Gennadiy Golovkin Leads Boxing’s Return to LA28 Olympics

Boxing will return to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, and much of the thanks goes to former world champion Gennadiy Golovkin.

After years of uncertainty about its future, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Monday its executive board had approved boxing as part of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

While the full IOC still needs to formally approve this decision in a vote later this week, it’s mainly a formality.

“I am very confident that the session will approve it so that all the boxers of the world then have certainty that they can participate in the Olympic Games L.A. 2028 if their national federation is recognized by World Boxing,” said IOC President Thomas Bach at a news conference today.

Olympic Boxing Doubts Loomed For LA28 Games

In Paris, the men’s 57KG (lightweight) gold medal went to Abdumalik Khalokov of Uzbekistan, one of five medals in boxing for the nation. Photo: Olympics.com

The prospects for boxing’s future at the highest level of amateur competition came after concerns about the sport’s governance, finances, and integrity of judging due to its government organization, the Russia-based International Boxing Association (IBA). The IOC suspended the IBA in 2019 over multiple disputes and dismissed it entirely in 2023.

As a stopgap measure, the IOC organized boxing in Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024 but declined to continue and began searching for a new partner for Los Angeles 2028.

Gennadiy Golovkin stepped in last year to lead the effort on behalf of World Boxing to retain boxing as an Olympic sport at LA28. Photo: World Boxing

A new governing body emerged in 2023, World Boxing. Based in Switzerland, It was founded in 2023 as a breakaway from the long-established but troubled IBA. It began picking up member nations and gained steam in its effort when it put former middleweight champion Golovkin, a silver medal winner at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games for his native Kazakhstan, in charge of the commission establishing World Boxing as a replacement governing body last September.

At the time, Golovkin said, “I am pleased to announce that from now on, I will represent the interests of boxing as an Olympic sport at the international level as Chairman of the World Boxing Olympic Commission.

“As an Olympian, as a professional Athlete, as a big boxing fan and just a person who is passionate about sports, I think it is very important to keep boxing in the Olympic program. This is a spectacular and popular sport that should be available to everyone, all over the world,” said Golovkin.

Golovkin Leads Effort For World Boxing

Thanks to Golovkin, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed on to World Boxing last November, along with Guatemala and Laos, bringing total membership to 55 countries. This was a critical factor. Uzbekistan is an amateur powerhouse, winning five of the 13 Olympic gold medals awarded in Paris, while Kazakhstan picked up a silver and bronze.

In a statement at the time, World Boxing said, “The addition of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which are two of the world’s leading boxing nations, is a major coup for World Boxing.”

In December, World Boxing posted an interview with Golovkin on its YouTube channel, discussing the organization’s efforts to preserve Olympic boxing.

The IOC reported World Boxing showed nearly two-thirds of boxers from last year’s Paris Olympics were affiliated with its members. The IOC added that World Boxing “has demonstrated strong willingness and effort in enhancing good governance and implementation, to be compliant with the appropriate standards.”

Olympic Games and Boxing History

Claressa Shields, shown prior to her fight against Savannah Marshall in 2022, is a double Olympic gold medalist and the last American to win an Olympic gold medal in 2016, following her first medal in 2012. Photo: Boxxer

Boxing joined the Olympic Games in 1904 at the St. Louis competition and has been included since then. The women’s competition was added in 2012. Many of the world’s greatest champions competed for their home nations. They gained worldwide fame with their Olympic performances, including Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman, Teófilo Stevenson, Oscar De La Hoya, and Lennox Lewis.

It can be argued the emergence of women’s professional boxing is a direct result of the massive success of Olympic medal performances by Katie Taylor of Ireland, Claressa Shields of the United States, and Nicola Adams of Great Britain, who were the first three women to win Olympic gold medals in London. Marlen Esparza of Houston won a bronze in London.

Omari Jones defeated Alessio Mastronunzio Saturday at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida, for his first pro win. Photo: Melina Pizano, Matchroom

Just two days ago, Omari Jones, the only American to win an Olympic medal in Paris, scored a knockout in his first professional fight. Lightweight Keyshawn Davis, a silver medalist in Tokyo 2021, is among the sport’s rising stars. To have boxing exit the Olympics just as the Summer Games return to one of the biggest boxing cities in the world in 2028 would be a tragedy for the sport – fortunately, one that seems to have been averted.

For this, fans owe Golovkin a massive debt of thanks for the coming Big Drama Show in 2028.