Olympic Gold

In the Olympic Games we’ve seen a lot of boxers that have managed to jump into their professional era in boxing, and years later, turned into world champions in the ring. Some of the ones who have shown to the Summer games have won the gold medal. Let’s review some of those boxers that have achieved their Olympics medal and later, turned into professional fighters.

The Ukrainian, Vasily Lomachenko won two Olympics gold medals before turning into a professional fighter back in 2013. Beijing 2008 and London 2012 were the events where he conquered the featherweight and lightweight divisions. Years later, he won the world championships in featherweight and super featherweight as a professional fighter.

Muhammad Ali competed in the Olympics of Rome 1960; he was still named Cassius Clay. He fought in the light heavyweight division; it goes from 75 to 81 kilograms. In that Olympics edition, he won the gold medal. Muhammad Ali’s history in boxing speaks for itself, he turned into the WBC world heavyweight champion twice and is named as the best of all time.

The heavyweight division was conquered by four amazing fighters in the Olympics. The American Joe Frazier won the medal in 1964, four years later, George Foreman conquered the Olympics in 1968 played in Mexico. While in 1988, Lennox Lewis won his gold medal in Seoul. Finally, we can see two more Ukrainian names in this list, Wladmir Klitschko who conquered Atlanta 1996 in the super heavyweight divisions -above the 91 kilograms – and Oleksandr Usyk, who won in the heavyweight division back in London 2012.

Frazier, Foreman and Lewis won the WBC heavyweight championship years later after winning the gold medal in the Olympics they competed. While Klitschko, next to his brother Vitali, started one of the most successful dynasties in boxing, the Klitschko brothers. On his hand, Oleksandr won the cruiserweight title year later after his debut.

In Montreal 1976, one of the greatest fighters we’ve ever seen, Sugar Ray Leonard competed in the super lightweight division and won the gold medal in the Canadian Olympics.

Boxing has been part of almost every Olympics events sin 1904 in St. Louis, the only edition where boxing wasn’t part of the program was Stockholm 1912, due to a law that was forbidding the sports itself. And we are able to see women fight in the Olympics since London 2012, year where the female boxing was added to the program.

In the opening year of female boxing, the Irish and actual lightweight WBC champion, Katie Taylor, conquered her gold medal in the lightweight division. While the American, Claressa Shields and actual WBC super welterweight champion conquered twice the middleweight division in the Olympics, while fighting in London 2012 and Rio 2016.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the WBC or its members. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the WBC concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers.