Pacman for the Olympics?

[bripez]

I caught part of a Talksport discussion about allowing pros to box at the Olympics.

Pacman (who apparently is mates with Mr Wu) was quoted as saying that he would be honoured to represent the Phillipines at the Olympics.

Not sure how the pros would actually qualify for the Olympics? - would they need to enter qualifying tournaments ? And how does that work - I guess you can't just turn up with your gloves and need to be sanctioned beforehand by their countries amateur body.

Also, not sure how this fits in with World Series Boxing tournament and qualification.

Pro boxing is mad enough but it sounds like the amateur sport is even more mad.

[damianhucker1]

If ive understood my reading propery its a load of tosh about allowing pros in and what they really meant was they would allow those signed up to the new AIBA pro. sounds more like a way for AIBA to prevent people turning pro and stay tied to them.

I was wondering the same thing about how they would qualify etc which is why i looked into it

[expe]

If ive understood my reading propery its a load of tosh about allowing pros in and what they really meant was they would allow those signed up to the new AIBA pro. sounds more like a way for AIBA to prevent people turning pro and stay tied to them.

I was wondering the same thing about how they would qualify etc which is why i looked into it

Originally it was pros with less than 15 fights that had signed up for the APB, the new proposal is to basically have a free for all with all of them allowed to enter. The qualifying makes it difficult but there's been suggestions that the likes of Pacquiao will be given wildcards.

[damianhucker1]

If ive understood my reading propery its a load of tosh about allowing pros in and what they really meant was they would allow those signed up to the new AIBA pro. sounds more like a way for AIBA to prevent people turning pro and stay tied to them.

I was wondering the same thing about how they would qualify etc which is why i looked into it

Originally it was pros with less than 15 fights that had signed up for the APB, the new proposal is to basically have a free for all with all of them allowed to enter. The qualifying makes it difficult but there's been suggestions that the likes of Pacquiao will be given wildcards.

When i read a few days ago it said what i previously wrote, but ive just googled again and it does indeed state theres a new proposal to be discussed in may... which will be very late.. im not sure how they can allow any pros in for rio, with qualification already under way etc, so any proposal must surely have to be met for 2020.

[questionmore]

It's all a bit tits up at the moment. But It certainly has the potential to garner a wider audience and an air of excitement to Olympic boxing at Rio & beyond.

[magwitch]

They're talking about Rio in the paper snippets I've read...which at about 3 is too many. You can spot articles not written by boxing correspondents as they say things like: Mayweather/ Golovkin interested in Rio glory etc....
It's complete and utter toilet paper. This Wu fellow or whoever it is just sounds like an idiot. Mind you, if there's enough incorrigible fools they'll get it through for 2016 one way or another.
Doubt it tho.....it annoys me when I see articles talking about Pro debutants squaring off against Gennady G.......like anybody, including both fighters, would go for that - then you need a name - a big one - Lennox Lewis thinks this about it etc........

Like those nobs that could get 250 words about if the Klitschko brothers or the Hattons would "fight each other". Pure horse sh*t all round.

[gilgamesh]

It would be a joke if this happens.

[Emmseegee]

Allowing pros to box in the amateurs would be a joke if you ask me, professional boxing is supposed to be a step forward from amateur boxing with the olympics being the pinnacle of the unpaid ranks. Changing anything just destroys the tradition of the olympics if you ask me.

Shambolic

Also, i could understand why pros who dont have high profiles just now would be interested but......
any professonial who has already had big pay days, big earnings, big opportunities etc would be a disgrace in my eyes if they prevented the next generation from getting the opportunities they themselves would have craved at a younger age.

[mickey1975]

Wu banned the use of the word amateur a few years ago. Even the ABA's are now the elite championship. This has been coming for a while.

[locoxelbox]

Wu banned the use of the word amateur a few years ago. Even the ABA's are now the elite championship. This has been coming for a while.

It was Wu who ordered National Federations to drop the Word amateur but actually AIBA had already dropped the Word "amateur" from AIBA before Wu. Because most top Olympic boxers are full-time government sponsored athletes with professional teams (coaches, doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists, video analysers, etc) behind them.

I understand many people are afraid about experience pros slaughtering young amateurs in Rio. But the system is different and the top amateurs are really good fighters and they can probably handle themselves very well against pros in 9 minute bouts.

There were several good pros who fought in the WSB the last few years (5 round pro bouts) and they mostly lost against the top "amateurs". The same with the APB where the top "amateurs" show they can go 12 rounds.

In China they did an experiment recently with 8 pro boxers against 8 APB boxers (who are still "amateur") with the APB boxers winning all 8 bouts !! In the main event APB world champion Lu Bin (who is going to the Olympics) easily beat WBC No 3 and former WBC world Champ Xiong Zhao Zhong by unan decision.

http://www.asianboxing.info/asian-news/ ... cctv-title

The bouts were with APB rules with the judges and referees being 50-50 from both camps.

And there was no slaughter.

I don't think many top pros will be interested in fighting at the Olympics considering they will have to halt their pro career for six months or so when they could be offered an important fight instead. Second, I doubt promoters would let the pro boxers risk losing in a qualifier for free, etc.

Top pro Robert Helenius from Finland has said he is interested. He missed on the 2008 Olympics and this could revitalize his pro career. Though he is 22-0 I am not sure he will beat the likes of Filip Hrgovic, Magomedrasul Medzhydov, Tony Yoka or Mihai Nistor (who has a KO win over Anthony Joshua).

The Olympics are for the best athletes. Not for the best 18 year old athletes. Even USA has had many older boxers in the Olympics like Ray Mercer (27), Antonio Tarver (27), Lawrence Clay-Bey (30), Olanda Anderson (27), Michael Bennett (29). Far from all of them did well.

The pros will be allowed (if passed on the AIBA Extraordinary Congress on June 1) to box in the last APB-WSB Qualifier in early july.

[palooka]

I laboured under the illusion that amateurs were people that trained after work and didn't get paid. They either enjoyed the sport and the camaraderie or weren't yet ready to turn pro. I understood that international level boxers often had a sponsor or got some funding so they could concentrate bon training and tournaments. The idea that world level professionals can enter nominally amateur contests is a worry to me; it muddies the waters and could well be dangerous.

[Bodyshot3]

No thanks - the two styles, code approach has worked just fine for many a year - and little President Wu now needs to wind his neck in and have a Terrier Club Sandwich.

[Horse]

Pretty much every other sport allows professionals to enter at the Olympics.

Why should boxing be so different?

[Tarkus]

Allowing pros to box in the amateurs would be a joke if you ask me, professional boxing is supposed to be a step forward from amateur boxing with the olympics being the pinnacle of the unpaid ranks. Changing anything just destroys the tradition of the olympics if you ask me.

That is hardly a tradition of Olympic boxing. Many fighters never turn pro. Ecpecially former Eastern block. Olympic boxing is not juniors competition, never was. Just because it was customary for Western fighters to leave the sport it doesnt mean it was universal. I dont see a problem. Olympics should be best against the best. That is its most endearing tradition.

[Tarkus]

Olympics allowing pros doesn't mean they would go just because they choose so. They will still have to qualify following the established procedures. That is to participate one of the qualifying tournaments. That includes WSB.

One thing is for Pacquiao, Fury or Klitschko to want to go to Olympics. Other is if they can find a time to actually qualify. It is probably too late now for Ryo 2016.

[Emmseegee]

Allowing pros to box in the amateurs would be a joke if you ask me, professional boxing is supposed to be a step forward from amateur boxing with the olympics being the pinnacle of the unpaid ranks. Changing anything just destroys the tradition of the olympics if you ask me.

That is hardly a tradition of Olympic boxing. Many fighters never turn pro. Ecpecially former Eastern block. Olympic boxing is not juniors competition, never was. Just because it was customary for Western fighters to leave the sport it doesnt mean it was universal. I dont see a problem. Olympics should be best against the best. That is its most endearing tradition.

Theres no doubt some countries have a different approach to amateur boxing than what we have here. My concern admittedly aims more towards the negative effect it would have on the professional side of the game than the olympics itself.

[Wales]

I once read that the World Amateur Boxing Championships is harder to win, as a tournament, than the Olympics?

probably harder to win Olympic gold than a world title too!!

[jessi]

I once read that the World Amateur Boxing Championships is harder to win, as a tournament, than the Olympics?

probably harder to win Olympic gold than a world title too!!

The Olympics has to let certain countries in even if there boxers are not ranked, just like there is always a bloke in the 100 meters who runs about 13 seconds and comes last by 30 meters and is from a country no one has heard of

[Boxing Prospect]

As mentioned above China did something recently in a cross -code card, it wasn't and the APB and WSB fighters dominated. Lu Bin, who was mentioned above, could turn properly pro tomorrow and be competitive with a world champion by the end of the year.

[keirw]

Not a fan of this whole pros in the Olympics idea.

We can argue all day about the best fighting the best or that other sports do it, but you can't compare boxing to sports like football, basketball or tennis.
Not just because of the safety aspect but because, unlike most Olympic sports, the rules of professional boxing differ a great deal from the rule of the Olympic bouts.
Many who have competed in both would claim that they are essentially different sports.
It would be like giving the Aviva premiership winner a spot in the Super League playoffs (I.e it just wouldn't work)

[Wales]

I once read that the World Amateur Boxing Championships is harder to win, as a tournament, than the Olympics?

probably harder to win Olympic gold than a world title too!!

The Olympics has to let certain countries in even if there boxers are not ranked, just like there is always a bloke in the 100 meters who runs about 13 seconds and comes last by 30 meters and is from a country no one has heard of

ah, so its down to the countries ABA who goes, like Groves beating De Gale and not going, and even worse Calzaghe not going !