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Former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin will be elected president of World Boxing and guide boxing as it heads toward the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.

The boxing legend, 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 endorsed by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for Sunday’s election. As a result, he will assume leadership of World Boxing, which became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing recently.

This position was previously occupied by the former international boxing body, but it was expelled by the International Olympic Committee in the year 2023 following a series of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.

In his manifesto, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose initial term runs until 2027, promised to rebuild confidence in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic programme, beginning at the Los Angeles 2028.

“During my amateur career, I earned with pride a second-place finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics, representing not only Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he stated. “In my pro career, I won numerous world titles, recognized for my integrity, respect, and commitment to fair play.

“I am dedicated to improving oversight, ensuring financial transparency, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, and creating more chances for men and women in all corners of the globe.”

The IOC directly managed the boxing events at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. However, after the recent Games were overshadowed by disputes about sex eligibility, it said it needed a new partner by 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, the organization implemented compulsory gender verification, to assess qualification of male and female athletes, a move that the Olympic committee is also considering for LA 2028.