WBC On Their Own In Battle With 'Pros Going To 2020 Olympics'

The proposal of the World Boxing Council (WBC), by organization president Mauricio Sulaiman, to issue a two year ban on any professional who intends to go to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo - has been approved by their board.

But, the proposal does not have the full support of the other sanctioning bodies as Sulaiman expected.

Sulaimán acknowledged that he spoke with Gilberto Mendoza, president of the World Boxing Association (WBA), and Francisco Varcarcel, head of the World Boxing Organization (WBO) , but they did not reach an agreement.

"We had a cordial talk on the subject, but no, we did not reach an official agreement," said Sulaiman to Alain Arenas. "However, the members of the WBC have spoken and decided to ratify the veto for professionals who want to go to Tokyo 2020."

Both Mendoza and Varcarcel were present at the WBC's gala dinner that took place on Monday night at the Oasis hotel in Cancun , but they were not present at the assembly in which the subject was discussed, which was held on Tuesday morning.

According to Arenas, the head of the WBO was already out of town at the time of the assembly.

"Our position remains firm and we have had two very important opinions. On the one hand Oscar de la Hoya, who recognizes that the dream of amateur boxers is to compete at the Olympic Games. And on the other are the medical points of view, which they affirm that there is an abysmal difference between the body of an amateur and a professional fighter and it can be dangerous to match them."

The IOC is allowing professionals to compete in the 2020 Olympic Games, as they did in the games of 2016.