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Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady Golovkin is slated to be elected president of the global boxing federation and guide boxing as it prepares for 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 sole nominee for president approved by the sport’s independent vetting panel for the upcoming vote. Consequently, he will take charge of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing recently.

This position 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, promised to rebuild confidence in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic lineup, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.

“As an amateur, I proudly won a silver medal 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 became a multiple-time unified world champion, known for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to clean competition.

“I am committed to strengthening governance, ensuring financial transparency, 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 organized the boxing tournaments itself at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by rows over sex eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner in time for 2028.

In the month of February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then ran the 2025 world championships in Liverpool. For the championships, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of boxers of both sexes, a step which the Olympic committee is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.