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Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady Golovkin will be elected president of World Boxing and guide boxing as it prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.

Golovkin, who won Olympic silver in the 2004 Athens Games and went on to make the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the sole nominee for president approved by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for the upcoming vote. As a result, he will take charge of World Boxing, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing this year.

That role used to be held by the former international boxing body, 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 43-year-old Golovkin, whose first term lasts through 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 earned with pride a second-place finish at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that characterize the sport,” he stated. “As a professional, I won numerous world titles, recognized for my integrity, respect, and commitment to fair play.

“I am committed to improving oversight, ensuring financial transparency, developing technology 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 Paris 2024 Games. 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 February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in the city of Liverpool. For that event, World Boxing introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a step which the Olympic committee is also considering for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.