Sat, Aug 06, 2016 page16

• Rio Olympics: Boxing’s brave new world steps into ring in Rio

  • AFP, RIO DE JANEIRO
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  Olympic boxing enters a controversial new era when the action in the ring begins today in Rio de Janeiro, with professionals involved for the first time in a vastly revamped competition.

  Significant changes also include a new points-scoring system, while male boxers will no longer be sporting clunky headguards, as Olympic boxing attempts to move closer into line with professional bouts to boost its appeal, particularly in the US.

  While the decision to dump the headwear and the unpopular punch-counting system was mostly positive, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) courted stern criticism by opening the Olympic competition to professional boxers for the first time.

  

  Venezuelan boxer Edgar Munoz practices at a training session at the Riocentro complex in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. Munoz faces Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan in a men’s super heavy, over-91kg, round-of-16 fight tomorrow.

  Photo: AFP

  Compounding matters, the decision came in June, just two months before the Games, so too late for most pros to start planning a tilt at gold.

  The result is that only three professionals are in Rio and they are not names that even most boxing fans will have heard of — Hassan Ndam Njikam of Cameroon, Thailand’s Amnat Ruenroeng and Italian Carmine Tommasone.

  The AIBA says that exhaustive studies found there are fewer concussions without headguards, although women boxers — competing for only the second time in the Olympics — will still wear them.

  Critics say there will be more cuts without the guards and with so many fights packed into two weeks, boxers will struggle to get enough time between the bouts for their wounds to heal.

  Some fighters have voiced concern it could mean opponents intentionally headbutting to get a stoppage for a cut.

  Lawrence Okolie, a British heavyweight, says he is expecting the changes to make for some brutal bouts for the 13 golds — 10 for men and three for women — up for grabs.

  “Kill or be killed,” Okolie said.

  “At the end of the day, my opponent is trained to destroy me. Same as I’m trained to destroy him. So just make sure I don’t get destroyed,” he said.

  Britain topped the boxing medal table on home ground four years ago and are expected to be strong contenders again.

  Nicola Adams, who made history as the first female to win Olympic gold in boxing, returns to defend her crown for Britain.

  Also boxing for Britain is Muhammad Ali — a young flyweight whose name has added poignancy after the heavyweight legend died in June aged 74.

  Ali — then named Cassius Clay — first announced his name to the world with gold at the Olympics in 1960.

  The US has a rich history in Olympic boxing and are still the most successful nation in both overall medals and gold medals since the sport made its Games debut in 1904.

  Cuba also have a proud amateur boxing record and are expected to be strong, as are Ireland, whose medal hope Michael O’Reilly faces being sent home after failing a dope test, according to Irish media.

  The Olympics has been a launchpad for some of the biggest names in US boxing — Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Evander Holyfield, Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr, to name just a few.

  However, the last American to win boxing gold was in 2004 with Andre Ward, while the men’s team failed to win a single medal in London.

  Supremely confident teenager Shakur Stevenson is fancied to bring that barren spell to an end in the bantamweight class, while Claressa Shields is defending her middleweight crown.
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