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11/21 14:27 CST Golovkin to head up new Olympic boxing body ahead of LA Games
Golovkin to head up new Olympic boxing body ahead of LA Games
By JAMES ELLINGWORTH
AP Sports Writer
Former world champion Gennadiy Golovkin is set to take over as president of the
boxing organization aiming to run the Olympic tournaments at the 2028 Los
Angeles Games.
Golovkin expected to run against Greek official Harilaos Mariolis for the
presidency of World Boxing but the organization said Friday he'd become the
only eligible candidate following a vetting process.
"I have been informed that the only other candidate for the position of
president ... has been declared ineligible," Golovkin said in a statement
issued via a representative.
"I would like to acknowledge the work of the independent vetting panel of World
Boxing in helping to ensure that all elections take place in a fair and
transparent manner, according to the highest standards of governance in Olympic
sport."
The ex-middleweight champion from Kazakhstan was widely considered the
frontrunner after he headed a World Boxing delegation to rebuild ties with the
International Olympic Committee, which hinted at removing boxing from the 2028
Olympic program before putting it back in the Games in March.
Golovkin won an Olympic silver medal in 2004 and, after turning pro, was a
long-time world champion who finished with a 42-2-1 record when he retired in
2022.
World Boxing, which launched in 2023 amid a rift between the IOC and the
International Boxing Association, didn't clarify why Mariolis was no longer a
candidate.
World Boxing is due to be involved with an Olympic tournament for the first
time in 2028. The IOC took the unusual step of organizing the last two boxing
tournaments itself at the Tokyo and Paris Games following its split with the
IBA, which it expelled from the Olympic movement in 2023.
That followed years of concerns by the IOC over IBA governance, financial
transparency and the fairness of judging in Olympic bouts. IBA still runs its
own competitions outside of the Olympic qualification system.
That all leaves World Boxing's new president with work to do on rebuilding
confidence in amateur boxing. It also faces a likely legal battle after Olympic
champion Imane Khelif filed an appeal in August against a World Boxing decision
barring her from upcoming events unless she undergoes genetic sex testing.
"Trust is the main word in our manifesto," Golovkin told The Associated Press
on Friday ahead of World Boxing's announcement, arguing his own record gave him
a boxer's perspective on the issues. "Try to understand me from the perspective
of an athlete, not of an investor, not of a politician or of a big businessman."
Mariolis told the AP he would not comment on the decision until after Sunday's
congress in Rome "out of respect for the process which is still ongoing." The
Greek boxing federation, of which Mariolis was previously president, said it
had no involvement in the candidacy, which it described as a "personal
initiative."
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Associated Press writer Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed to this report.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
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