Guide Boxing Towards 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Former world middleweight champion 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 earned a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Games and achieved the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate approved by the sport’s independent vetting panel for the upcoming vote. As a result, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing recently.
This position used to be held by the International Boxing Association, but it was banished by the International Olympic Committee in the year 2023 following a series 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 programme, beginning at the 2028 LA Olympics.
“During my amateur career, I earned with pride 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. “In my pro career, I won numerous world titles, recognized for my integrity, respect, and commitment to clean competition.
“I am dedicated to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, 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 2024 Paris Olympics. However, after last year’s Olympics were marred by disputes about sex eligibility, it declared a need for a fresh collaborator in time for 2028.
In the month of February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then ran the 2025 world championships in Liverpool. For that event, the organization implemented compulsory gender verification, to assess qualification of male and female athletes, a move that the IOC is also considering for LA 2028.