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Former world middleweight champion Golovkin is slated to be chosen as the head of the global boxing federation and lead the sport as it prepares for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.

The boxing legend, who won Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and went on to make 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 Sunday’s election. Consequently, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, which was established as the authority for amateur Olympic boxing recently.

This position used to be held by the former international boxing body, but it was expelled by the International Olympic Committee in 2023 following a string of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.

In his manifesto, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose initial term lasts through 2027, vowed 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 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 became a multiple-time unified world champion, known for my honesty, sportsmanship, and dedication to clean competition.

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

The IOC organized the boxing tournaments itself at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, after the recent Games were overshadowed by rows over gender eligibility, it declared a need for a fresh collaborator in time for 2028.

In the month of February, it officially recognized the new boxing federation, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in the city of Liverpool. For the championships, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of boxers of both sexes, a move that the Olympic committee is also considering for LA 2028.