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Ex-middleweight world titleholder Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and lead the sport as it heads toward the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.

The boxing legend, who won Olympic silver in the 2004 Athens Games and went on to make the most world title defences in the history of the middleweight division, is the sole nominee for president endorsed by the sport’s independent vetting panel for Sunday’s election. As a result, 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 banished by the International Olympic Committee in the year 2023 following a series of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.

In his manifesto, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose first term runs until 2027, promised to restore trust in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, beginning at the 2028 LA Olympics.

“During my amateur career, I proudly won a silver medal at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that characterize the sport,” he stated. “In my pro career, I won numerous world titles, recognized for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to fair play.

“I am dedicated to improving oversight, ensuring financial transparency, advancing tech solutions to guarantee fair judging, 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 Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after the recent Games were overshadowed by rows over gender eligibility, it declared a need for a fresh collaborator by the 2028 Olympics.

In February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For that event, World Boxing implemented compulsory gender verification, to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes, a step which the Olympic committee is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.