Canada ready to send pro boxers to Olympics if amateurs don’t qualify

MONTREAL – Boxing Canada is ready to send professional fighters to the 2016 Olympics, but not until amateurs get their chance to qualify for the Rio de Janeiro Games.

Five national team boxers will compete at a qualifying tournament June 14-26 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Boxing Canada will then release names of pros they want on the team based on which weight classes are vacant.cs:

The pro fighters would need to go through a qualifying tournament July 3-8 in Venezuela to try to earn a ticket to Rio.

So far, Arthur Biyarslanov is the only Canadian male boxer who has qualified for the Games. Mandy Bujold and Ariane Fortin qualified on the women’s side.

Boxing Canada president Pat Fiacco said in a statement that he was among the overwhelming majority to vote in favour of alowing pros to fight alongside amateurs at the Olympics at a meeting of the sports governing body AIBA this week.

“The Olympic Games are only every four years and our goal is to continue to increase the number of boxers Canada qualifies and more importantly to win medals,” said Fiacco. “Times have changed and our sport needs to be proactive and live according to our times.”

Having pros at the Games has been widely panned in the boxing world, with some fearing mismatches between seasoned pros and amateurs.