Klitschko interested in another bid for Olympic boxing gold

POSSIBILITY While his focus remains on rematch with Tyson Fury, 1996 Atlanta champion could take advantage of AIBA rule change

LONDON: Wladimir Klitschko has refused to rule out the possibility of competing in the Olympic Games again. The 39-year-old, who won superheavyweight gold in Atlanta in 1996, could take advantage of a new move by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) to open up its eligibility criteria to all existing professionals.

Klitschko has long stated his desire to return to the amateur code before retirement and will press his case following his world heavyweight title rematch with Tyson Fury. “I have always said that I would love to participate again in the Olympic Games but right now I’m only focusing on my rematch with Tyson Fury,” he said.

Klitschko previously expressed his desire to try to qualify for London 2012 but was ruled out by a combination of the current AIBA rules and the reluctance of the Ukrainian Boxing Federation. He would need to persuade the powers that be at AIBA to lift the age limit for fighters under its jurisdiction.

He will be 43 by the time of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, and AIBA’s upper limit currently stands at 40.

Klitschko is the highestprofile fighter to express an interest in taking advantage of the new ruling, which will be officially ratified by AIBA in May, enabling professionals t o enter t he f i nal Rio 2016 qualifying tournament in Baku in June. But others believe top professionals will be reluctant to commit to the Games because of a mixture of reputational, licensing and financial issues.

The promoter Eddie Hearn said: “I think you might get some mid-level professionals having a crack at it but I don’t think you are going to get the elite guys. Sometimes that’s also the case with other sports – we’ve seen that tennis and football hasn’t always had the strongest representation in the Olympics but I think it is a strange situation in boxing.

“There are questions over funding and sponsorship and although the sport is in a kind of transition at the moment, I think the two should stay as they are – boxing should be one of the few sports where you have amateur and pro separation.”

Scott Quigg, preparing for his world super-bantamweight title unification bout against Carl Frampton in Manchester on Saturday, is against the idea. “When you are an amateur you are learning and if you start mixing up with the professionals I think it is a bad idea and it could be dangerous,” he said.

“The Olympic Games is the pinnacle of an amat eur’s career so you have got to keep it separate. I was shocked when they said it could actually go ahead, and I hope they have another good think about it and make the right decision.”

KLITSCHKO HAS LONG STATED HIS DESIRE TO RETURN TO THE AMATEUR CODE BEFORE RETIREMENT AND WILL PRESS HIS CASE FOLLOWING HIS WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE REMATCH WITH TYSON FURY I have always said that I would love to participate again in the Olympic Games but right now I’m only focusing on my rematch with Tyson Fury

WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO, former WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion