Top amateurs now pros in all but name
WE are to some extent in the age of the super amateur, the era of sustained amateur brilliance followed by an immediate assault on world titles as a pro.
WBO super-featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (above left) has had only 10 pro bouts. He challenged for the title in his second fight and won it in his third. In December he defends his crown against Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux, who won the WBA super-bantamweight belt in his ninth fight.
Lomachenko, a double Olympic and World gold medallist across three weight divisions, fought 398 times as an amateur losing only once. Rigondeaux, also a double Olympic and World gold medallist, racked up 475 bouts losing only a dozen.
I am not claiming Andrew Selby (above, right) is in that class of superstar, but he is some talent and tops the bill at the York Hall tonight against Maximino Flores in a fight broadcast live on Channel 5.
Selby has had only nine pro bouts, winning five by KO. At flyweight that is an excellent ratio. Knockout power tends to be harder to generate in the lighter divisions. He is a stylist, quick and aggressive with fast hands and feet and almost impossible to hit.
I don’t know whether he will replicate what his brother, Lee, did in winning a world title but I believe he is good enough to challenge for one next year.
That’s the game we are in. I had 125 amateur fights. Though I was a banger and more suited to the pro game, I can see how I might have been persuaded to delay turning over in this era.
Amateur boxers are better prepared than ever, properly funded, professional in all but name. Who wouldn’t want the glory of two Olympic golds if it were possible to accomplish professional goals later?
Lomachenko and Rigondeaux arrived in the professional ranks with glittering reputations and a price tag to match. To them it made sense to make their name as amateurs before cashing in as pros.
Selby was also a stellar amateur winning double flyweight gold at the European Championships and bronze and silver at the Worlds in a career spanning more than 200 bouts.
He went to the London Olympics in 2012 as the No.1 ranked amateur in the world at flyweight, losing only to the eventual gold medallist in the quarters.
You don’t get a second chance at the Olympics. Hopefully he won’t need one as a pro. Tune in, it’s going to be exciting.