Kostya Tszyu positively assessed Gennady Golovkin's appointment as president of World Boxing, as reported by "Sovetsky Sport".
In this position, Golovkin replaced Boris van der Vorst, who chose not to run for a second term. Tszyu noted that the Kazakh boxer truly deserves this position.
It is important to note that World Boxing was established in April 2023 as an alternative to IBA, which found itself at the center of scandals and had strained relations with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As a result, boxing was excluded from the Olympic program. However, in February 2025, the IOC temporarily recognized World Boxing, granting the organization the right to control boxing on the international stage. In March, the IOC decided to include boxing in the program of the 2028 Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles.
Gennady Golovkin was the only candidate for this position. Vladimir Klitschko, who initially also considered running, withdrew from participation about two months ago. Another potential opponent of Golovkin, the president of the Greek Boxing Federation, Haris Mariolis, withdrew his candidacy just a few days before the elections. Boris van der Vorst, who was the sitting president of World Boxing at that time, also announced back in September his intention not to run for a second term.
The first to congratulate Golovkin on his new appointment was the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
“This event highlights the outstanding achievements of Gennady Golovkin, who has become the first Kazakh to hold the position of head of the International Federation for an Olympic sport,” noted Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
