I don't like talented boxers wasting their time in the amateurs.

Unfortunately what we want and what the boxer wants are to different thing. It is on them to turn pro.

 

The problem is in communist countries (China) or countries where they pay amateur boxers a generous salary (UK, Russia).

Boxers can earn a very comfortable living as an amateur, and it’s a risk to turn professional as you give up the guaranteed salary and may earn less money than you did as an amateur.

Or like Frazer Clarke in the UK they were never a top amateur but turned over at 31, because they were too old to continue as an amateur and were forced to go professional.

It’s why in certain countries you only see them turnover in their late 20s when it’s really too late to build a solid professional career.

 

Completely agree with you that too many boxers spend too much time in the amateurs.

Although, in some cases their government literally bans them from going professional. Also, the amateurs is a great way to learn your skills as it is MUCH better to lose in the amateurs than in the pros, so you want to be absolutely sure you are ready and good enough to turn professional as once you go professional its tricky to go back to the amateurs.

 

did you follow Beterbiev’s pro career from the beginning with all the stops and starts? it wasn’t in the amateurs where the time was wasted

 

Agreed and it's their choice for staying amateur, so if they get scored down for having less wins, or lose outside their prime? That's on them

If a fighter comes to the game late and cleans up with 10 ranked wins? Marvellous, but they did less than the guy with 15 or 20 ranked wins, even if he has lost. As the law of averages tells us, the more you compete, the more chance you have to lose

 

I would argue that the reason why fighter's like Beterbiev, Bivol, Lomo etc are as good as they are is because of their amateur pedigree. Amateur boxing is a big deal in Eastern Europe just like it once was in the US. Think about Ali, Leonard, M. Spinks, Roy Jones, Holyfield and Floyd Mayweather. What do those guys all have in common? Deep amateur backgrounds.

 

Clarke turned over because he managed to get the Olympic Bronze medal securing him a top deal earning good money per fight as a pro.

 

Much of the world views amateurism as more prestigious. And many of todays top boxers come from that part of the world. Fighters in Soviet Union grew up dreaming of becoming Olympic champion not becoming world champion.

 

Yeah, but those guys were amateurs from their teen years to their early 20's tops. They didn't waste years of their physical prime fighting for peanuts in the amateurs, they were winning titles the same age Beterbiev, Loma, etc were fighting 4 round amateurs and bums.

Yes having a strong amateur background can obviously help sharpen your skills before going pro. But spending too much time there takes away precious years when a fighter can potentially become an ATG.

 

Americans view amateurism as a stepping stone like other sports view college which is amateur. Eastern Europe views it as a career in of itself. They don't see it as a sideshow taking away from their "real career".

 

I understand that, but if the boxer's intention early on is to eventually go pro, then it is in fact a stepping stone regardless of how most people view it. After winning a gold medal and having more than 60 fights under your belt, why languish in the amateur ranks another 5-6 years? You're getting paid less and have less notoriety than if you simply go pro, which is what those particular fighters wanted in the first place.

 

Thats the thing in their world they have more notoriety and fame being amateur. Thats a more prestigious career to them they've dreamed about their whole life. Going pro is something they do once they've built up an amateur legacy.


Also who exactly are you referencing whose won an Olympic gold medal then didn't go pro for 5-6 years? Zhang did that but he won silver. Usyk went pro the next year. Beterbiev and Bivol didn't win Olympic medals. I'm not sure Olympic gold medalists who aspire to be pro champion sitting around at amateur for 5 years is a common thing. Haven't done a deep dive on the matter maybe I'm wrong.

 

Isn't that what Loma did?

And Lennox Lewis didn't win gold, so he got grumpy and waited another 4 years to go pro after his second attempt at the Olympics. This decision altered the trajectory of HW history since his peers were already world level by the time he showed up to the pro tanks.

 

keep in mind that major western promoters only started actively investing in Eastern Europeans from their debuts since…Lomachenko maybe? they were not interested.

before then, the Germans got them and squandered them. and for the very few before then, a major life change had to happen. Kosta Tszyu had to defect and pretend to be Australian. Golota allegedly fled from the law and became a truck driver in Chicago. there was no well trodden path.