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

Golovkin, who earned a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Games and went on to make the highest number of title defenses in middleweight history, is the only presidential candidate endorsed by the sport’s autonomous selection committee for Sunday’s election. As a result, he will assume leadership of World Boxing, which became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing this year.

That role used to be held by the International Boxing Association, 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 boxing veteran, whose initial term lasts through 2027, vowed to rebuild confidence in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic programme, beginning at the 2028 LA Olympics.

“During my amateur career, I earned with pride a silver medal at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that characterize the sport,” he wrote. “As a professional, I became a multiple-time unified world champion, recognized for my integrity, respect, and commitment to clean competition.

“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 IOC directly managed the boxing events at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the Paris 2024 Games. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were marred by rows over gender eligibility, it said it needed a fresh collaborator in time for 2028.

In the month of February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament in Liverpool. For the championships, World Boxing implemented compulsory gender verification, to assess qualification of male and female athletes, a step which the Olympic committee is also considering for LA 2028.