Boxing is often considered as one of the most violent sports at the Olympic games. Although it has been a part of the Olympic games for a long time, it still evinces myriad reactions amongst sports enthusiasts.
With two starkly divided camps, professional and amateur boxing worlds are quite different. The chance for a shot at the limelight might be better in amateur boxing, compared to professional boxing. The ultimate sporting prize for many, an Olympic medal is a quick mode to instant stardom and adulation.
Professional boxers, on the other hand are faced with much more significant hurdles, by way of competition. Although it is an unfair comparison in many ways, one can stick one’s neck out and say the challenges in professional boxing are significantly more arduous than those in the amateur domain.
So why do so many amateur boxers opt for the professional circuit, over time? The answer, quite simply, is money. Fame and adulation fare poorly when it comes to generating revenue. While a successful amateur boxer might enjoy greater global prominence, a boxer who is successful on the professional circuit will be earning in the millions.
While a boxer may not have had significant success in amateur events, he may develop into a force to reckon with on the pro circuit. While the reasons are not exactly clear, here we take a look at 5 such boxers, who made the leap from amateur to pro boxing and had great careers:
#1 John H. Stracey:
John Stracey hailed from London and represented team Great Britain at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. In his first round, he comfortably beat his Canadian opponent, only to be pitted against the great southpaw Ronnie Harris in the second round.
Although Stracey put up a dogged fight and gave his superior opponent many causes for worry, the tide eventually turned against him, as he finished on the losing side. He lost on points despite one of the five judges giving him the edge over his opponent.
Ronnie Harris went on to win the gold in the lightweight category that year but Stracey earned widespread recognition for his dogged perseverance. He went on to forge a successful career in professional boxing.
The greatest moment in his boxing career quite fittingly came in Mexico City, as the scene of his defeat 7 years earlier turned into the scene of his victory. Stracey defied all odds to defeat the overwhelming favourite Jose Napoles to become the welterweight champion of the world.
#2 Gilberto Roman:
Gilberto Roman was a Mexican boxer who took part in the 1980 Olympics, held at Moscow. Competing in the flyweight category, Roman lost in the quarter-finals to Peter Lesov of Bulgaria, who eventually went on to win gold in that weight division.
Roman did not let this loss demoralise him, as he went on to become a two-time WBC Super Flyweight Champion and is regarded by many to be the greatest boxer ever, to have competed in this category.
Trained by boxing hall of famer Ignacio Beristain, Roman was always destined for great things. After winning a number of national championships, Roman was selected as a part of Mexico’s boxing contingent for the 1980 Olympics. Despite losing to Lesov, Roman grabbed many eyeballs with his quick feet and fast hooks.
He joined the professional circuit in 1981. He won the Super Flyweight title in 1986 by defeating Jiro Watanabe, the reigning champion. Roman reclaimed the title in 1988 after he beat Sugar Baby Rojas in a 12 round encounter.
#3 Antonio Esparragoza:
Venezuela is not an Olympic heavyweight by any stretch of the imagination. And yet, one of their best bets for a podium finish in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Antonio Esparragoza, woefully underperformed and disappointed his country.
A bronze medal in the World Championships prior to the 1980 Olympics saw Esparragoza touted as a medal hopeful in the featherweight division.
It was not to be, however, as Esparragoza was knocked out in the first round by Great Britain’s Peter Hanlon. An overwhelming 4-1 defeat, compounded by two public warnings for ducking too low to avoid punches, saw the Venezuelan boxer’s hopes dashed.
Esparragoza picked himself up appreciably from this setback and went on to win the WBA title in the 126-pound category as a professional. He put up a staunch defence of his title, retaining it seven times before eventually losing it in a bout in South Korea.
#4 Joan Guzman:
Our next amateur flop turned professional champion, hails from the tiny island of the Dominican Republic. The flyweight category in the Atlanta Olympics of 1996 saw two of the most talented boxers of that generation square off against each other in the first round itself.
Joan Guzman faced off against Omar Narvaez of Argentina, both having excelled in the amateur circuit prior to the Olympics. Guzman lost a well-contested bout to Narvaez and had to exit the competition in the first round itself.
In comparison to the others on this list, Guzman had a relatively long amateur career. Towards the fag end of it, he looked to be struggling to make weight. When he made his debut on the professional circuit in 1997, he weighed 124 pounds.
Guzman went on to have a successful career on the pro circuit, where he established himself as the world champion in the flyweight category. Omar Narvaez too became the flyweight champion in professional boxing, some years later.
#5 Miguel Cotto:
The final entry in this list bears the name of Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, who represented his nation at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Cotto was just 19 years old back then, and was handed the toughest draw possible in the light welterweight division.
The reigning World Champion from Uzbekistan, Mohamad Abdullaev proved too strong for the young Puerto Rican and Cotto was beaten comprehensively by 17-7.
Abdullaev went on to win the gold medal, but Cotto forged a fantastic career in professional boxing. He quite fittingly got his revenge against Abdullaev in the professional circuit. Five years after the Sydney Olympics, the 2 squared off in Madison Square Garden, where Cotto won in 9 rounds, with Abdullaev having to surrender thanks to a closed right eye.
Cotto is one of few boxers who have won the world title in 4 different weight categories. Cotto became a quadruple champion by winning the welterweight, light middleweight, lineal middleweight and light welterweight categories.
