Pro boxers in the olympics

[mark1993]

What are your thoughts on pro's being allowed to enter into the Olympics?
Are there any positive arguments to this this i.e. They are now able to box against their idols. What are your arguments and reasons to argue against? i.e. they should create a professional Olympic boxing league to make it fairer

[bojangles1987]

There are a lot of opinions on this in this thread:

http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=703904

To basically summarize what I've said in that thread, it's totally unfair for championship boxers to compete in the Olympics. Even the best amateurs of all time need many fights to get used to the pro game, and those fights are usually against bums and journeymen. The chances of amateurs winning gold medals is nonexistent if they have to go through someone like Danny Garcia, let alone someone like Pacquiao or Klitschko. Plus the rules are changing to make Olympic boxing more like pro boxing, which erases the only advantage the amateurs might have.

I really hate the idea, and any pro who does this should be ashamed.

[ИATAS]

I don't think it's going to be that big of a deal.

It really isn't as easy as people may think. People are forgetting that it's not like a pro fighter can simply say "I'm going to fight in the Olympics!" and then show up when the Olympic starts; no, it's a whole process full of tournaments, qualifications, etc. (and the qualification rounds are soon or already started iirc). This alone is going to steer the vast majority of pro fighters away. Guys like Pacquiao, while he says he'd love to do it, probably hasn't even put in the slightest bit of thought as to what this will mean and I'm nearly certain once he does, he'll change his mind very quickly (along with most other high profile fighters that have considered it). I mean, would you expect Pacquiao to have a high profile fight with Bradley in April, then go to Rio and go through qualification rounds in May/June? Extremely unlikely many high profile boxers will do this.

[The Big Dunn]

I think it would be an absolute disgrace, especially now that rules seem to be designed to have amateur fights be judged more like pro fights.

I just do not see the point of this.

[ИATAS]

What are your thoughts on pro's being allowed to enter into the Olympics?
Are there any positive arguments to this this i.e. They are now able to box against their idols. What are your arguments and reasons to argue against? i.e. they should create a professional Olympic boxing league to make it fairer

I guess the flipside to this or to play devils advocate is that most other Olympic sports have pros. I mean if Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, et al got to destroy the world and everyone loved it, why couldn't a Mayweather or a Pacquiao do it if they wanted to? A LOT of these Olympic fighters are in their mid 20-s to 30's and even late 30s in some cases, where these guys are essential "pro" amateurs whos whole purpose is attempting to win medals for their country. In the US, most everyone is young, but that's probably not the norm when you look at Cuba obviously, eastern European countries, etc.

[ИATAS]

I think it would be an absolute disgrace, especially now that rules seem to be designed to have amateur fights be judged more like pro fights.

I just do not see the point of this.

Getting more people interested in Olympic boxing? I think the past few Olympics, boxing has been pretty bad as far as coverage goes. These new rules (no more headgear, pro-style judging/pro-style fighting) is an attempt to get people more interested in Olympic boxing, which long-term helps the sport (popularity obviously, additionally it helps the fighters be more "pro ready"), in addition potentially having big names participate. In theory, that makes total sense. Imagine, for example, Mayweather vs the world, or Pacquiao, etc. It would be a massive deal. Of course that's just in theory, as I already mentioned its highly unlikely we'll see any truly high profile fighters participate (at least for this upcoming Olympics).

[NEETzsche]

can you imagine how anticlimactic it would be for pro rivalries, stuff like kovalev-stevenson, to be resolved in three round olympic fights after all the years of build-up. it would completely kill the intrigue of those fights

[ИATAS]

can you imagine how anticlimactic it would be for pro rivalries, stuff like kovalev-stevenson, to be resolved in three round olympic fights after all the years of build-up. it would completely kill the intrigue of those fights

Unless they go full Hagler-Hearns for those three rounds.

[The Big Dunn]

Getting more people interested in Olympic boxing? I think the past few Olympics, boxing has been pretty bad as far as coverage goes. These new rules (no more headgear, pro-style judging/pro-style fighting) is an attempt to get people more interested in Olympic boxing, which long-term helps the sport (popularity obviously, additionally it helps the fighters be more "pro ready"), in addition potentially having big names participate. In theory, that makes total sense. Imagine, for example, Mayweather vs the world, or Pacquiao, etc. It would be a massive deal. Of course that's just in theory, as I already mentioned its highly unlikely we'll see any truly high profile fighters participate (at least for this upcoming Olympics).

You make good points but it just isn't for me. The thought of Floyd, Wlad or Manny fighting in the Olympics right now doesn't interest me at all.

If anything you should put an age limit on Olympic boxers (is there one?) or limit them to 2 Olympics. Once a guy is 24 or 25 he shouldn't be fighting amateurs IMO.

[NEETzsche]

to be honest, it would be a risk for pro boxers with high profiles to fight in the olympics. there would probably be a few instances of celebrity pros being hustled out of decisions by random kids from uzbekistan and what have you. three rounds isn't a lot of time to stamp your authority on a fight. there's a lot of potential for embarrassment