Governance

World Boxing today held an Extraordinary Congress, at which member federations approved a series of measures further strengthening the organisation’s governance framework.

Opening the Congress, World Boxing President Gennadiy Golovkin underlined the organisation’s continued commitment to transparent, accountable and athlete-centred governance as it builds toward full IOC recognition and boxing’s long-term Olympic future.

With the quorum of member federations confirmed, delegates approved three governance measures.

First, a constitutional amendment on the Ethics Committee was adopted by the required two-thirds majority. It establishes a permanent Ethics Committee, appointed by Congress on the recommendation of the Executive Board, replacing the previous ad interim body.

Second, delegates approved the composition of the World Boxing Ethics Committee, which takes office on 2 July 2026. The Committee will be chaired by Margot Foster, alongside members Norihide Ishido, Daniel Pitt — appointed by the Athletes’ Committee and independent member Kirsty Burrows.

Third, the Congress approved the appointment of Nexio Fiduciaire SA as auditors for the 2025 accounts. 

Each measure was carried with overwhelming support from the membership.

“Today’s meeting is a big step for our future. We must make decisions, which follow the recommendations from the ASOIF Governance Review and support our recognition by the IOC. This is fundamental to creating a strong and trusted International Federation,” said World Boxing President Gennadiy Golovkin.

The decisions reinforce the independent oversight and financial-governance structures World Boxing has put in place over recent months. The organisation’s governance program continues at its Congress in Panama in November 2026, where members will consider the next set of governance and athlete-focused measures, including an Athletes’ Rights Charter aligned with the IOC Athletes’ Declaration.

World Boxing can confirm that Mongolia’s Enkhtur Tegshjargal has accepted a two-year period of ineligibility for an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV).

Following an agreement in October 2024, all of World Boxing’s clean sport activities are delegated to the International Testing Agency (ITA) which provides a high-quality anti-doping programme that includes education, in competition and out of competition testing, and results management.

Under Article 2.4 of the World Boxing Anti-Doping Rules (available HERE) Enkhtur Tegshjargal committed three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period.

The athlete has accepted the ADRV and agreed with the consequences proposed by the ITA. Accordingly, the case was resolved by way of an agreement on consequences and the athlete’s period of ineligibility is from 10 June 2026 – 9 June 2028.

All of the athlete’s competitive results obtained from the date of commission of the ADRV (29 November 2025) until the start of the period of Ineligibility (10 June 2026) are disqualified, including forfeiture of medals, points and prizes.

Details of the ITA’s statement on this case are HERE.

Detail of the agreement between World Boxing and the ITA are HERE.

World Boxing is to hold an Extraordinary Congress on 1 July 2026 to address a series of governance and administrative matters that require formal approval by Congress.

The specific items on the agenda include:

• Approval of Amendments to the Constitution related to World Boxing’s Ethics Committee, specifically that it should not be elected by the members but appointed by Congress to guarantee its independence
• Subsequent changes to the membership of the Ethics Committee, inlcuding the appointment of the four members (including one new independent member); one of the members is U19 World Boxing Champion 2024 Daniel Pitt, who has been nominated by World Boxing’s Athlete Committee.
• Approval of the appointment of the Auditors for 2025

The Extraordinary Congress will be held virtually.

In accordance with World Boxing’s statutes, voting rights at the Extraordinary Congress shall be limited to Full Member National Federations and Associate Members in good standing in accordance with the World Boxing Constitution and the current electoral period requirements. It means that a maximum of 123 member National Federations will have an opportunity to vote. Endorsed Members will not participate in this Extraordinary Congress and will remain eligible for consideration to become full member at the next regular Congress in November 2026.

The decision to hold an Extraordinary Congress reflects the status of Congress as the highest decision-making body of World Boxing and aims to ensure the continued good governance, legal compliance, and operational stability of World Boxing.

Further details of the Extraordinary Congress are available HERE.

World Boxing’s Athlete Committee has held its second meeting this week meeting, to discuss a wide range of issues covering the ongoing development of World Boxing and the sport of Olympic style boxing.

The meeting was attended by the President of World Boxing, Gennadiy Golovkin, his Chief of Staff, Alimzhan Akayev, and Secretary General, Tom Dielen, along with four members of the Committee which included Chair, Catilin Parker, Vice Chair, Richard Torrez Jr, and Daniel Pitt from Wales and Buse Naz Çakıroğlu of Türkiye.

The aim of the Athletes Committee is to provide advice, guidance and opinions which ensure that boxers have a voice in the development of World Boxing and the meeting covered a wide-range of topics including: eligibility to compete; officiating and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI); athlete safety and the role of headgear; and the Olympic qualification pathway. 

The group also discussed communications and considered a series of proposals to increase engagement between the Athlete Committee and boxers across the globe.

The discussion and outcomes from the meeting will be shared with the Executive Board of World Boxing in advance of its next meeting in July to ensure that the views of boxers are represented and taken on board at the highest levels of decision making.

Full details on the role and make-up of the Athletes Committee are available HERE.

23 May 2026 will mark six months to-the day, since the two-time middleweight world champion and 2004 Olympic silver medalist, Gennadiy Golovkin, was named the President of World Boxing at its Congress 2025 in Rome.

In the period since taking on the role, the President had a lot of meetings across the globe with National Federations and key stakeholders, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), continental confederations and numerous ministers for sport. He has also spoken to hundreds of boxers at a wide variety of international competitions including the Asian Boxing Elite Boxing Championships, the Boxing Futures Cup and the recent World Boxing Cup – Brazil 2026, Foz de Iguaco.

Under his leadership, membership has continued to grow and, in the last six months, 54 National Federations have had their applications to join World Boxing endorsed by the Executive Board.  A new Secretary General, with more 30 years’ leadership experience in Olympic Sport, Tom Dielen, has been appointed as Secretary General, and the World Boxing Athletes Committee, Chaired by Australia’s Paris 2024 medallist Caitlin Parker, has been empowered and given an important voice at the highest level of decision making.

To mark his first six months as President, Gennadiy Golovkin, has given an exclusive interview, in which he looks back on the challenges and achievements of his first six months at President and sets out his plans and aspirations for the future of Olympic boxing.

Q: What has been the biggest challenge during your first six months as President?

“The biggest challenge is restoring trust in international Olympic boxing, and we are working hard to achieve this. We are building an organisation that truly unites National Federations, athletes, and continents around shared values. It was a lot to work on: setting up our governance, growing our membership, having a constructive dialogue with the IOC, always keeping our absolute focus on the boxers. It is daily work, total transparency, and the courage to make tough decisions.”

Q: What are you most proud of from your first six months?

“I’m really proud of how World Boxing continues to grow and bring together national federations from all over the world. In these six months, we welcomed over 50 new member federations. In a very short time, we proved that our organisation is built on transparency, fair governance, and real care for the future of boxing. What matters most to me is that the athletes are starting to see World Boxing as a platform that truly protects their interests and saves the Olympic future of our sport.”

Q: What do you enjoy most about your role as President of World Boxing?

“What inspires me the most is working for the future of boxing. I’m a huge fan of this sport. I love connecting with people who share this passion: athletes, coaches, federations, and fans around the world. Boxing has a unique power to change lives, to build character, discipline, and respect. Being part of the process that protects and grows this sport for the next generation – it’s a great honour and a massive responsibility.”

Q: How do you assess the current state of Olympic boxing?

“I believe international Olympic boxing is going through a very important transformation right now. Yes, the sport has faced serious challenges in recent years, but today we have a real opportunity to build a stronger, modern and sustainable system. The passion for boxing remains huge worldwide. The level of the athletes keeps getting higher, as I saw this with my own eyes at the first World Boxing Cup stage in Brazil, and the National Federations are showing they are ready to work together for our shared future. I look at the future of Olympic boxing with pure optimism.”

Q: What are your main priorities for the next six months?

“Our key priorities are clear, we will continue to grow the World Boxing family, develop our system of good governance, and work very closely with the IOC. We are preparing to organise the boxing tournament at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, which is a big step on our road to LA28. We are also completely focused on developing a fair and transparent competition system, supporting our athletes, and building strong trust within the global boxing family. We want to build a solid foundation that guarantees the long-term success of Olympic boxing.”

Q: What is your message to boxers around the world?

“My main message to the boxers – and this is exactly what I tell them when we talk face-to-face – is to keep believing in yourselves and in the future of our sport. World Boxing is working hard to give you a fair, honest, and transparent system, where your talent, your hard work, and your dedication are the only things that matter. Boxers have always been the heart of this sport, and everything we are building right now is for you.”