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Ex-middleweight world titleholder Golovkin will be chosen as the head of World Boxing and guide boxing as it heads toward the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.

The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Games and achieved the highest number of title defenses in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate approved by the sport’s independent vetting panel for the upcoming vote. As a result, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing this year.

This position used to be held by the International Boxing Association, but it was banished by the IOC in the year 2023 following a string of judging, corruption and governance scandals.

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

“As an amateur, I earned with pride a second-place finish at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, representing not only Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that characterize the sport,” he wrote. “In my pro career, I won numerous world titles, known for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to fair play.

“I am dedicated to strengthening governance, guaranteeing open finances, advancing tech solutions to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities for athletes of all genders in all corners of the globe.”

The International Olympic Committee directly managed the boxing events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Paris 2024 Games. However, after the recent Games were marred by rows over gender eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner in time for the 2028 Olympics.

In February, it granted recognition to World Boxing, which then ran the 2025 world championships in the city of Liverpool. For the championships, World Boxing introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to assess qualification of boxers of both sexes, a move that the Olympic committee is also considering for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.