How important nowadays is it to Pro boxers to have won an olympic gold medal?

[evalistinho]

Many successful pros today do not have a Gold Medal (Kelly Pavlik, Mayweather, Cotto, Margarito, Pacquiao etc) These dont have a gold medal but are some of the top fighters today. Do you think a gold medal is or is not that big of a deal for them? I have always wondered this because i know many of the legends have a gold medal (Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Leonard, Whitaker, De la Hoya). I was just wondering if the gold medal has lost its prestige or is it still as big as before?

I didnt know if i should put this in training or boxing forum but since the olympics is amateur i thought it would fit better in this section.

[TommyV]

Not really a big deal now. A lot of guys get screwed out of golds anyway like Jones and Mayweather.

It's no biggie, just gives them a bit of a head start.

[rapidHOOK]

it is very good opportunity for boxers to get good contracts with top promoters
if a boxer wins gold at olympics he gets massive exposure and he can start earning big money quick

on the offside the are mostly seen as hype jobs

but i have to add not all olypic champians do well in the pro all depends on there style and if it is pro friendly because most i might add have a pure amature based style that alows them to exceed in the game on the stupid points system

[Jennifer Love Hewitt]

Olympic boxing has become so far removed from the sport of professional boxing, a medal does not mean much anymore in terms of professional success.

[evalistinho]

it is very good opportunity for boxers to get good contracts with top promoters
if a boxer wins gold at olympics he gets massive exposure and he can start earning big money quick

on the offside the are mostly seen as hype jobs

but i have to add not all olypic champians do well in the pro all depends on there style and if it is pro friendly because most i might add have a pure amature based style that alows them to exceed in the game on the stupid points system

This is very true because there have been good amateurs and bad pros like david reid or crap amateur and a great pro career like Chavez.

[Rise Above]

I think it definitely helps to have a good amateur background but winning a gold medal doesnt always mean you will go far in the pro game and its definitely not a prerequisite either.

[Kolya]

This is very true because there have been good amateurs and bad pros like david reid or crap amateur and a great pro career like Chavez.

David Reid wasn't a "bas pro". He got tossed to Tito fucking Trinidad in like his 15th fight.

[evalistinho]

David Reid wasn't a "bas pro". He got tossed to Tito fucking Trinidad in like his 15th fight.

That is true man Tito did ruin Reid and was the worst decision his mangament could have done to throw him in so early against a monster like tito.