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

Golovkin, who won Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and achieved the highest number of title defenses in the history of the middleweight division, is the only presidential candidate endorsed by the sport’s independent vetting panel for Sunday’s election. Consequently, he will assume leadership of the boxing governing body, which became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing this year.

This position was previously occupied by the International Boxing Association, but it was banished by the IOC in the year 2023 following a string of controversies involving judging, corruption, and management.

In his platform, the boxing veteran, whose initial term lasts through 2027, promised to restore trust in the sport and ensure boxing’s future in the Olympic lineup, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.

“As an amateur, I earned with pride a second-place finish at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, symbolizing Kazakhstan but the values of fair play and discipline that define Olympic boxing,” he wrote. “As a professional, I won numerous world titles, recognized for my integrity, respect, and commitment to clean competition.

“I am committed to strengthening governance, ensuring financial transparency, developing technology to guarantee fair judging, and expanding opportunities 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 Paris 2024 Games. However, after the recent Games were overshadowed by rows over gender eligibility, it declared a need for a fresh collaborator by the 2028 Olympics.

In February, it officially recognized World Boxing, which then ran the 2025 world championships in Liverpool. For that event, 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.