Boxing-Golovkin in World Boxing's corner to keep sport in Olympics

By Steve Keating

(Reuters) - Former-middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin will rely on his power of persuasion and not his feared fists to convince Kazakhstan's boxing federation that World Boxing is the best hope to keep the sport on the Olympic programme.

Recently appointed president of Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee, the political ring may be an unfamiliar one for Golovkin but with boxing's future as an Olympic sport on the ropes, he is viewing the fight as one of the most important of his career.

Golovkin told Reuters he would push the country's boxing federation to join the U.S. backed World Boxing which launched in April last year as an alternative to the International Boxing Association led by Russian Umar Kremlev.

Having failed to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues the IBF was last June stripped of its recognition by the International Olympic Committee.

The boxing tournaments at the Paris Olympics this summer are being organised by the IOC but it has said it will not be doing so at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

It has urged national federations to decide on a successor to the IBA by next year at the latest or risk seeing boxing miss out on the LA 2028 Olympics.

"We on our part are trying to convince them (Kazakhstan boxing federation) to join the World Boxing and we try to insist on that," Golovkin said, through an interpreter. "We are trying to do that and we will try to continue to push them to that decision.

"It's the federation of boxing of Kazakhstan that makes this decision and it is their freedom of choice. Their decision.

"I do not have any weight from a legal standpoint, I cannot influence the decision of the federation and they are going through their own process."

Once regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world and a sporting hero in Kazakhstan Golovkin down played his influence while pointing out that there are multiple interests in any outcome.

But given recent rulings by the IOC and Court of Arbitration for Sport for Golovkin there is only one path forward.

After a failed appeal to CAS to overturn the IOC's decision to no longer recognise them the IBF this week made a last ditch appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal to investigate whether the sport court's ruling was unlawful.

"With the court hearings continuing it only hampers the athletes," said Golovkin, a silver medallist at the 2004 Athens Olympics who went on to post a professional record of 42 wins (37 by KO), two losses and a draw. "We stand with the athletes because we want boxing to stay in the Olympic programme.

"At the same the same time the IOC has already took a decision and published the requirements and direction and from the IOC point of view it is clear, what steps need to be done in order to preserve boxing in the Olympic programme."

(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Alison Williams)