Former world champion Gennady Golovkin is campaigning for Olympic boxing as Chairman of the Olympic Commission of World Boxing.
Former world champion Gennady Golovkin takes over the chairmanship of the newly founded Olympic Commission of the World Boxing Association. The Kazakh boxing star has already been President of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan since this year. Now “Triple G” is taking on a central role to strengthen Olympic boxing. “It is important to maintain boxing as an Olympic sport,” says Golovkin.
Golovkin’s tasks as Chairman of the Commission
As chairman of the new commission, Golovkin will work closely with the management of World Boxing. In particular, this will involve maintaining a dialog with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The overriding goal is to secure Olympic boxing in the long term. But first and foremost, it’s about getting back on the program for the 2028 Games. “My experience as a professional athlete will help us to establish systematic work at World Boxing,” emphasizes Golovkin.
World Boxing will be adding more members to the commission in the coming weeks. This is to ensure that it represents the diversity of the global boxing community. The main tasks include promoting the sport of boxing, expanding membership and ensuring financial sustainability.
Golovkin’s impressive career
Golovkin, who won the silver medal in the middleweight division at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, has celebrated great success both as an amateur and as a professional. In his professional career, he won the middleweight world title twice and celebrated 42 victories. He wants to use his experience to further develop the sport of boxing and promote Olympic values.
The importance of World Boxing
World Boxing has existed since 2023 with the intention of ensuring the continued existence of Olympic boxing. The association currently comprises 44 national boxing federations and is in close contact with the IOC. A first formal meeting in May 2024 paved the way for World Boxing to be recognized as the official representative of boxing at Olympic level.
Boris van der Vorst, President of World Boxing, emphasizes the importance of Golovkin’s new role: “Gennady is one of the most important boxers of recent years. His experience and knowledge are a great asset to our association.
Text: Andreas Ohlberger