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Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and lead the sport 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 sole nominee for president endorsed by the sport’s independent vetting panel for Sunday’s election. Consequently, he will take charge of World Boxing, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing this year.

That role was previously occupied by the International Boxing Association, but it was expelled by the IOC in the year 2023 following a series of judging, corruption and governance scandals.

In his platform, the boxing veteran, whose initial term lasts through 2027, promised to restore trust in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, starting with 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 won numerous world titles, recognized for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to fair play.

“I am dedicated to strengthening governance, guaranteeing open finances, advancing tech solutions to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities for men and women in every region of the world.”

The International Olympic Committee directly managed the boxing events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Paris 2024 Games. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by rows over sex eligibility, it declared a need for a fresh collaborator in time for 2028.

In February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For that event, the organization implemented compulsory gender verification, to assess qualification of male and female athletes, a step which the IOC is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.