Arum: Decorated Amateurs Can Be Fast Tracked at Pro Level

MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV - It appears that 3-division world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko has started a trend that many Olympians fighting under the Top Rank banner will follow.

Next month in his 13th professional fight, Shakur Stevenson will face Joet Gonzalez for the vacant WBO featherweight title. On December 14th, Teofimo Lopez will take on IBF lightweight champion Richard Commey in his 15th fight as a pro.

"They were very mature. Particularly Stevenson had this great amateur career so we have learned that if a fighter has a vast number of fights in the amateurs you don't have to nurture them with set up fights early on. Look at Lomachenko, in his 2nd fight he was fighting for a world title because he had 397 amateur fights. I think you are going to see more and more of that," Bob Arum told BoxingScene.com after the Tyson Fury-Otto Wallin press conference.

The Top Rank CEO believes that the fighters with an extensive amateur background don’t need the formula of getting 20-25 fights under their belt before fighting for a world title that is very common in the sport.

He believes this trend with well seasoned amateurs quickly fighting for a championship will continue.

"If a fighter doesn't have a big amateur background then he needs to be schooled as a professional but if he has a big background you can go quicker. Look, I have been around forever.  When Ray Leonard won the Olympic gold in 1976 and turned pro later that year, by 1979 - 3 years later - he was fighting Wilfredo Benitez for the world title which he won,” said Arum.

“That was the way it used to be with Olympic medalists, particularly those that had big amateur careers that within 3 or 4 years at most they were fighting for a world title. So recognizing that I really believe that is what should happen now. We are seeing that with Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez and the kid Devin Haney. You don't have to school them on set up fights for very long.”

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