Evans, Campbell and Joshua. The long, long wait

[Bodyshot3]

I've just watched the mildly-entertaining Dancing on Ice which featured Olympic Gold medallist Luke Campbell sliding around the place (doing pretty well actually) and no doubt earning a few decent quid.....

........but it did leave me wondering what the heck is going on with Luke, Fred Evans and Anthony Joshua.

They've got two Olympic golds and a silver medal between them but the Games were in the late summer of 2012 and we're now well into 2013. Only Ogogo, who got a bronze, has decided to turn pro.

Personally, I am not sure Evans is doing much more than marking-time and getting paid with the WSB . I'd far rather he signed pro-forms and make the most of his talent. Luke C does not seem to have made any comment as I far as I know and Joshua is still toying with extending his amateur career.

These guys have now had a decent break after the Games to recover and fully consider their options....so what are they waiting for?

[Tom Cruise]

I've just watched the mildly-entertaining Dancing on Ice which featured Olympic Gold medallist Luke Campbell sliding around the place (doing pretty well actually) and no doubt earning a few decent quid.....

........but it did leave me wondering what the heck is going on with Luke, Fred Evans and Anthony Joshua.

They've got two Olympic golds and a silver medal between them but the Games were in the late summer of 2012 and we're now well into 2013. Only Ogogo, who got a bronze, has decided to turn pro.

Personally, I am not sure Evans is doing much more than marking-time and getting paid with the WSB . I'd far rather he signed pro-forms and make the most of his talent. Luke C does not seem to have made any comment as I far as I know and Joshua is still toying with extending his amateur career.

These guys have now had a decent break after the Games to recover and fully consider their options....so what are they waiting for?

As far as i know, AJ is looking to go to the World Champs this year, then decide afterwards what to do. Hopefully turn pro, and hes has definitely said that is his aim, but i also saw an interview where he was very impressed and surprised with what Am boxing can offer in terms of training and money.

Luke Campbell as you say has been pretty coy on the subject. His case is more urgent than AJ for me because despite the similar age, there is limited time people in the lower weights have compared to the heavies.

Fred Evans just got castrated in WSB by a tough skilled Ukrainian, so i wouldnt be surprised if he didnt turn pro for a while. He's only 21 so he has a bit of time I suppose. Im not hugely impressed with him though tbh...

I guess this is a side effect of having more funding in the Am program, more talent, but also way more reasons to stay amateur rather than enter the murky world of Pro boxing.

[taansend]

I was under the impression Joshua wanted to try for another Olympic Gold.

[tonyjones]

Anthony Joshua comes across as a nice lad but his gold medal is tainted,everyone knows he was beaten twice in the Olympics but was gifted ridiculous decisions he's doin the right thing stayin amateur and progress a bit more.....like Campbell is a talent but his style I don't reckon will be too successful in the pros but we ll see

[Tom Cruise]

I was under the impression Joshua wanted to try for another Olympic Gold.

You could well be right, just googled it and im possibly working off old information. I think personally this is too long to wait, but he is still green so each to their own... Perhaps a season in the WSB could be good to get him his first few pro fights and still allow him to fight at Olympics?

[Bodyshot3]

@ Mr Cruise....agreed and v. valid point about Luke C. Time always ticks a bit quicker for the smaller lads.

Seeing him last night kinda prompted me to ask the wider question. The guy has got immense talent; remember he alo got that superb European gold as well as the Olympic title, which arguably makes him the best British amateur of the modern era.

It would be a shame not to see him give the pro ranks a proper shake and I do think that if he found the right trainer who could work on developing a decent style he'd still be a force to be reckoned with.

Campbell actually looked pretty big during his time on TV - whilst still looking in decent shape - and can't helping wondering whether he'd turn pro (if he decides to do this) as a featherweight.

[taansend]

You could well be right, just googled it and im possibly working off old information. I think personally this is too long to wait, but he is still green so each to their own... Perhaps a season in the WSB could be good to get him his first few pro fights and still allow him to fight at Olympics?

He'll be 26 after the Rio Olympics. Not really that old.

Fighters don't have as long a breeding period as a pro as they used to. And if you look at Boxrec's top 25 heavyweights (OK I know their ratings are not to be taking seriously but just for a general idea) only two fighters are younger than 28, Tyson Fury & Denis Boytsov.

Funny to think that he is only months younger than Fury though.

[Tom Cruise]

He'll be 26 after the Rio Olympics. Not really that old.

Fighters don't have as long a breeding period as a pro as they used to. And if you look at Boxrec's top 25 heavyweights (OK I know their ratings are not to be taking seriously but just for a general idea) only two fighters are younger than 28, Tyson Fury & Denis Boytsov.

Funny to think that he is only months younger than Fury though.

True 26 is not that old by todays standards, but i dont think that is necessarily a good thing. I understand him wanting to stay Amateur a little longer because of his late start in the ring, but to stay until Rio, while not being disastrous, will have a negative affect on his career imo. Starting pro young allows far more time to develop, and then if you get to the top, far more time to take on the best. It also means that if he gets contract disputes, promoter problems and stuff like that it would not be as big a problem.

For example Price turned pro in 2009 (25yo) and only made it to fringe world level in 2013 (29yo when he lost). While Fury turned pro when he was 20 and is at fringe world level now at 24, if he took the loss that Price did think how long he has to recover from that compared to Price?

Sorry ive gone a bit OTT with my post, but the age which heavies go pro has grated me for a while. Hughie Fury has done the right thing, and he will see the benefits of that by the time hes in his early/mid 20's...

[DosRounds]

Fred Evans is in the WSB but I don't know how he would do in the pros. He got stopped in the amateurs by the Lithuanian guy who is on the Bradley under card tonight (don't even know where to start with his name) and he wasn't impressive against the Ukrainian. Maybe if he goes back down to welter he'd have the strength to compete with those guys

[Tom Cruise]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/g...r-8547212.html

Sounds like speculation tbh but still...

Boxing: Lennox Lewis ready to return as Anthony Joshua's manager

Britain's hottest boxing prospect, the Olympic super-heavyweight gold medallist Anthony Joshua, is set to turn professional in a deal which could see him link up with the former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

Joshua's UK Sport-funded "amateur" contract with GB Boxing expires at the end of the month, and the biggest fight of the year is to get his signature on a professional contract.

The fighter himself is keeping things under wraps – all interviews carry the condition that questions about turning pro are off-limits – but he has recently been to Jamaica for talks with Lewis, who has intimated that he would be willing to help Joshua develop his career.

Lewis says of the 23-year-old Londoner: "Anthony has got a lot of raw talent, great power, punching ability and tremendous potential, all the qualities you need to be a future world heavyweight champion. Now all those things need to be harnessed to make him more of a complete fighter. He has shown that he has the willingness and the drive to be successful. In many ways he reminds me of myself.

"I've told him that the most important first step is to get people around him who are conducive to his personality and his ambitions," Lewis adds. "If you get that right, the money will follow. He would certainly earn more than Mike Tyson or myself."

There is speculation that Lewis, who won the same Olympic title for Canada in 1988, could manage him, with David Haye's mentor, Adam Booth, as his trainer under the promotional banner of Golden Boy in the United States, who have links with Frank Warren's BoxNation subscription TV channel.

After winning the Olympic title, Joshua has become boxing's most wanted man. Every leading British promoter, and a fistful from America, has wooed him.

Lewis, 47, regularly emailed Joshua with advice during the Olympic tournament and was among the first to congratulate him. Since his retirement as the last undisputed world heavyweight champion in 2004, Lewis has worked as a pundit for US television network HBO, but he now wants a more hands-on role.

Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy have a licence to promote in Britain after signing Joshua's 2012 ringmate Anthony Ogogo, the charismatic middleweight bronze medallist. They are also believed to be keen to acquire Britain's other Olympic winner, bantamweight Luke Campbell who, like Joshua, has not fought since the Games seven months ago.

In boxing terms Joshua is still a baby, but he is 6ft 6in and nearly 17 stone, and has vital commodities for greatness – good chin, decent punch, a touch of charm to match his Ali-like looks and a highly marketable personality.

Golden Boy, whose chief executive, Richard Schaefer, is a former Swiss banker, are prepared to make Joshua potentially one of the richest young men in world sport in their search for a new heavyweight superhero to end the robotic domination of the Klitschko clan. Both Warren and his rival British promoter Eddie Hearn have made substantial offers too.

However, since his Olympic triumph Joshua has made it clear that he is in no rush to become a prized fighter, acknowledging he still has much to learn. A comfortable alternative would be to take part in the next World Series Boxing tournament for the British Lionhearts.