Professional boxers allowed to compete at Rio 2016

[sensei8]

If the Olympics are supposed to be competition between the best in the world, then professional athletes should be allowed to compete, regardless of the sport.

Key word: if. They are not. A gold medal doesn't measure up to a nba or nhl championship nor does it measure up to a championship belt. In regards to these e ends, olympics are for amateurs. Professionals would have way too much experience, money, and resources at their disposal.

Solid post!!

This, how you feel, TJ Jitsu, is how I feel, as well!! Nonetheless, it's their toy, the Olympics, and they can play with their toy anyway that they see fit, without asking our permission. I don't have to like it, and I don't, but I've no say in it at all.

[JR 137]

I guess one needs to examine why professional athletes were allowed to compete in the first place. I believe, but don't hold me to it, it was mainly due to the USSR and their athletes posing as amateurs. They were pro athletes hiding behind the guise of military officers. One of the hockey players said (years later) that he was allegedly a lieutenant in the army, yet never fired a gun in his life.

[Hawkmoon]

Allowing 'professionals' to compete in an amateur competition is ..well ... it makes it a joke IMHO!

A certain shame is felt in my blood, sorry its how it makes me feel!

[bushido_man96]

I guess my line of thinking is that if the Olympics are supposed to be the pinnacle of competition, then why aren't the best athletes being allowed to contend?

In my mind, this is what's wrong with the Olympics, along with so many other things, like the IOC, for instance.

Look at soccer. Pro athletes from every country are competing in soccer. Same when baseball was in there. Basketball, NBA pros are putting together another team that will likely thump every other team out there.

Now, lets look at some of the other sports. TKD? No professional TKD league out there, so its ok to call them all amateurs. But lets be serious, most of these athletes are training professionally. Wrestling? Same thing. Track and field? These are sports that don't fill stands when they are free to go to, let alone at any professional level, like football or soccer or baseball or basketball. So we overlook those athletes as professionals, when they probably train like pros, anyway.

At any rate, that's my rant. It probably wouldn't be worth while for a pro Boxer to participate in the Olympics, but if they wanted to, why not let them?