Pro boxers to fight at the Olympics??

Seems like it might happen. I posted before about the AIBA (the world body that runs amateur boxing) being unhappy about the best amateurs almost always turning pro. They have been taking steps to do something about this, and this is the latest idea.

On one hand it would be good to see the best boxers on the planet in the Olympics. It could also mean that a lot of matches will get made that might not otherwise happen.

On the other hand, an Olympic Gold medal is suppose to represent the zenith of a sport. An Olympic gold medal has always traditionally been the highest achievement in amateur boxing. Should pros be allowed to compete?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/14446438.stm

I think so. There is already a precedent with basketball, in any case. The fallacy of "amateurs" in the Olympics has existed for some time now - many of the eastern European, Chinese and Cuban players have been professional in all but the most technical sense for a long time now. May as well just let the field be even.

Boxing should do anything to save boxing.

If that involves having pros there so be it.

Amateur boxing has been ''better'' for like 10 years anyway, if not even more.

what rules would they fight under?

Amateur, I would assume? Prizewriter would probably know.

I'm not 100% sure on the rules, but it would be overseen by the AIBA. Most likely it would be done under APB rules, which are sort of a halfway point between amateur rules and professional rules. THe APB rules come from the AIBA, they introduced them a few years back to stage special tournaments for prize money for boxers still in the amateur code. It was designed to stop top amateurs from turning pro.