AIBA pursues pro vision

AIBA president Dr. Wu Ching-Kuo isn’t standing by idly while the fighters nurtured in the amateur ranks turn pro and forget about where they came from. The visionary from Taiwan is offering a career path for fighters brought up in the AIBA system to forego making money for organizations like the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF.

In Dr. Wu’s mind, AIBA shouldn’t be just a stepping stone for fighters to eventually become millionaires as pros. At the moment, AIBA provides the stage for amateurs to polish their skills and become Olympic champions. But once the amateurs turn pro, AIBA no longer benefits from their elevation. It’s like AIBA develops fighters for others to gain from their progress. Dr. Wu isn’t inclined for AIBA to be an investor who earns no dividends from its stake.

With the Olympics opening its doors to pros in basketball, tennis and hockey, AIBA has found a way to join the parade. Two years ago, AIBA launched the team-oriented World Series of Boxing (WSB) where fighters battle without headguards and vests in five-round bouts under a 10-point must scoring system. WSB fighters were considered pros because they signed contracts and received pay for their services but they didn’t lose their eligibility to compete in AIBA tournaments like the World Championships and Olympics. 

Aside from team honors, WSB fighters compete for individual prizes.  The top 10 fighters of the team competitions in five weight categories advance to face off in the finals where the distance for each bout is seven rounds. The first WSB season featured 218 fighters in 12 franchises and 390 bouts were televised in 80 countries and the five champions earned automatic slots to the London Olympics. The third season is now underway.

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This year, AIBA is launching another pro initiative called the AIBA Professional Boxing (APB). Pros with less than 15 bouts may join the APB and gain Olympic eligibility but will be contractually restricted from fighting for any other organization, meaning they relinquish options to be promoted by Top Rank or Golden Boy or any other stable. The fighters will receive monthly salaries and pocket additional money from purses when they win. There will be national, continental and world champions up for grabs in the APB with fights at distances of eight, 10 and 12 rounds.  Dr. Wu envisions the 2016 Olympics to welcome 70 APB and 30 WSB qualifiers.

Dr. Wu says he will make exceptions for pros with over 15 fights to join the APB if they are icons like Manny Pacquiao. To accommodate veterans with Olympic aspirations, AIBA recently extended the age limit for the Summer Games from 34 to 40. Pacquiao will be 37 when Rio de Janeiro hosts the Olympics in 2016. If Pacquiao joins the Olympics via the APB, he will no longer be able to fight for Top Rank or any other pro stable or promotional company.  If he leaves the APB to go back to fighting with other groups, AIBA may go to court and restrain him.

In case Pacquiao decides to try his luck in the Olympics, it won’t be a free ticket as there is a process for qualification. But qualifying shouldn’t be a problem. And if he ever fights in the Olympics, it shouldn’t be difficult to win because each fight is only for three rounds. The difficult part is weighing in the morning of every fight, something that pros aren’t used to. That could mean weighing in for a stretch of as many as five straight fights all the way to the finals.

Pacquiao should be retired from the pros by 2016 but could make a last pitch for patriotism and seek an Olympic gold to further cement his legacy as a national hero. At that stage of his career, he would be safely retired from engaging in brutal bouts although it’s possible that in qualifying for the Olympics via the APB, he may be involved in fights over the usual distances of eight, 10 and 12 rounds.

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“In the APB, fighters can compete until they’re 40,” says Dr. Wu in Boxing News. “This is an excellent opportunity for them. They have financial stability, they receive a regular salary so this is very good for their life. There are so many boxers if they don’t perform well in their pro career with an outside organization, I think their contract will not continue and very good boxers may be finished very early. With the APB, they will still be within the AIBA family. They can return to amateur and if the Olympics come, they can join. After the Olympics, they can return to APB or WSB.”

Dr. Wu insists AIBA is not out to compete with the WBC, WBA, WBO or IBF. “We develop ourselves,” he affirms. “We hope for continued success for other pro boxing organizations. We never want to challenge them but we’d like to give our best wishes that they develop very well and can continue their own development. At AIBA now, we have to have our own consideration. After the Olympics, the APB will move very fast. Before the Games, many boxers have already signed with the APB. So it’s a very important promotion before the Olympics, the APB and WSB together.”