THE overwhelming approval of the proposal of AIBA president Dr. Wu Kuo-Ching in a special congress called by Dr. Wu to pass a resolution that would allow professional boxers to compete in the Olympic Games beginning in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games has resulted in a groundswell of opposition primarily led by the World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman, leading international promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank and several other former and current world champions such as heavyweight greats Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, legendary Mexican champion Julio Cesar Chavez, legendary Mexican Erik “El Terrible” Morales as well as renowned promoters like Lou Di Bella who minced no words when he blasted AIBA as “a disgrace.”
The opposition to the proposal was initially voiced by the late WBC president Don Jose Sulaiman whose son took up the cudgels after his father’s death and continues to wage war against AIBA PRESIDENT Dr. Wu who, Mauricio suspects, is driven by the possibility of financial rewards should talented pro boxers enter the Olympics.
That’s why Dr. Wu courted eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao during a meeting in Doha, Qatar to fight in Rio, promising him a “wild card entry” in the junior lightweight division.
But he failed to reckon with the pervasive influence of longtime promoter Bob Arum or the 16 million fans who voted for Manny in the May senatorial elections who effectively demanded that Pacquiao honor his obligations to the people who voted for him.
Arum put it succinctly when he told us, “Manny owes an obligation to the people who elected him to the Senate and he needs to fulfill that obligation. He has a lot of work to do in the senate” unlike his two-terms in the lone district of Sarangani where he was bitterly criticized over his habitual absence.
His Hall-of-Fame trainer Freddie Roach who helped mould the career of Pacquiao alongside Arum expressed the hope that Manny would focus on his significant role as a senator.
In fairness to Pacquiao he made it clear the only reason that drove him to think about a stint in the 2016 Olympics was his burning desire to give the Philippines its first coveted Olympic gold and had absolutely nothing to do with money.
All things considered it was not a certainty that Pacquiao would win a gold medal in Rio because he won’t be eligible to compete in the 2020 Games in Tokyo since he will be above the 40 year age limit by then..
He would have to fight much younger men on a daily basis and would have to make weight every day which is a requirement in the Olympics. Used to overpowering his opponents in twelve rounds or less, Manny will have to battle over three, three-minute rounds which would be a different proposition altogether and require him to pressure his opponent from the opening bell.
Scoring with the use of electronic devices and the random choice of the scorecards of three of the five judges may also raise questions about how much judges give to solid body shots as compared to pitter-patter punches that, in the minds of some judges at least, score points in favor of fighters coming out of the amateur ranks.
There is also glaring differences in how punches are scored between amateur boxing and the pros, all of which add up to concerns for pros who decide to compete in the Olympics.
As we ourselves maintain it would promote potentially dangerous mismatches between top professional boxers and far less experienced amateurs and in fact would be unfair to young men who have worked hard to progress through the qualifying rounds only to have to tangle with tough pro boxers.
Here is a rundown of opposition to the AIBA plan.
Former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis of Britain said ““Olympic boxing is built for amateurs and is the highest achievement you can get, alongside being world amateur champion. All of a sudden you could have a scenario where someone like former world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, who won Olympic gold in Atlanta and has so much experience, could go up against a kid of 18 who has had just 10 fights.”
Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez Sr: “Professional versus amateur boxers is a real crime. It is attacking the very roots of boxing. It endangers the lives and careers of young talented [amateur\ boxers.”
Former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes: “Amateurs should not fight professionals. It won’t be a fair fight. I would not do it. Removing the headgear from amateurs is a huge mistake. The idea is to make boxing safer, not to let them get hurt due to commercial interests.”
Mexican legend Erik “El Terrible”Morales who fought Pacquiao three times, winning the first and losing the next two badly said “As an amateur, you are in a learning stage. At the end of the day, amateur fighters are not familiar on what professional boxing is. That would be a great disadvantage to happen in the Olympics. They don’t have the skills, the training [or] experience. I don’t understand this. Professionals have a lot of advantages over amateurs.”
Some promoters also weighed in.
Rodney Berman: “Pro boxers at the Olympics? About as stupid as it gets.”
The WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has taken a strong stand on the issue and announced that any of the top fifteen fighters in any weight division who competes in the Olympics will be banned for two years which means a major financial setback.
And that should hit where it hurts.