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Former world middleweight champion Golovkin will 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 most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the sole nominee for president approved by the sport’s independent vetting panel for the upcoming vote. As a result, he will take charge of World Boxing, which became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing this year.

That role was previously occupied by the International Boxing Association, but it was expelled by the International Olympic Committee in 2023 following a series of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.

In his platform, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose first term lasts through 2027, vowed to rebuild confidence in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.

“As an amateur, I earned with pride 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 wrote. “As a professional, I won numerous world titles, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to fair play.

“I am dedicated to strengthening governance, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities for athletes of all genders in every region of the world.”

The IOC directly managed the boxing events at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. However, after last year’s Olympics were marred by rows over sex eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner by the 2028 Olympics.

In February, it officially recognized the new boxing federation, which then ran the 2025 world championships in Liverpool. For that event, the organization implemented compulsory gender verification, to determine the eligibility of boxers of both sexes, a step which the IOC is also evaluating for LA 2028.