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Ex-middleweight world titleholder Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of World Boxing and guide boxing as it heads toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Golovkin, who earned a silver medal in Athens in 2004 and went on to make the highest number of title defenses in middleweight history, is the sole nominee for president approved by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for the upcoming vote. Consequently, he will take charge of World Boxing, which was established as the authority for amateur Olympic boxing this year.

This position used to be held by the International Boxing Association, 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 platform, the boxing veteran, whose first term runs until 2027, vowed to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic lineup, beginning at the Los Angeles 2028.

“As an amateur, I earned with pride a silver medal at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, representing not only Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that define Olympic boxing,” he stated. “As a professional, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, recognized for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to fair play.

“I am dedicated to improving oversight, 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 organized the boxing tournaments itself at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after the recent Games were marred by rows over sex eligibility, it said it needed a fresh collaborator by the 2028 Olympics.

In February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in the city of Liverpool. For that event, the organization implemented compulsory gender verification, to determine the eligibility of boxers of both sexes, a move that the IOC is also considering for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.