In today’s boxing landscape, too many talented fighters are rushing to turn professional before they’re ready.
The lure of quick money and the glamour of the pro ranks can be tempting, but it often comes at the expense of long-term success. Boxers who stay in the amateur system, traveling, competing against different styles, and testing themselves on the world stage build a foundation that no early amount of money can replace.
I recently attended the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, and was blown away by the talent on show. I was impressed at not just the skills of fighters but the physical shape of nearly every nation’s representatives. They were in top physical shape, and some of them were good enough to give a lot of top professionals a run for their money. I now understand why the organizers were trying to change the age-old name of amateur boxing to “Olympic Style Boxing”—there was nothing amateurish about what I witnessed.
The athletes who represented their nations were more professional than many real pro fighters. Not one missed weight; they couldn’t because they would be eliminated from the tournament— a rule boxing boards and governing bodies should consider. Former super middleweight champion and current 175lb contender Callum Smith is a fine example of how the experiences of fighting internationally, in this case for Team Great Britain, can benefit a fighter. Smith was attending the recent championships in his home city of Liverpool supporting the next generation coming through. He himself narrowly missed out on the London 2012 Olympic Games but admitted the experience on GB was still a huge part of his development.
“It was massive, just the whole GB set-up, just training every week,” Smith told BoxingScene. “You learn to be a little bit more professional, even though you're an amateur you train like a professional three times a day, you get your eating right and stuff. Just the quality, I know it's an individual sport, but success breeds success and you train alongside really, really good fighters day in, day out. I feel that benefited me massively and I improved tenfold from the fighter that joined here to the fight that left here. It's massive and I think nowadays some kids are a little bit too quick to turn pro. They think there's a lot of money in the pro game and jump into it. Whereas I'd advise anyone to get a few years of international boxing under your belt. The experience it gives you is invaluable.”
Another fighter who attended the championships, another local favorite, was former cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew. “Massive” was the word he used, like Smith, to describe the influence the GB setup had on his development. Bellew was a puncher, even in his amateur days, and was never suited to the old point scoring system that was in place during his time in the unpaid ranks. Regardless, he stayed on the squad longer than most to gain the experience he needed, even though he knew his place was in the professional game.
“It was absolutely massive, I turned over quite late, I think I was 26 when I turned over and I wanted that experience, I needed that experience,” Bellew told BoxingScene. “I actually never had the correct style to ever be a brilliant amateur, the four two-minute rounds format, with head guards on, big pillows for gloves, they never suited me, but I needed that experience against the quality of fighters that I faced to get it over the line. So when I turned pro I was able to go and be fast-tracked. I fought for the world title in my 16th fight. I was British and Commonwealth champion within 12 fights. So it is paramount, these boxers, they are young boys here, they've got to stay in the game for longer.”
That was the point Bellew kept coming back to – you can chase the money later, but you’ll never get back the years of learning that international boxing offers.
“The pro game's always going to be there, you know, learn your trade here,” he said. “It's three three-minute rounds now, it's a better format, there's no head guards – which I must admit I don't necessarily like, I think the head guards should come back, it just creates less damage to the fight when you turn pro, but ultimately you're not going to get to this level until you're at world title level. The level these lads are at now, getting to the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals stage, this is like world championship boxing, it really is. You're facing the best in the world, and trust me, in the professional game, that is so far apart from when you start to when you get to the end, and I speak from experience. I've done this journey. I've been there and I've been part of the first GB squad that got put together in Sheffield. The lads are still living there Monday to Thursday. They're elite professionals, these lads train like professionals and they've got the best coach GB's ever seen in Robert McCracken.”
That same message rings true across the Atlantic, where Richard Torrez Jnr has seen first-hand what waiting your turn in the amateurs can do. Too many American fighters still make the mistake of jumping early, lured by the illusion that big paydays come straight away. Some think they’ll be the next Tank Davis, storming the pros without needing international experience. The reality is very different. Being a national champion in the U.S. is prestigious, but it’s not enough. There’s something about sharing the ring with a well-schooled Kazakh or Uzbek that adds another string to your bow. Torrez, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist, knows it well. As a super heavyweight who could have turned over whenever he pleased, he admits the Olympics gave him the profile and financial backing to do the sport the right way.
“I mean, you don't make the money unless you do this side of things, you know, and I have first-hand knowledge of that,” Torrez told BoxingScene. “Some of the guys that I used to train with that didn't go to the Olympics, they had some pretty bad deals. They were on the B-sides, they really had to work their way up. As opposed to me, being an Olympic medalist, coming from the amateur scene, I was able to be a little bit more on the pedestal in the professionals. They were able to work me and lead me into the right position. I had a good contract, and had a signing bonus. I was very grateful for that, and it's all thanks to USA Boxing.”
Torrez seemed delighted to talk about a side of boxing that just does not get media coverage. He even made a point as to why young fighters should be in no rush to turn pro, and why he misses the unpaid ranks—something I’d never considered.
“This is the one time where it's all about the sport,” Torrez said. “You know, this is it. You don't have to worry about your meals, you don't have to worry about the money, you don't have to worry about anything. You've got other people that handle that, and all you've got to do is focus on the game. It's a lovely thing. When I go home and I'm in my area, I'm the manager, I'm the businessman. I have all these other things that you have to do, but here in Olympic-style boxing, this is where the sport matters.
“I miss it. I'm grateful that I miss it, because it meant something to me.”
Torrez misses it because it mattered, and that’s the point. Amateur boxing is where fighters learn, grow, and prove themselves. The pro game will always be waiting, but the fighters who stay the course are the ones built to last when they get there.
