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Ex-middleweight world titleholder Gennady 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.

The boxing legend, who earned a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Games 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 became the governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing recently.

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

In his platform, the boxing veteran, whose first term lasts through 2027, promised to rebuild confidence in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic programme, starting with the 2028 LA Olympics.

“During my amateur career, I earned with pride a second-place finish 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 won numerous world titles, known for my integrity, respect, and commitment to clean competition.

“I am committed to strengthening governance, ensuring financial transparency, developing technology to ensure impartial scoring, and expanding opportunities for men and women in all corners of the globe.”

The IOC organized the boxing tournaments itself at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nonetheless, after the recent Games were marred by disputes about gender eligibility, it said it needed a new partner in time for the 2028 Olympics.

In the month of February, it granted recognition to the new boxing federation, which then ran the 2025 world championships in the city of Liverpool. For that event, the organization introduced a mandatory sex screening test, to determine the eligibility of boxers of both sexes, a step which the Olympic committee is also evaluating for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.