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Agence France-Presse

Professional boxers can compete at the Rio Olympics in August, the sport’s governing body ruled in a landmark decision on Wednesday, but some big names in the sport have criticised the move.
Former world champion Carl Frampton and a number of other high-profile fighters have hit out at the decision.
Northern Irishman Frampton said amateur and pro boxing were “two different sports”, claiming: “It’s like a badminton player ­playing tennis.”

Ricky Hatton, Richie Woodhall and Stephen Smith also criticised the move. And Hong Kong “Wonder Kid” Rex Tso Sing-yu has also previously been critical.
Meeting at an extraordinary congress in Lausanne, Switzerland, 95 per cent of the Aiba delegates voted in favour of the controversial move, the sport’s governing body said.
“This is a momentous occasion for Aiba, for Olympic Boxing, and for our sport as a whole, and represents another great leap forward in the evolution of boxing,” Aiba chief Wu Ching-kuo said.
It’s like a badminton player ­playing tennis
Carl Frampton
But the potentially 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 in July.
Wu described Wednesday’s historic vote as “a first step”, adding that among the 28 sporting disciplines represented in Rio, boxing was the only one with restrictions on professional athletes.
Wu has aggressively supported the move, arguing that the distinction between amateurs and professionals had become increasingly arbitrary.

The admission of professional basketball to the Olympics in time for the 1992 Games in Barcelona has helped make men’s basketball one of the most hotly anticipated events of the Games.
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 Rome Games in 1960, when he was still known by his birth name, Cassius Clay.

China’s Zou Shiming won gold in the light flyweight division at the 2008 Beijing Games and at the 2012 London Games. He is now the current WBO International flyweight champion in pro ranks.
But letting those who have already turned professional fight at the Games has faced some resistance, including from former gold medallist and world heavyweight title holder Lennox Lewis, who said it would be “preposterous” to let professionals into the same ring as amateurs.
Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson last month judged the proposed move as “ridiculous” and “stupid”, condemning the plan as a bid “to monetise Olympic boxing”.

But the announcement has already won some early supporters.
British boxer Amir Khan on Wednesday hailed the decision and said he would love to represent the country of his parents’ birth, Pakistan.
Khan, born and raised in Bolton, England, won a silver medal in the lightweight category of the 2004 Athens Olympics before turning professional a year later.
“If I am permitted as per rules and from my promoter, then I would love to compete for Pakistan,” he said at a press conference.
Pakistan Boxing Federation secretary Iqbal Hussain said he was thrilled at the prospect of “hero” Khan representing the country.
Philippine legend Manny Pacquiao, who won world titles at eight different weight categories, also hinted he was interested but said this week he would concentrate on his burgeoning political career.

But Aiba will have to answer questions about its dope testing policy 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, the British magazine Private Eye reported.
The report was quoted as saying that 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 Aiba recommendations aimed at “improving and enhancing” its anti-doping programme.
Aiba had started working on the implementation of the recommendations, the Wada spokesman added.
Boxing has undergone major changes in recent years. Women were allowed into Olympic competition in 2012 and headguards will no longer be compulsory from Rio.


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Landmark move: professional boxers can compete at Rio Olympics 

photo datÈe des annÈes 60 de l'ancien champion du monde de boxe dans la catÈgorie des poids lourds, Mohammed Ali (Cassius Clay). Mohammed Ali devint champion olympique des poids mi-lourds en 1960 puis champion du monde poids lourds pour la premiËre fois en fÈvrier 1964 contre Sonny Liston. Picture dated from the 60's of the U.S. boxing champion Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), who got the Olympic middle heavyweight gold meadal in 1960 in Rome, aged 18, and got the professional world heavyweight title for the first time in February 1964 against Sonny Liston.

Commission on Elections (COMELEC) personnel take selfie pictures with Philippine boxing icon and newly elected Senator Manny Pacquiao (2nd L) after COMELEC proclaimed Pacquiao as a senator in Manila on May 19, 2016. Pacquiao, 37, whose rise from desperate street kid to boxing superstar has made him one of the nation's biggest heroes, retired from boxing last month to become a full-time politician. / AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS

Zou Shiming of China kisses his gold medal during the presentation ceremony for the Men's Light Fly (49kg) boxing competition at the London Olympics August 11, 2012. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj (BRITAIN - Tags: SPORT BOXING OLYMPICS)

British boxer Amir Khan addresses a press conference in the Pakistani city of Karachi on June 1, 2016. British boxer Amir Khan hailed the decision to allow professional boxers at the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, saying he would love to represent the country of his parents' birth, Pakistan. / AFP PHOTO / RIZWAN TABASSUM

World amateur boxing association chief C. K. Wu of Taiwan gestures as he confirms his intention to run for president of the International Olympic Committee during an international press conference in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, May 23, 2013. Wu told reporters in Taipei on Thursday that he is declaring his candidacy to succeed Jacques Rogge to "positively impact society." (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

Sport

Boxing

About 95 per cent of Aiba delegates vote in favour of controversial suggestion, with big names like Lennox Lewis critical of the decision


Landmark move: professional boxers can compete at Rio Olympics

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}About 95 per cent of Aiba delegates vote in favour of controversial suggestion, with big names like Lennox Lewis critical of the decision

About 95 per cent of Aiba delegates vote in favour of controversial suggestion, with big names like Lennox Lewis critical of the decision