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Ex-middleweight world titleholder Golovkin will be elected president of World Boxing and lead the sport as it prepares for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in Athens in 2004 and went on to make the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate endorsed by the sport’s independent vetting panel for the upcoming vote. Consequently, 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 International Boxing Association, but it was expelled by the IOC in the year 2023 following a string of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.

In his platform, the boxing veteran, whose initial term lasts through 2027, vowed to rebuild confidence in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic programme, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.

“As an amateur, I earned with pride a second-place finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics, representing not only Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that characterize the sport,” he wrote. “As a professional, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to fair play.

“I am committed to improving oversight, guaranteeing open finances, advancing tech solutions to ensure impartial scoring, and creating more chances 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 2024 Paris Olympics. However, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by disputes about sex eligibility, it said it needed a new partner 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 the city of Liverpool. For the championships, World Boxing introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to assess qualification of male and female athletes, a step which the IOC is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.