Governance

President Gennadiy Golovkin takes part in Athlete Committee meeting to ensure views of boxers are at centre of decision making

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.

Gennadiy Golovkin reflects on his first six months as President of World Boxing and sets out his plans for the future of Olympic boxing

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.”

World Boxing lifts athlete neutrality restrictions on Belarus

The Executive Board of World Boxing has decided that its AIN policy – ‘Athlètes Individuels Neutres’ (Individual Neutral Athletes) – will no longer be applied to Belarus and that athletes, coaches, support staff and officials from the country can now compete in World Boxing competitions in the same way as other member National Federations.

The move follows the recent recommendation by the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the AIN restrictions which had been in place on Belarus should be lifted and its athletes allowed to compete in international competitions under their own flag.

The World Boxing AIN Procedure will continue to be applied to Russia. It means that Russian delegations will not be allowed to participate with national flags, uniforms or anthems and will have to pass a detailed vetting process to be able to take part in World Boxing competitions.

The removal of restrictions on Belarus has been introduced with immediate effect and means it is now able to participate without restrictions at all international competitions organised by World Boxing, its Continental Confederation for Europe, European Boxing, and international competitions organised by World Boxing member National Federations.

Richard Brooke appointed Interim Chair of World Boxing’s Finance and Audit Committee after Julia Felton’s decision to stand down

Richard Brooke has been appointed Interim Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee by the Executive Board of World Boxing after Julia Felton made the decision to stand down before the completion of her term.

Brooke spent four years as Chair of England Boxing and will take on the Interim role until thenext World Boxing Congress in November 2026, when a new Chair will be elected.

An experienced sports and media industry executive, Brooke has a background in finance andspent a number of years as the Group Finance Director of Sky plc. He was also an Executive Director of Setanta Sports, a Senior Advisor to Close Brothers corporate finance and Chair of GBI Racing. 

World Boxing Executive Board confirms timeline for elections at Congress 2026 and creation of a multi-year competition calendar

World Boxing has confirmed the timeline for elections at Congress 2026 and the creation of a multi-year competition calendar from 2027 following its latest Executive Board meeting.

They were among a series of decisions covering governance and sport and competitions made at the Executive Board meeting which also confirmed the details of World Boxing’s athlete neutrality (AIN) policy and endorsed membership applications from seven more National Federations.

The President of World Boxing, Gennadiy Golovkin, said: “I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their contributions at the latest Executive Board meeting which has seen World Boxing make significant  progress in a number of key areas covering governance, membership, and competitions and creating the best possible environment for boxers to succeed and perform at their best.

“As President, I am committed to ensuring that we continue to build on this progress and the achievements of recent months, as we seek to create a trusted, modern and professional International Federation that puts the interests of boxers first and fully meets the expectations of the Olympic Movement.”

The agreement on the timeline for elections at Congress 2026 means that nominations opened on 1 May 2026 and will run for three months until 1 August 2026. In line with World Boxing’s statutes, all nominations will then be vetted by an independent panel which will confirm the final list of candidates no later than 1 September 2026. 

Details of the nomination and election voting process are available HERE. The nominations form is available HERE. The elections will take place at the World Boxing Congress 2026 in Panama City on 20 November 2026.  

Seven positions on the Executive Board are up for election and include two Vice-President positions, two places on the Executive Board and the roles of Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, the Sports and Competition Committee and the Medical and Anti-Doping Committee.  

On sport and competitions, the Executive Board made a range of decisions covering planning and bidding, athlete welfare and the allocation of ranking points.

To support National Federations, the Executive Board approved a multi-year competition calendar for 2027 -2029 which is designed to provide greater clarity and enable countries to plan their competitive schedules at a critically important time in the Olympic cycle.

The calendar includes World Boxing Championships, World Boxing Cups, continental Games, Olympic qualifiers and the Olympic Games.  An outline structure of the 2027 – 29 calendar will be published shortly when the bidding process will be opened for National Federations to host competitions.

Following concerns raised about the incidence of cuts in men’s boxing and their subsequent impact on boxers’ability to complete competitions, the Executive Board has tasked the Sport and Competition Committee with looking into this issue and the potential re-introduction of protective headgear in elite male competitions.  The Committee will prepare a report and a proposal which will be voted on at Congress 2026.

The next meeting of World Boxing’s Executive Board will be 30 July 2026 during the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.  

World Boxing confirms details of AIN procedure that will allow boxers from Russia and Belarus to take part in its competitions

World Boxing has confirmed the details of its new AIN procedure – ‘Athlètes Individuels Neutres’ (Individual Neutral Athletes) – which will be used to determine the basis on which athletes, coaches, support staff and officials from Russia and Belarus will be permitted to participate in international competitions organised by World Boxing, its Continental Confederation for Europe, European Boxing, or international competitions organised by World Boxing member National Federations.

It means that delegations from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to participate with national flags, uniforms or anthems and will have to pass a detailed vetting process to be able to take part in World Boxing events.

The AIN procedure was approved by the Executive Board of World Boxing at its most recent meeting in April 2026 and reflects the approach taken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).  It has been developed following the decision by the Executive Board of World Boxing, at its previous meeting in March 2026, to endorse membership applications from the Belarussian Boxing Federation and the Russian Boxing Federation that will allow their boxers to compete in World Boxing events.

Key details of the AIN procedure are:

Flags:

  • There will be no use of the country or National Federation flag during the competition
  • If a boxer from an AIN country wins a gold medal, the national anthem will not be played
  • If a boxer from an AIN country wins a medal, the AIN logo will be used on a flag in the medal ceremony
  • The boxers will be represented on television graphics and all competition information as AIN
  • This will be applied at all age category events directly organised by World Boxing or European Boxing

Uniforms:

  • Boxers will appear with AIN on their vests and not RUS or BLR
  • The logo of the National Federation or the country will not be permitted to appear anywhere on a boxer’s uniform
  • Coaches, support staff and Team Officials will have to wear neutral uniforms which will have to be submitted to World Boxing prior to the competition for validation
  • From arrival until departure, not a single member of the AIN delegation will be permitted to wear any item that features their country or National Federation’s flag or logo in any competition setting, including the entry check, draw, weigh-in or technical meeting
  • This will be applied at all age category events organised by World Boxing, European Boxing or International Events organised by national federations where national teams participate.

Eligibility and Vetting:

  • Athlete entries by Russia and Belarus must be made directly to the World Boxing Sport Department and not directly through the online entry system for the event, however the deadlines in the invitation package will still apply and will not be modified
  • World Boxing will work with an expert, independent third party to conduct a series of checks on all athletes from Russia and Belarus that are entered into its competitions to ensure they do not have a history of supporting the war in Ukraine, are not paid by the military or security forces, are not members of clubs linked to the army or police force and have not participated in any events organised by The International Military Sports Council (CISM) since the start of the war in Ukraine
  • The cost of the vetting process for each athlete will be covered by the National Federation for Russia or Belarus and must be paid in advance of their participation in the competition
  • The vetting process will apply to all male and female athletes at Elite World Boxing competition, but will not apply to U19 or younger athletes
  • The vetting process will also apply to coaches and support staff that will be assisting male and female boxers at Elite and U19 competitions and the costs of this will also be paid by the National Federations
  • Technical Officials (TO) from the two countries will be treated as any other TO and vetted in line with World Boxing’s existing processes; additional checks may be conducted on TOs, but this will not be at the cost of the National Federation as the TO is not representing their country. Currently there are no Technical Officials accredited from the two countries.
  • If the vetting process for any individual produces a result that is not clear or raises further questions, a commission appointed by World Boxing’s Executive Board will review the case
  • The decision of the commission will be final and not open to appeal unless new information is provided 

The AIN procedure has been introduced with immediate effect following the decision of World Boxing’s Executive Board and the Secretary General has written to the Belarussian Boxing Federation and the Russian Boxing Federation to provide them with details of the procedure and how it will be implemented. 

World Boxing confirms date of Congress 2026

World Boxing has confirmed that its third annual Congress will be held on Friday 20 November 2026 in Panama.

Congress is the highest authority of World Boxing and is held annually to vote on key decisions, discuss important issues and promote good governance and financial transparency. It has the power to amend World Boxing’s Statutes; elect the President and Executive Board; and admit, suspend, expel and reinstate member National Federations.

123 National Federation members will have an opportunity to vote at Congress 2026, which will see elections for a number of positions on World Boxing’s Executive Board and votes on more than 40 applications to join the organisation. A full agenda for Congress 2026 will be shared in advance of the event.

Alongside the main Congress session, World Boxing will hold an Executive Boad meeting in Panama on Wednesday 18 November 2026 and the continental confederation for the region, the Panamerican Boxing Confederation, will hold its annual Congress on Thursday 19 November 2026.

Invitation packages and further information about Congress 2026 will be sent to member National Federations in May 2026.

The second annual World Boxing Congress was held on 23 November 2025 in Rome, Italy, when the two-time middleweight world champion and 2004 Olympic silver medallist, Gennadiy Golovkin was named as the new President of World Boxing.

World Boxing to deliver boxing competition at Mediterranean Games 2026 in Taranto

World Boxing will be responsible for the management and delivery of the boxing competition at this year’s Mediterranean Games 2026, in Taranto, Italy, 21 August – 3 September 2026.

The boxing competition is scheduled to run from 22 – 27 August at the Palazzetto dello Sport in Taranto. It will be held under World Boxing Competition Rules and feature elite male and female boxers from across the Mediterranean region.

Founded in 1951, the Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event contested by nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea. This will be the 20th edition of Games and feature 24 Olympic sports and three non-Olympic sports.

While Taranto is the host city, fourteen other cities in the Apulia (Puglia) region will host events, including Lecce, Brindisi and Martina Franca.

The Mediterranean Games is one of several multi-sport events that will be held under World Boxing’s rules in 2026. These include the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, 23 July – 2 August 2026, the Asian Games in Japan (Aichi/Nagoya), 19 September – 4 October 2026, and the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, 31 October – 13 November 2026.

World Boxing’s full competition calendar for 2026 can be viewed HERE.

World Boxing will share updates ahead of and during the competition on its website and social media channels.

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/officialworldboxing/

X – https://x.com/RealWorldBoxing

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/OfficialWorldBoxing

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-boxing/