Professional boxers can compete at the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the sport’s governing body ruled in a landmark decision yesterday. Meeting at an extraordinary congress in Lausanne, Switzerland, 88 members of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) voted in favor of the move, while none voted against and four abstained. The final results of the vote were told to reporters by a senior official within the AIBA, who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the subject before the official announcement.
However, the revolutionary decision is unlikely to see boxing’s biggest names enter the Olympic ring in Rio. For most professionals, like former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, it is already too late to take part in a qualifying contest. The last tournament is in Venezuela next month.
There is a rich history of fighters making their name at the Olympics before moving on to have groundbreaking professional careers, including Muhammad Ali, who won gold at the Romes Games in 1960, when he was still known by his birth name, Cassius Clay.
However, letting those who have already turned professional fight at the Games has faced some resistance, including from former gold medalist and world heavyweight title holder Lennox Lewis, who said it would be “preposterous” to let professionals into the same ring as amateurs.
AIBA president Wu Ching-kuo has aggressively supported the move, saying that the distinction between amateurs and professionals had become increasingly arbitrary. He added that letting the sport’s best athletes compete at such a showcase event would raise boxing’s profile.
However, the AIBA is to have to answer questions about its dope testing policy in order to satisfy the International Olympic Committee, which is embroiled in a series of doping scandals and is battling to keep drug cheats out of the Rio Games.
A World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report found that the AIBA has not carried out any out-of-competition tests in the year ahead of Rio and hardly any in the past three years, British magazine Private Eye reported. The report was quoted as saying that the AIBA’s actions fell “considerably short” of WADA’s requirements.
WADA spokesman Ben Nichols would not comment directly on the substance of the Private Eye report, but confirmed that the agency’s inspection team had given the AIBA recommendations aimed at “improving and enhancing” its anti-doping program. The AIBA has started working on the implementation of the recommendations, Nichols said.
Boxing has undergone major changes in recent years. Women were allowed into Olympic competition in 2012 and headguards are no longer to be compulsory from the Rio Games onward.
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