MANILA, Philippines ? The Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) is waiting for the official guidelines that will allow professional fighters to compete in the Olympics.
This is after the International Boxing Association or AIBA pushed to change eligibility rules to allow pro boxers to participate in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
?My understanding is that professional boxers will be allowed to fight starting 2016. But no definite standards have been set, no procedures has been discussed so I don’t know how that’s going to go,? ABAP Executive Director Ed Picson said in an interview on ANC.
Once finalized, the new eligibility rule will allow professional boxers like Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire Jr. to represent the Philippines in the Olympics starting 2016.
The move could pave the way for the Philippines to win its first Olympic medal.
Picson, however, said the return of professional boxers to the amateur ranks is not that simple.
?Amateur boxing and professional boxing are worlds apart. The analogy is the punching and the parrying, but most of the rules are different,? he explained.
