(Reuters) - World Boxing on Thursday appointed Gennady Golovkin as the chair of its new Olympic Commission, charging the former-middleweight world champion with the task of helping the body establish itself as the sport's recognised international federation.
World Boxing, launched in 2023, has 44 members and is looking to fill the void left behind by the International Boxing Association (IBA).
The IBA was stripped of recognition last year by the International Olympic Committee, which has not included the sport on the Los Angeles 2028 Games programme yet and has urged national boxing federations to create a new global boxing body to replace the IBA.
Golovkin, once considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world and winner of a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, was appointed president of Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee in 2024.
"Golovkin will work closely with World Boxing's leadership to manage the organisation's relationship with the IOC and oversee the pathway to ensuring that boxing is restored to the sport programme for the Los Angeles 2028 Games," World Boxing said in a statement.
"Other members of the commission will be added in the coming weeks to ensure it is diverse and representative of the global boxing community.
World Boxing added that the Olympic Commission's main goals would be to bring in new members, ensure financial sustainability and support the IOC's process for recognition.
"For me personally, as well as for all the sports world, it is important to preserve boxing as an Olympic sport, and this will be my top priority," Golovkin said.
"I also intend to work closely with the IOC on issues of boxing's commitment to the Olympic values of honesty, fairness and transparency.
"I am confident that my experience as a professional athlete will help build systemic work within World Boxing, and through joint efforts we will be able to give boxing a new impetus to its development, but there is still much to be done."
Earlier this month, World Boxing announced that it will host its inaugural world championships in Liverpool next year.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
