Boxing

Most Olympic Gold Medalists as Professionals


Via Gav Duthie: That moment came again when all the successful Olympic boxers from the past matches started turning professional with high expectations. The 2020 Olympics (the event in 2021) produced some brilliant performances.

Bronze medalist Frazer Clarke debuting on Sky Sports this month, American Ricardo Torrez Jnr soon started with Top Rs.

However, Gold medal winners are always the hottest ones, Galal Yafai has signed with Matchroom and DAZN and is expected to do big things with his brother Kal, a former world champion gender.

However, it doesn’t always translate. Some successful amateurs just don’t become great professionals at all and vice versa. Here is a warning list of 5 Olympic gold medalists who made mistakes in the professional game.

Pete Rademacher 15-7-1 (8)
(Australia 1956)

(Heavyweight)

Just a really ridiculous career. The worst part is that it’s not really Rademacher’s fault. He had a great amateur track record and won an Olympic gold medal with over 70 amateur wins. There didn’t seem to be many heavyweights at the time that could challenge Floyd Patterson with Rocky Marciano retired.

However, the notion that Rademacher will challenge Floyd in his first professional competition is folly. He is the only boxer to ever challenge the world title in his first bout. Even Lomachenko waited for the 2nd time and he also lost.

Even after Patterson easily took him down, it wasn’t easy for them. They threw him in alongside Zora Folley for match 2, who was one of the top 5 heavyweights of the time so he was eliminated again.

It was just horrible matchmaking. He won six games in a row after that but never really progressed after conceding a few more goals. Some athletes are really disappointed and he will probably never get anything but his management team and promoters gave him the worst chance possible. body.

Andrew Maynard 26-13-1 (21)
(Seoul 1988)

(Light heavy)

Big boxer, a handsome guy, an Olympic Gold medal around his neck, and Sugar Ray Leonard instructs him, what can happen.

Maynard started well enough to set a 12-0 record before falling directly to experienced Bobby Czyz (sharing the ring with the likes of Virgil Hill and Evander Holyfield).

Maynard challenged Frank Tate to the NABF light heavyweight belt as well as Anaclet Wamba to the WBC cruiser belt in 1992 but lost both.

Legendary Tommy Hearns knocked him down in one round in ’93 and by 1994 he was losing regularly. He even tried a few heavyweight bouts but was stopped by Dane Brian Neilsen. Perhaps his lack of leg and chin movement has kept him from achieving anything remarkable in the sport.

Yan Barthelemy 13-3 (4)
(Athens 2004)

(Lightweight Flyweight)

A truly surprising downfall. An extremely polished boxer with an excellent amateur record. He won the Gold in 04 and continues to be an amateur as the Cubans were expected to be part of the successful 2006 world championship Cuban team.

In 2006, Barthelemy defected after leaving a training camp in Venezuela with Odlandier Solis and future world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Many Cubans struggled because of fan base and were not matched and given opportunities but one promoter based in Germany signed them all.

Barthelemy went 6-0 as expected but lost to a laner whose last career record was 10-17. Not long after, perhaps out of desperation, he fought a short fight and was stopped by the then undefeated Jorge Diaz.

His younger brother Rances (still active) is having a much better professional career as a former IBF world lightweight champion and has lost only 1 in 31 fights so far.

4. Audley Harrison July 31 (23)

(Sydney 2000)

(Super Heavy)

Great British hope, Lennox Lewis next. Harrison certainly has confidence and is said to be talented but he seems far more satisfied with the amateur bout.

He’s been a big deal from the start, all televised matches on BBC are not the norm. He won, he won the first 19 games but things don’t look right.

He decided to part ways with British rival Danny Williams for the Commonwealth title just because of real bullying. Then he went to America and was dominated by Dominic Guinn.

In 2008, when he lost to Irish taxi driver Martin Rogan, he considered it done.

To be fair, he did a great job of getting himself back on track. He won a swift Prizefighter (3 games x 3 innings in one night) and made a stunning comeback to win the European Championship before having an embarrassing title shot against David Haye only managed to throw a punch in 3 rounds before being blown up.

Another award winner, as well as two first-round losses to David Price and Deontay Wilder and Audley called it a day in 2013.

Mohammed Abdullaev April 21 (14)
(Sydney 2000)

(Lightweight Welterweight)

The Olympic gold medalist impressed in 2000 when he defeated Miguel Cotto in the first round and Ricardo Williams Jnr in the final. His professional career hasn’t been nearly as smooth. He won the WBO Intercontinental title but achieved a little more.

His rematch with Miguel Cotto from the amateurs made me wonder how the Puerto Ricans were able to lose to him.

Cotto won every round before stopping him at 9. He lost to another world champion at Andriy Kotelnik. Another loss and he calls it a day.

Inference

If you win Olympic Gold then you can close the box, no wonder but not stuck. Some professionals get glory too quickly like Rademacher, some make too much money early and forget to do the hard things.

Some struggle to handle the early pressure of being in the spotlight. These boxers need to think carefully and avoid the warning signs and those who are looking to make a quick buck. All we want as fans is for all boxers to make the most of their talents.



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