Why has Olympic Boxing lost its Value?

has anyone said Audley Harrison yet? Audley Harrison.

The difference between pro and amateur is too much. A lot of world class fighters dont do as well in the amateurs as they do in the pros, so sticking around doesnt make sense.

Mike Tyson is probably the greatest gift and curse in boxing history. This generation was raised on the excitement of the knockout. Not too many people have the patience and overall desire to see a bunch of no names swing at each other in head gear with a limited chance of seeing a knockout. That's why MMA has exploded in popularity. They marketed the viscious nature of the sport and knockouts. That's why when someone get a few knockouts on their resume, they become instant stars in boxing whereas boxers with limited power but fairly good boxing skills are looked upon as the lesser fighter. Until the art of pure boxing is celebrated in America again, the amatuer circuit of boxing will continue to struggle for attention amongst fans.

guys like degale and ward and early in his career also khan had the perfect styles to be succesful in the amateurs all 3 guys were very accurate punchers as amateurs and especially ward and degale were good enough defensively degale has had a rocky start in the pros because he didnt impress...about half his stoppage wins were clear TKOs with the opponent still on his feet, same with ward except ward wasnt kept active enough against good opposition until he fought miranda

Yeah man. There was a particularly blatant one at Beijing 08 with a Frenchman? and a Dominican. I forget which kid got ripped off, but he got burned real bad, like shockingly so. It would maybe be on youtube, not sure, The young french dude got robbed. He was winning by one point, and the dominican fought dirty all the fight, then they deducted 2 points to the frenchy for almost nothing just before the bell and so he lost by one point. This french kid, Vastine, is the most talented fighter I saw in Beijing with that young Ukranian who koed another frenchman to win his gold medal. 2 awesome technicians. Degale's division was jack ****.

I don't think it has lost its value. James Degale and Ward are certainly more marketable because of that medal. They seem to have a certain credibility and hype attached to them because of that medal.

I was wondering why prospects like Jose Benavidez Jr, Frankie Gomez, and Randy Cabellero and a lot of other boxers I know who skipped waiting for the Olympics to get an early start on their Professional Boxing Career. I was also thinking how Andre Ward and James Degale really do not get much respect for winning the gold medal. I am just curious because I think if the Olympics were still popular it could give these boxers a platform to gain fans and increase their fanbase. It's still popular, but less in the USA. Cuz USA doesn't win anymore. HW and Olympic boxing=USA loses= no interest from the media. 140=US fighters = "best division in boxing" lol :D I love USA!

If your talking about these forums, it's because it doesn't sell PPV's. For me it's corrupt and the scoring system is flawed and has been for along time. Close fights are impossible to score and many clean shots are missed.

I was wondering why prospects like Jose Benavidez Jr, Frankie Gomez, and Randy Cabellero and a lot of other boxers I know who skipped waiting for the Olympics to get an early start on their Professional Boxing Career. I was also thinking how Andre Ward and James Degale really do not get much respect for winning the gold medal. I am just curious because I think if the Olympics were still popular it could give these boxers a platform to gain fans and increase their fanbase. Professional boxing is a disgusting form of the art. Anyone and everyone is permitted to cheat in some way or fashion. But that Gold Medal, it's legit. I think these kids will wish they had something like a gold medal to reflect on afterward, especially if they get dealt a bad hand in professional boxing.

Got any links to these robberies? I usually get my fights from Torrent sites, such as WBVA. Is there anyone in particular because they aren't single fights rather they have an entire day/round put together in one download. If you wanna check it out yourself, just go to WBVA and d/l the 2008 Beijing games. Sh1t was disgusting how they robbed Warren, Andrade and Reynell Williams.

The reason I have no interest in amateur boxing is because amateur boxing and professional boxing is damn near two different sports. Amateur boxing has this crazy scoring system where you win by accumulating points. A jab scores just as many points as a knockdown. It encourages fighters to play it safe. When a fighter stays as a amateur to long it can hurt them. Look at Guillermo Rigondeaux. He has all the talent in the world but because he was a amateur for so long he is a boring, saftey first boxer that know body wants to see.

I don't understand after getting shafted like he did, Rau'shee Warren hasn't turned pro. It's the whole amatuer scoring system and many are feed up with it. Your right tho....there are 10x as many robberies in the amateurs as there are in the pros. I literral watched Warren dominate a kid and get robbed worse than Roy in the 88 games. Got any links to these robberies?

I was wondering why prospects like Jose Benavidez Jr, Frankie Gomez, and Randy Cabellero and a lot of other boxers I know who skipped waiting for the Olympics to get an early start on their Professional Boxing Career. I was also thinking how Andre Ward and James Degale really do not get much respect for winning the gold medal. I am just curious because I think if the Olympics were still popular it could give these boxers a platform to gain fans and increase their fanbase. you don't get a paycheck when you fight in the olympics. not to mention that winning olympic gold doesn't mean you're a great fighter.

There is so much bull**** and poor decisions in the amateurs. I've lost count of how many blatantly wrong decisions I've seen at local, state, national and international level fights. Way more than the pros, which by all means has its fair share too. I don't understand after getting shafted like he did, Rau'shee Warren hasn't turned pro. It's the whole amatuer scoring system and many are feed up with it. Your right tho....there are 10x as many robberies in the amateurs as there are in the pros. I literral watched Warren dominate a kid and get robbed worse than Roy in the 88 games.

True but it has lost a lot of value and does not hold the amount of respect it had when Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar de la hoya won it.Depends which part of the world you're from. If you live in a country which no lobger produces Olympic champion fighters then the lusters gonna go.

With Frankie Gomez I know he promised his mom he would bring back a gold medal or something like that. His idol is Oscar and he wanted to win a gold medal just like him as well. I know all of 08 he was debating it and I think I just came down to him realizing that by starting his career earlier, he could be a contender by 21, instead of just turning pro around that age.

Probable because of all the bullsh1t robberies. Most of the kids go into these games knowing they will get shafted. Just check Demetrius Andrade's situation. He joked with his team mates about the judging and after he actually got robbed he said he knew it was bad but not on that level.(I'm paraphrasing BTW) I mean we have had so many blatant robberies and sh1tty decisions that most kids don't even wanna deal with it. Atleast that's the impression im get from reading these interviews from them.

It hasnt lost its value, it is just some kids need to turn pro to feed themselves. True but it has lost a lot of value and does not hold the amount of respect it had when Sugar Ray Leonard and Oscar de la hoya won it.

It hasnt lost its value, it is just some kids need to turn pro to feed themselves.