the thing that amazes me is how dismissive everyone is of guys who recently turned pro. it's even more amazing how dismissive ppl are of gold medal winners. it just illustrates a serious lack of understanding of boxing imo. the ignorant comments ppl make... "this guy never fought pro" blah...blah...blah... do ppl even realize the amateur ranks is where these guys hone their skills? when u compete in amateur tournaments....u are not allowed to select your opposition so u need to be prepared for whatever lands in front of you. i'm sure broner thought nothing of the amateur recently turned pro (errol spence) who ktfo'd him in sparring. and everyone thought the amateur recently turned pro rigondeaux was not experienced enough to compete with p4p pro nonito donaire. boxing is boxing. sure the scoring criteria/system might be different...but don't get it twisted...there's only a 2oz difference in glove sizes and that headgear doesn't exactly protect your chin. rigondeaux has 5 losses in close to 400 fights. lomachenko has 1 loss in over 300 fights. both have 2 olympic gold medals. do u guys even begin to understand how amazing that is???
boxing is not boxing amatures you have headgear on ext i rate a guy more who starts pro early then a guy who stays at amature level for long so learn mayweather has 5 loses at amature level if he started pro those losses would of been pro loses
Hmmm... The thing is the pros is a completely different ball game. Amateurs is all about technical ability, it's basically fencing with gloves on. In the pros, power, durability, heart, fitness are all much more of a factor. For every Lennox Lewis there's an Audley Harrison. I do agree Lomachenko and Rigondeaux were shoo-ins to be top pros.
[QUOTE="TKO";15940492]Hmmm... The thing is the pros is a completely different ball game. Amateurs is all about technical ability, it's basically fencing with gloves on. In the pros, power, durability, heart, fitness are all much more of a factor. For every Lennox Lewis there's an Audley Harrison. I do agree Lomachenko and Rigondeaux were shoo-ins to be top pros.[/QUOTE] lennox and audley were both outstanding amateurs. look at how the klitschkos have been dominating. both were outstanding amateurs. all boxing is fencing with gloves on because boxing as it exists today was born under the queensbury rules. in essence it was was fencing without swords. if the pros aren't about technical abilities then how do u explain that the people who dominate in the sport for the most part were exceptional amateurs??? floyd ward oscar holyfield jones tarver lewis klitschkos tyson whitaker leonard etc...etc..etc... the guys who do make it to the top that didn't have much of an extensive amateur career are extremely rare. and in those cases....they were groomed in the pros. chavez jr...chavez sr...martinez...mostly guys from latin american countries. but even guys like maidana and matthysse both had extensive amateur careers. if u look at some of these guys in their amateur careers...they were already very good because of the experiences they gained fighting in the free ranks. it's just like going to school. u have to get your education before you can get paid.
reality check....audley harrison looked awful when he competed at highest level as a pro......but there are an awful lot of professional fighters who would have loved to have had the career he has had....despite his failings at top level, that man got to fight for a world heavyweight title belt...an ambition for a hell of a lot of very good pro's
audley made some serious money fighting professionally. the fact that he was able to do so...and get the title shot speaks exactly to the point i'm making. his failures mean he's not the best....but when u look at the whole talent pool....he is among the best.
I understand what you mean, but in professional boxing, there are a lot of variables. The most skilled fighter doesn't always win. Meldrick Taylor was a gold medalist and would have beat Chavez handily in an amateur fight. Same with Judah against Baldomir or Wladimir Klitshko vs Purity.
no doubt...the pro fight is a test of endurance, will and other things...and you're right...success in the amateurs doesn't guarantee success in the pros. the main thing to me is the business side of boxing in the pros doesn't always allow us to find out who the better fighter really is. for instance....pacquiao. there were plenty of guys who could have beat him but were never allowed to step foot in a ring with him. zahir raheem, joan guzman, casamayor, nate campbell...and a few other slick fighters could have beat him. business kept us from finding out for sure. and before anyone starts calling me a pac hater...the same thing applies with floyd. business kept him from fighting margarito, cotto (after the mosley fight) williams...and maybe a few others. in the amateurs u cannot pick and choose your opposition. that's the main point. so you are forced to cover more bases stylistically speaking. it's a much harder road to travel than the pro ranks.
If the US stopped being a laughing stock on the world scene and started to win some medals again then suddenly amateur boxing would count for something for most fans. As it is inferior fighters such as Broner, Berto and Lacy get hyped way beyond what they are simply because of where they're from.
^ This. Add Errol Spence to that list. If these guys started winning Golds in big amateur competitions it would suddenly mean something to tham.
That's the point I was trying to make. Both were outstanding amateurs. One became an ATG pro, the other bombed as a pro. Nobody's said technical abilities aren't important as a pro. Just that they are not sufficient in their own right. If you do have them, together with the stamina, durability, heart, fitness and (preferably) power then you're onto a winner as with the above guys. Pro boxing ain't fencing with gloves on where knockouts are rare, it's a fight where the other guy is trying to KTFO you.
Seems like fighting on the U.S. Olympic team is seen as more of a showcase for the fighter's professional career. Just my opinion from the outside.
