MANILA, Philippines – There?s a plan in the works for professional boxers to fight in the Olympics as early as the London Summer Games in 2012 and if implemented, it will open the doors for the likes of world champions Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire and Donnie Nietes to represent the Philippines in going for gold.
AIBA president Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu is the architect of the plan and in a recent meeting with ABAP president Ricky Vargas in Taipei, explained the way is through a new project called the World Series of Boxing.
According to Wu, a professional fighter may enlist to compete in the World Series and will be eligible for the Olympics on condition he relinquishes all ties with other boxing organizations or promoters. A professional fighter is therefore cleared for the Olympics if he is AIBA?s exclusive property.
Theoretically, a world champion like Pacquiao could ?retire? and join the World Series for a chance to fight in the Olympics. He may reenter the professional mainstream after fighting in the Olympics and disengaging from the World Series.
Former WBC secretary-general Rudy Salud welcomed the idea and even suggested a professional fighter like Z Gorres, whose style is fit for the Olympics, would benefit from the opportunity.
?I think it?s a good idea but I?d like to study the details of the mechanics before making a definitive comment,? said Salud yesterday. ?One thing for sure, Dr. Wu is a smart guy. If he can pull this off, it will be a big boost for AIBA.?
ABAP vice president Manny Lopez said the plan appears to be a short-term approach to finding potential Olympic gold medalists. ?If you?re going to spend millions for professional fighters, I?d rather invest in young kids and develop them to become future champions,? said Lopez. ?I?m also not sure how professionals will adjust to fighting three rounds of three minutes each in the Olympics. But whatever the case, I will support ABAP?s position with regard to the World Series.?
Wu said the World Series will be launched in September next year with four franchise cities in each AIBA zone ? Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and Oceania. He mentioned expressions of interest to apply for a franchise are now being accepted and awards will be made before this year ends. Wu said the franchise fee is still to be determined although the estimate is in the range of $400,000 to $1 million a year with a five-year commitment.
Vargas said ABAP will carefully study the viability of owning a franchise in the World Series even as he confirmed interest to Wu.
According to Wu, inquiries have been made by AIBA officials from China, Korea, Kazakhstan, India and the United Arab Emirates. Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Montreal, Mexico City, Paris and London are among the cities lined up for franchises.
In the World Series format, each city or team will enlist 10 fighters, five active and five in the reserve list. At least three of the five active fighters must be ?imports? to assure a high level of competition. A team may sign up all imports if it wants. Boxers will sign exclusive World Series contracts and may only fight in AIBA events while their pacts are in effect. Teams will face off in head-to-head eliminations for three to four months then the top four will advance to the semifinals with the survivors to dispute the championship in the finals, possibly in Macau. There will be team and individual honors up for grabs. World Series bouts will be for five rounds of three minutes each.
?In the end, we?re hoping to match the World Series champions against the WBC or WBA or IBF champions to determine the best in the world,? said Wu.
The World Series is a partnership between AIBA and the International Management Group (IMG). Wu described it as ?a new, exciting initiative.? He recently appointed Ivan Khodabakhsh as the World Series chief operating officer.
?The potential of the World Series is unlimited, considering world-wide TV coverage,? said Wu. ?This could be bigger than the World Cup of soccer.?
In AIBA?s book ?Rising To Lead,? it was mentioned that the World Series will be a professional league, was designed to support AIBA members with a significant return on their investments in boxers, will give amateur boxers a chance to extend their careers as professionals and will allow its fighters to compete in the Olympics.
?The World Series will revolutionize the sport like never before providing a universal form of entertainment which will capture the imagination of fans around the world,? said Wu in AIBA Boxing News. ?With IMG?s expertise and commitment to developing a highly valued boxing property which will survive for generations, AIBA aims to provide a boxing legacy which will change the sport forever.?
IMG president Ian Todd said, ?IMG is extremely proud to have been selected by AIBA in connection with the World Series. With our 40 years of experience in working with some of the world?s leading sports federations, we are confident that with our skills in producing and selling media rights, procuring sponsorships and negotiating franchise agreements, we can build the World Series into one of the world?s premium annual sporting events with AIBA.?
In his annual report, Wu said he expects the World Series to recruit fighters for its franchises during the World Championships in Milan on Sept. 1-12.
