Professionals in the Olympics: Yay or Nay?

[sweetpea87]

I'm against it. What if you get a 15 year veteran who is a professional champion or former champion going up against a 19 year old kid who has never fought more than 4 rounds and has always fought with headgear up until the Olympic trials? On the other hand, I could see some b to c level pros getting beat by an amateur, which would be embarrassing for them lol. But I have always liked the Olympics to be a good way for a star amateur to progress into the professional ranks.

I understand the pros wanting to win a medal for their country, especially if they never fought in the Olympics as amateurs, but being a pro and going back to amateur ranks just doesn't seem right to me.

[mikinoki]

Well, what side are you on? Leave some justification for the vote too.

Nay because the olimpics are for amateurs...

[lopetego]

what worries me most is the physical well being of the amateurs, many of whom are in their late teens and early 20s.

and out of a sudden they have to fight a Kovalev or Beterbiev kind of guy, and without headgear

some pro boxing careers might end before they even get started

[-Hyperion-]

Yes.....but not for these ones....next cycle sure.....if people are concerned about kids going against grown men, then don't have your kid fighting in the olympics after Rio.

[Baltimore]

I don't like it...a pro could seriously hurt an inexperienced amateur.

The only way it would be cool is if literally almost all of the fighters were pros...but even then it would suck because they would be robbing the opportunity from young guys who no longer have the olympics as a platform to prove themselves and get noticed on a world stage.

[soul_survivor]

I don't like it...a pro could seriously hurt an inexperienced amateur.

The only way it would be cool is if literally almost all of the fighters were pros...but even then it would suck because they would be robbing the opportunity from young guys who no longer have the olympics as a platform to prove themselves and get noticed on a world stage.

Agreed. Boxing isn't like athletics for example, which is entirely based on the Olympics and World Championships. In boxing, there are two distinct routes, with the ams normally feeding into the pros.