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Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and guide boxing as it prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.

The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Games and went on to make the highest number of title defenses in the history of the middleweight division, is the sole nominee for president approved by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for Sunday’s election. As a result, he will take charge of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing this year.

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

In his manifesto, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose first term lasts through 2027, vowed to rebuild confidence in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic lineup, starting with the Los Angeles 2028.

“During my amateur career, I earned with pride a silver medal at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he stated. “In my pro career, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, recognized for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to fair play.

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

The International Olympic Committee directly managed the boxing events at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. However, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by rows over sex eligibility, it declared a need for a fresh collaborator in time for the 2028 Olympics.

In the month of February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For the championships, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a move that the IOC is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.