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

The boxing legend, who won Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and went on to make the highest number of title defenses in middleweight history, 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 became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing this year.

This position was previously occupied by the former international boxing body, but it was banished by the IOC in 2023 following a string of judging, corruption and governance scandals.

In his manifesto, the boxing veteran, whose initial term lasts through 2027, promised to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic lineup, beginning at the Los Angeles 2028.

“As an amateur, I proudly won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the principles of integrity and hard work that define Olympic boxing,” he wrote. “As a professional, I won numerous world titles, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to fair play.

“I am committed to strengthening governance, guaranteeing open finances, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities for men and women in all corners of the globe.”

The International Olympic Committee directly managed the boxing events at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after last year’s Olympics were overshadowed by rows over sex eligibility, it declared a need for a new partner by 2028.

In February, it granted recognition to World Boxing, which then hosted the 2025 global tournament 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 IOC is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.