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As for pros participating in the Olympics, apparently there is a lot of them in this Olympics.
"An Associated Press examination of the Tokyo Olympic field found 36 men and seven women with professional boxing experience, representing 24 nations from six continents. It's a sharp rise from the three pros who competed with minimal success in Rio de Janeiro, the first Olympics in which professionals were allowed to participate. Pros will comprise about 19% of the 186 men, 7% of the 100 women and 15% of the entire Tokyo group.
Yet nearly all of the prizefighters in the Tokyo field have very limited résumés, with 23 of the 43 showing fewer than three recorded pro bouts. Even fewer pros likely would have been in Tokyo in 2020, with several qualified fighters only starting their pro careers during the yearlong pandemic delay.
"Turning pro developed me into a more complete fighter, and I'm coming back as an amateur with no pressure," said US lightweight Keyshawn Davis, who will fight in Tokyo after taking three professional bouts in early 2021. "I loved my taste of pro boxing, and I'm bringing that back to the Olympics."
The US team has three pros — Davis, Troy Isley and Duke Ragan — whose nine combined fights were all six rounds or shorter.
"They couldn't be more different," USA Boxing head coach Billy Walsh said of the Olympic and pro styles. "It's like two runners: One is a marathon runner, and one is a sprinter."
The qualifying tournaments for the current Olympic cycle were badly altered by the pandemic, which might have dissuaded some experienced prizefighters from trying to reach Tokyo — but which also prompted some young fighters to start their pro careers while they waited.
"If it wasn't for COVID, he never would have turned pro before the Olympics," Gibbons said of Marcial.
"An Associated Press examination of the Tokyo Olympic field found 36 men and seven women with professional boxing experience, representing 24 nations from six continents. It's a sharp rise from the three pros who competed with minimal success in Rio de Janeiro, the first Olympics in which professionals were allowed to participate. Pros will comprise about 19% of the 186 men, 7% of the 100 women and 15% of the entire Tokyo group.
Yet nearly all of the prizefighters in the Tokyo field have very limited résumés, with 23 of the 43 showing fewer than three recorded pro bouts. Even fewer pros likely would have been in Tokyo in 2020, with several qualified fighters only starting their pro careers during the yearlong pandemic delay.
"Turning pro developed me into a more complete fighter, and I'm coming back as an amateur with no pressure," said US lightweight Keyshawn Davis, who will fight in Tokyo after taking three professional bouts in early 2021. "I loved my taste of pro boxing, and I'm bringing that back to the Olympics."
The US team has three pros — Davis, Troy Isley and Duke Ragan — whose nine combined fights were all six rounds or shorter.
"They couldn't be more different," USA Boxing head coach Billy Walsh said of the Olympic and pro styles. "It's like two runners: One is a marathon runner, and one is a sprinter."
The qualifying tournaments for the current Olympic cycle were badly altered by the pandemic, which might have dissuaded some experienced prizefighters from trying to reach Tokyo — but which also prompted some young fighters to start their pro careers while they waited.
"If it wasn't for COVID, he never would have turned pro before the Olympics," Gibbons said of Marcial.
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