[JAB5239]

Originally Posted by The_Golden_Goy

To try and stimulate some sort of debate i was wondering if gold medalists go on to always be the best fighters, or have bronze and silver medalists been more successful in making the transition as a pro?

I mean Ali and Tyson have gold medals, but then again so does Audley Harrison.

Floyd only got bronze I believe, Froch didnt get through the trials but won a medal at the world championships.

Is it a good foundation to become a pro? Or does that only apply to certain fighters?

It only applies to certain fighters, some are never able to make a full, successful transition to the pro ranks. Two examples stand out...Mark Breland, who was one of the greatest amateur fighters ever had success as a pro, but not near what was predicted for him. The other is Howard Davis who not only won gold at the 1976 Olympics but was named the most outstanding boxer over future ATG's Micheal Spinks and Sugar Ray Leonard. For any fighter though its a good foundation to becoming a pro. You simply can't find any stiffer competition in the amateur ranks.