Pro boxers in Olympics? Probably, but don’t expect Floyd Mayweather in that ring

Imagine Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Deontay Wilder at the top of the podium, a gold medal dangling around their neck, "The Star-Spangled Banner" playing in the auditorium.

AIBA, the international governing body for boxing, is considering opening up the Olympics to all boxers, pro or amateur, at the Summer Games in August in Rio de Janeiro.

"We want the best boxers at the Olympic Games," AIBA president Ching-Kuo Wu told reporters in Manchester, England, this week during the organization's meetings.

But for the United States, which is already in the process of qualifying for Rio, it's highly unlikely it would do an about-face and ask pro boxers to compete.

"It's not realistic," USA Boxing excecutive director Mike Martino said. "AIBA already has a format called the "World Series of Boxing," and they already have had pros qualify through that competition. Russia has eight, and Cuba has seven.

"What (Wu) wants to do is to open it up for the future. What AIBA is looking to do is no different than what FIBA did in 1992 when it allowed the NBA players to participate. We saw what the Dream Team did. It changed basketball in the Olympics forever."

Martino said the 2020 Olympics are a different story for the Americans.

"That's what we're realistically looking at," he said. "We're already in the middle of qualifying for Rio, and we have procedures that the United States Olympic Committee sets that we must follow."

Currently, the U.S. has one fighter who has qualified for the Olympics in lightweight Carlos Balderas.

Martino said any current pro boxer would have to weigh his options carefully before committing to an Olympic run with USA Boxing.

"You're talking about being willing to participate in training camp, not get paid and risk injury to fight four fights in less than a week," Martino said. "We'll see how many pros are willing to do that."

Mayweather, who turned 39 Wednesday, retired last year after beating Andre Berto, finishing his career 49-0 with 26 knockouts and as a 12-time world champion. He lost in the featherweight division semifinals of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, then won the bronze medal.

The last American male to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing was Andre Ward, who did it as a light heavyweight in 2004 at Athens, Greece.

"Floyd has been very generous with his time and his money to support USA Boxing," Martino said. "But he hasn't mentioned anything to me about wanting to compete in the Olympics."

Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said Mayweather, who made hundreds of millions as a pro, isn't planning a comeback as an amateur.

"Floyd's retired," Ellerbe said Thursday. "When he fought, he fought as a prizefighter."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj