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Ex-middleweight world titleholder Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of World Boxing and guide boxing as it prepares for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

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 only presidential candidate approved by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for the upcoming vote. As a result, he will assume leadership of World Boxing, which was established as the authority for amateur Olympic boxing this year.

This position used to be held by the former international boxing body, but it was banished by the IOC in 2023 following a series of judging, corruption and governance scandals.

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 programme, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.

“During my amateur career, I earned with pride a second-place finish at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, representing not only Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that characterize the sport,” he wrote. “In my pro career, I won numerous world titles, known for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to clean competition.

“I am committed to strengthening governance, guaranteeing open finances, advancing tech solutions to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities for men and women in every region of the world.”

The IOC directly managed the boxing events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, after the recent Games were marred by rows over gender eligibility, it said it needed a fresh collaborator 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 Liverpool. For that event, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to assess qualification of male and female athletes, a step which the Olympic committee is also considering for LA 2028.