Boxing - Seychelles abstains as Aiba voted in favour of pros at Olympics |08 June 2016

Seychelles abstained as the International Boxing Association voted in the rule change just weeks before the Rio Olympic Games start on August 5.

The vote took place during the Aiba (International Boxing Association) extra-ordinary general meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on June 1. The purpose of this congress was to amend Article 13 of the Aiba Statutes, so as to let professional boxers take part in the Olympic Games.

Before members voted, Aiba president Ching Ko Wu explained that boxing was the last of the 28 disciplines that signed the document in 2014 in which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) requested to include professional sportsmen in the Olympic Games that had not done so.

He also said the power to register such boxers shall be left with the national federations and of the 88 member federations that took part in the voting process, 84 voted in favour while four including the Seychelles Boxing Federation (SBF), abstained.

Following the decision, any professional boxer can enter a qualifying event in Venezuela next month in an attempt to win selection, with 26 entry places up for grabs.

Aiba president CK Wu said it was "difficult to anticipate" how many would attempt to qualify.

The SBF delegation comprising chairman Bryan Esparon and secretary general Edmond Folette said it abstained simply because Seychelles does not have professional boxers.

“Seychelles does not have professional boxers to insert in our team and we think it will not be beneficial to us for the time-being, it will make our lives more difficult to win a medal at the Olympic Games,” said Mr Folette.

He added: “But we are not totally against it, we have to start developing our boxers into professionals. There’s a lot of dollars in boxing out there. Our federation is thinking differently now, it will take us some time but once we register our first boxer who gets accepted in WSB (World Series Boxing), then Seychelles boxing will reach the next level.”

What do Seychellois have to say?

Silver medalist in the 63.5kg category at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998, Gerry Legras, who represented Seychelles in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, USA, agrees with the decision.

“To some extent this decision is not doing justice to boxing. But on the whole, boxing will be equal to other sports where amateurs and professionals compete together. Amateur boxers now have to train harder to be able to compete harder against tougher opponents,” said coach Legras, who was a two-time Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG) gold medallists in Mauritius in 1985 (57kg category) and Seychelles in 1993 (60kg category) and has also reached the quarterfinals of the world championship twice — in Hungary in 1993 and Germany in 1997.

Olympian Andrique Allisop does not totally agree with the decision, describing it as “not so good an idea”.

Allisop, who has qualified for the Rio Olympics after making his debut in London in 2012, said “the pros have their own competitions and they fight for money and the different belts with the four major boxing sanction bodies called — IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC.”

“As it is now, pros and amateurs will all have to fight for money. But professional boxing is different from amateur boxing. I’ve come across pros in my career and seen others boxing, I feel that not all of them are hard nuts to crack,” said the 2011 IOIG gold medallist.

Mixed reactions to the decision around the world

Around the world, there have been mixed reactions following the decision to allow professionals to fight at the Olympic Games.

Northern Irishman Frampton, a former world champion, says amateur and pro boxing are "two different sports", claiming: "It's like a badminton player playing tennis."

"Goodbye amateur boxing now as far as I'm concerned," tweeted former welterweight and light-welterweight world champion Ricky Hatton. "Can't say I'm a fan of this."

Richie Woodhall, a former world super-middleweight champion who won a bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics, added: "To bring professionals into an amateur Olympic set-up is wrong.

"Traditionally it's always been a sport to spring launch athletes into a professional career."

Former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Stephen Smith, who has had 28 fights as a pro, said he was "gutted" to learn the news.

However, Olympic medallist Michael Conlan says he is happy to fight against professionals as he seeks to add gold to the bronze he won in London.

"It wouldn't bother me, I'll beat all of them," said the Ireland bantamweight.

Former world heavyweight champion Vladimir Klitschko, 40, has indicated he would like to box at the Olympics but is unlikely to take part in qualifying.

The Ukrainian, who won Olympic super-heavyweight gold in 1996, takes on Britain's Tyson Fury in a title rematch on July 9.

The question many people have been asking since is would the pros beat the amateurs?

Former WBA and IBF super-bantamweight champion Frampton, who boxed as an amateur before turning professional in 2009, is not convinced.

"A lot of people are saying it would be unfair for amateurs because the top pros would wipe them out, but that's not the case," he said.

"I believe the top amateur boxers in the world would be able to compete with the world's top professionals over that three-minute round format with soft amateur gloves on."

Even former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson said "some pro fighters are going to get beaten by the amateurs”.

Differences between amateur and pro boxing

There are several differences between amateur and professional boxing but the main one concerns the length of a fight.

Amateurs usually fight over three rounds, each lasting three minutes, but can box for several days in a row during a major tournament.

Professionals have fewer fights but each bout is run over a minimum of four rounds and a maximum of 12, with each round lasting three minutes.

Compiled by G.G.