World Boxing has appointed Tom Dielen as its new secretary general to lead and manage its day-to-day operations ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
According to a communication from WB, Dielen was appointed following an open recruitment process and his role starts as soon as this month, from the organisation’s Lausanne office.
Dielen has nearly 30 years’ experience in Olympic sports leadership roles. From 2005-2025, the Belgian and Swiss national has been secretary general of World Archery transforming it from the risk of Olympic exclusion into a credible and financially stable body that regained the respect of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
He joins WB at the critical moment when boxing needs his transformative magic. After nearly 10 years of bickering the IOC in June 2023 expelled the International Boxing Association (IBA) due to its failure to address critical issues regarding governance, financial transparency and ethical integrity. IBA countered by claiming that they did what they could in that regard but the IOC is playing political games. That threw the future of Olympic boxing into jeopardy.
Amid the standoff, the IOC left boxing out of the LA28 programme until March 2025 when it granted WB a provisional permit to anchor the sport in the forthcoming Olympics.
But WB has an entire world to prove that they are the best to handle the business and Dielen must know.
‘Mr Dielen’s background in international sport aligns well with the responsibilities and expectations of our organisation. I am confident that this experience will strengthen our work and support its future development,’ said Gennadiy Golovkin, who was elected WB president in November 2025.
Dielen returned the favour: ‘I am really thrilled to start a new challenge in the Olympic Movement as secretary general of World Boxing. From the first contact with Mr Golovkin, the President, there was a good feeling between the two of us and I thank him and the Board for this opportunity.
‘I am looking forward to getting to know the athletes of this truly universal sport. There are exciting moments ahead this year with events for young athletes in Thailand and of course Senegal. Then there will be the World Boxing Cup series events in Brazil, China and Uzbekistan for the athletes as they start their road to LA2028.
He added: ‘In the coming months, I will start to expand the team to ensure a bright Olympic future for the sport. Let’s get in the ring and work on inspiring and engaging people to pursue a passion for boxing through integrity and excellence.’
Besides archery, Dielen also served at the World Anti-Doping Agency, and on several committees and boards within the Olympic Movement for a variety of organisations including the Association of Summer International Olympic Federations (ASOIF), the International World Games Association (IWGA) and the Association of Paralympic Sport Organisations (APSO).