The World Boxing Council have announced their strong opposition to professional boxers fighting at the Olympic Games in Rio this summer, or at any Olympic Games in future.
In a statement released under president Mauricio Sulaiman, the WBC said:
Any world champion or top 15-ranked boxer per divisions of the WBC that participates in the Olympic Games would be immediately expelled.
It is not possible to imagine, much less accept a fight between professional boxers, who already have a physical development and more advanced technical skills, facing young fighters that are just starting this process.
Boxing is not a game. There is no scoring with goals or baskets. Rather, it is a contact sport which must be taken seriously.
Reasoning must prevail, the function of all bodies must be always to care and regulate the safety and health of boxers.
The concerns of boxing fans who have almost unanimously criticised the AIBA's decision over the past month, say the WBC, is another reason for putting such a rule in place.
Last week, current world champion and Olympic favourite Michael Conlan spoke to RTÉ on the matter, saying:
If these pros, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Frampton, feel like they’re going to come down from 12 rounds to three rounds they have another thing coming.
I think we have the advantage. We’re sprinters and they’re long distance runners and it’s still a sprint. We’re not running a long distance race. Three rounds is what we do and it’s what we’ll be doing.
Perhaps the highest profile professional fighter to express an interest in taking part in the Olympics is current World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, though were he to do so it would now scupper any future fight with WBC champion Deontay Wilder - or even Alexander Povetkin were he to usurp The Bronze Bomber in May.
And pragmatically speaking, it's also difficult to see how the AIBA could schedule a sufficient qualifying structure for professionals this close to the Rio games, particularly when so many have fights lined up in the coming months (Fury included).
It will be interesting to see if other alphabet organisations follow in the WBC's footsteps.
