RUMBLE FOR RIO
Crazy to let pro boxers in Olympics — McGuigan
‘Would GB team turn to Joshua for Games?’
OLYMPIC boxing is set to undergo an extraordinary overhaul, with controversial plans under discussion to allow top professional fighters to compete for gold.
The new proposals are on the verge of being introduced by the sport’s world governing body, AIBA, and could be in place by the time the Games start in Rio in August.
It would mean — theoretically if not realistically — a current world champion such as Tyson Fury could fight in Brazil. When asked about the possibility last night, he replied on Twitter: ‘Why not the only thing I never won? Ha.’
While those chances are remote in this Games cycle, the proposals do open the possibility of a change that would significantly alter the sport, which has generally seen elite amateurs use the Olympics as a final stepping stone before turning professional.
Former world champion Barry McGuigan last night branded the plans ‘crazy’, saying: ‘It just seems like a publicity stunt. I don’t quite understand it because of the practicalities. How can you possibly have a 12, three-minute-round fighter, who is an elite championship fighter, coming in and boxing over three, three-minute rounds, which is a sprint?
‘It just seems crazy, it seems bizarre and I just don’t see how it can practically work.’
McGuigan, who won Commonwealth gold as an amateur in 1978, added: ‘It takes years to learn to fight over 12, three-minute rounds, then you have to bring it back down again. You’re putting your title and reputation on the line, and all the money you’d lose, for nothing.’
Under current rules, introduced in 2013, professional boxers who have had fewer than 15 fights and are committed to the AIBA’s professional arm, APB, are eligible.
The proposals seek to remove restrictions, placing power in the hands of national federations to choose the best men possible from amateur or professional codes.
AIBA president Dr Ching-Kuo Wu said: ‘We want the best boxers at the Olympic Games. We want something to change, not after four years, but now.’
An AIBA official confirmed to Sportsmail that the intention is for the plans to be ratified in a vote of their executive committee. The target, if the plan is approved, will be for the change to be in effect in Rio.
It throws up a variety of fascinating and controversial possibilities, not least on the home front, with UK Sport having committed more than £13million into the current British boxing squad for Rio. Selection is due to be concluded in June, but new rules would allow a scenario whereby 2012 gold medallist Anthony Joshua could step in and snatch a place in the squad.
A spokesperson for the British Amateur Boxing Association (BABA), which oversees the GB team, said: ‘The proposals have the potential to broaden the talent pool and we look forward to hearing more about them in due course.
‘In the meantime, we have a squad of talented boxers training hard to qualify for Rio and all of our efforts are focused on helping them.’
It remains to be seen if fighters accustomed to earning massive paydays would be willing to switch for the glory of an Olympic medal.
World-title challenger Paul Smith tweeted: ‘Don’t agree with professionals being eligible at Rio. Amateur boxing should stay just that.’
British Boxing Board of Control secretary Robert Smith told Sportsmail: ‘It seems it would be riddled with problems. In the case of Rio, would the suggestion be to scrap a long selection process and bring in Anthony Joshua for GB and Floyd Mayweather for the US?’