Back to the Olympics Newsfeed

Column: Pros fighting in Rio a lousy idea on many levels

Manny Pacquiao won't be there, passing up a chance to win the first Olympic gold medal for the Philippines.

You won't see Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez fighting three-rounders in Rio, either.

Thankfully, the people who run Olympic boxing are still so inept that they waited too long to roll out the welcome mat for professional boxers in the Olympics. That likely means no pros of note in Rio, despite the vote Wednesday in Switzerland to let them compete.

It's a lousy idea on a number of levels, though that should come as no surprise. Boxing in the Olympics has been pretty much a farce since Roy Jones Jr.