Pro Boxers Will Be Allowed To Compete In The Olympics
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The International Boxing Association (AIBA), which has been the international amateur boxing governing body, made an unprecedented move today at what the organization called an "Extraordinary Congress" in Lausanne, Switzerland, and removed Article 13 (J) of the AIBA Statutes, allowing professional fighters to compete in the Olympic games, starting on August 5.
AIBA President Ching-Kuo Wu said the change of the AIBA constitution was approved with 95 percent in favor - 84 of 88 voting delegates that attended the Extraordinary Congress.
"We approved it and now they can compete," Wu told Reuters.
AIBA's decision supports the IOC Agenda 2020 which seeks to ensure that the world's best athletes are eligible to compete at the Olympic Games. Boxing was one of the few sports that had not been open to all professional athletes. The change is supposed to level the playing field and the culmination of reforms and new competitions that AIBA has been responsible for, particularly the inauguration of AIBA Pro Boxing and World Series of Boxing competitions.
There are 26 Olympic spots still open when fighters compete at a qualifying tournament in Venezuela next month, with a total of 286 boxers -- 236 men and 50 women set to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
AIBA spokesman Nicolas Jomard said there would be no wild cards, with the age limit at 40 for the athletes.
The move has drawn considerable criticism from world-class pros. Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, an amateur won gold medalist in the 1981 and 1982 Junior Olympic Games, has called the move "ridiculous and foolish"
Others, like future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins, have mixed feelings.
"Beating a kid at 51 years old is not a good look, these kids should be fighting for a dream, but for someone like me, I fight for a paycheck, not a gold medal," Hopkins said. "I can see pros, limited pros who aren't world class, doing it. But I'm fighting for million-dollar checks, why would I fight for a gold medal? I'd rather for a check than a medal. The only thing I don't have in my career is a gold medal, but punches hurt. They don't feel like they used to feel when I was 20. I'm not saying that I'm against it.
"But you won't find anyone in pro boxing of real superstar status doing this. There might be a guy who's a day short of a world title that might try it. They can have pros in basketball and in track, but those guys don't get hit for a living. Basketball, track and boxing are very different things. You can rest in those sports. They don't have to worry about getting cut up or hit in the head. They won't play with a swab on their heads and expect to continue playing."
