GB Boxing’s Matt Holt puts Boxers First as he outlines the five priorities of his campaign for re-election as a Vice President of World Boxing 

The Chief Executive of GB Boxing, Matt Holt, has put the interests of boxers first as he sets out the five priorities that underpin his campaign for re-election as a Vice President of World Boxing at its forthcoming Congress in Panama on 20 November 2026.

The priorities are detailed in Holt’s campaign profile which also sets-out his reasons for standing for a second term and his commitment to World Boxing’s member National Federations.

The five priorities are:

1. Boxers First: Ensuring the interests of athletes are at the heart of decision making and that we always put the interests of boxers first
2. Securing full Olympic recognition: Making sure that World Boxing enjoys positive relationships with all stakeholders and is an active and valued member of the Olympic Movement
3. Sporting integrity: Ensuring fairness and exploring new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), that will bring more objectivity to scoring and deliver greater sporting integrity 
4. Transparency and strong governance: Maintaining World Boxing’s commitment to the principles of integrity, honesty and excellence and upholding the highest standards of governance and transparency
5. Global development: Support for the creation of grassroots programmes to develop the sport globally and a competition calendar that embraces all continents

The priorities represent Holt’s views, as one of the co-founders of World Boxing, on the key areas the International Federation (IF) should focus on in the next stage of its development.

Holt said: “As one of its co-founders, I am very proud of the enormous steps that World Boxing has made since we established the organisation in 2022. To progress, in less than four years, from having no members or Olympic status, to being an IF with more than 180 affiliated National Federations that is provisionally recognised by the IOC, with the sport restored to the Olympic programme for LA28, is a fantastic achievement, however there is still more to do. 

“My campaign priorities aim to set out a roadmap that will address the major challenges facing our sport over the next few years as we build towards LA28 and seek to deliver a bright future for the sport that puts the interests of boxers first and ensures that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement.”

Holt is currently one of three Vice Presidents on World Boxing’s Executive Board having been elected at its inaugural Congress in November 2023 for a three-year term. At the elections in Panama, he will be one of seven candidates for election contesting two Vice President roles (one of which must go to a female candidate) and one of nine candidates for two positions on the Executive Board.

As part of his campaign, Holt has also made a series of commitments to World Boxing’s member National Federations, based on hard work and service, respecting collective responsibility and acting with integrity and professionalism. 

He explained: “I know from experience that being a Vice President means working hard in the service of the sport and every judgement or decision I make will always be in the best interests of World Boxing and the sport of boxing.

“I recognise there will be occasional differences of opinion, however I will be collegiate in my approach and when a final decision has been reached, I will support it, take collective responsibility and ensure that I act with integrity and professionalism and seek to ensure that World Boxing is committed to the highest standards of governance and operates in a way that our members can be proud of.”

Having joined GB Boxing in 2009, Holt has been Chief Executive since 2013 and overseen a period of unprecedented success in which boxers from Great Britain have won more than 100 medals at major international championships.

He was one of the co-founders of World Boxing which was established in 2022 as an alternative to the previous IF that had been suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and seen the removal of boxing from the programme for LA28.

Following the public launch of World Boxing in April 2023, Holt served on the interim Executive Board and was subsequently elected as a Vice President in November 2023. He was instrumental in bringing the first ever World Boxing Championships to Liverpool in September 2025 and part of the Local Organising Committee that oversaw the successful delivery of the tournament.

The elections will take place at World Boxing’s fourth annual Congress on 20 November 2026 when 123 National Federations will be eligible to vote (on a one member one vote basis).

The full list of candidates for election is available HERE. The candidates are contesting a series of roles on the Executive Board of World Boxing including: two positions as Vice President; two Executive Board member roles; and the Chairs of the Sport and Competition Committee, the Finance and Audit Committee, and the Medical and Anti-Doping Committee.

In line with the World Boxing Election Process and Voting Regulations all of the candidates have been assessed for eligibility by an independent Vetting Panel made-up of three independent, external experts.