PHL bids to host WB Congress
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 25 Nov 2025
ABAP president and World Boxing (WB) Executive Board member Ricky Vargas made it known “informally” that the Philippines will bid to host the 2027 WB Congress, a year before the LA Olympics. Vargas advised the Executive Board of the plan during the WB Congress in Rome last weekend.
Vargas and ABAP secretary-general Marcus Manalo attended the Congress where former two-time world middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin of Kazakhstan was elected WB president by acclamation. WB was established in April 2023 and a year later, received provisional recognition by IOC as the international federation for boxing. IOC supervised boxing in the last two Olympics and WB will mark its first Olympic operation in Los Angeles. The Philippines was a founding WB member and the first Asian country to affiliate.
“From 28 national federations three years ago, WB is now 120 plus 50 federations were approved to be members in this Congress,” said Vargas. “We made the right move. I shook hands twice with Golovkin and invited him to visit the Philippines. I made it known informally to the rest of the Board that we will bid for the 2027 Congress. Panama will host in 2026. Golovkin spoke about integrity, financial stability, Olympic boxing and focused on ‘I am for the athlete.’ It appears he has a very good relationship with IOC.”
Vargas said the Congress tackled a loaded agenda. “A proposal was to abolish the age limit of 40 to compete in the Olympics and it will be voted upon in the 2026 Congress,” he noted. “If it’s abolished, Sen. Manny Pacquiao can qualify. Use of headgear was discussed and the house was split. A big item was gender testing for men and women. We approved 146 amendments in the statutes, generally covering Code of Ethics, duties of the Executive Board and other administrative matters.”
Vargas said with Golovkin, WB will move faster towards full IOC recognition. “An IOC representative was present during the Congress and expressed support for Golovkin’s presidency,” he added. “Golovkin will lead us to the LA Olympics and achieve financial stability. The Olympics are here and for ABAP, the goal is to secure as many qualifiers as possible.” Vargas is also the Philippines’ chef de mission at the LA Games.
Photo: WB Executive Board member Ricky Vargas (second from right) with (from left) WB president Gennadiy Golovkin, vice president Dinah Glykidis, vice president Matt Holt and Executive Board member Dr. Tatsuya Nakama.
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