Pros getting shot at Rio draws commissions’ ire

1:13 AM ET

Reaction to the near-unanimous vote by AIBA, the organization that overseas amateur boxing, on Wednesday to allow professional boxers to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics was met with strong negative reaction by most involved in professional boxing.

Professionals will be eligible to compete in the Games for the first time this summer as long as they qualify at a tournament next month in Venezuela. Numerous professional fighters, promoters, sanctioning organizations and regulators, however, were swift to pan the idea as dangerous because bouts could match experienced pros with much less experienced amateurs who have not fully developed their skills or bodies.

Two of the strongest rebukes came from a pair of the most important regulatory bodies in professional boxing, the United States’ Association of Boxing Commissions and the British Boxing Board of Control, which regulates professional …

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