The sport of boxing is entering a critical juncture, and so is the career of one of its most dominant figures.
Former multiple-middleweight world champion Gennadiy Golovkin has announced his candidacy for the presidency of World Boxing, the newly-formed international federation charged with safeguarding the sport’s Olympic future.
With the upcoming vote and boxing’s very inclusion in the 2028 Games hanging in the balance, Golovkin is shifting from ring legend to governance contender.
In a statement, Golovkin declared:
“I am honoured to announce my candidacy for President of World Boxing. If elected I will work to ensure boxing’s Olympic future, restore global confidence, and guarantee that every federation, coach and athlete has a fair chance to grow.”
He continued, “Our mission is clear: to achieve full IOC recognition and to confirm boxing’s place at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028, Brisbane 2032 and beyond.”
The electoral battle is set for November 23 in Rome, where Golovkin will face off against Mariolis Charilaos of Greece, the former president of the Hellenic Boxing Federation between 2021 and 2025.
Meanwhile, the incumbent president, Boris van der Vorst, has opted not to stand for re-election, citing the heavy demands of steering a global federation.
The precarious place of boxing in the Olympics
Boxing’s Olympic standing has been anything but secure. The previous world body, the International Boxing Association (IBA), was stripped of recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) amid concerns over governance, financial transparency and adjudication integrity.
In response, World Boxing was formed in 2023 to fill that vacuum and rebuild the sport’s linkage to the Olympic movement.
The IOC granted World Boxing provisional recognition in early 2025, moving the sport one step closer to securing its place in Los Angeles 2028.
Now the task for World Boxing is untangling the mess of the past, building robust governance, and ensuring national federations buy in. Golovkin‘s emergence as a candidate comes at a moment when the sport cannot afford further missteps.
Golovkin is not entering this fight without credentials. A silver medalist for Kazakhstan at the 2004 Athens Olympics, he went on to become one of the most feared middleweight professionals of his era.
In 2024 he was appointed President of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan and earlier that year became Chair of World Boxing’s Olympic Commission, a role aimed at steering the federation’s relationship with the IOC.
Observers note that Golovkin may enter the contest as the frontrunner, thanks in part to his high-profile stature and visible work on the Olympic front.
But a successful candidate will still need to persuade boxing’s global membership that they can deliver real change, not just big names.
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