Vasyl Lomachenko supports pro boxers in Olympics

Vasyl Lomachenko of the Ukraine has had his time in the Olympics, winning a gold medal as a featherweight at Beijing in 2008 and as a lightweight at London in 2012.

But the World Boxing Organization featherweight champion, who fights Rocky Martinez on June 11 for Martinez’s WBO super featherweight title at New York’s Madison Square Garden on an HBO-televised card, said he thinks the idea of letting professional boxers into the Olympics has merit.

On Wednesday, the AIBA, the international governing body of amateur boxing, announced it would let pros into the 2016 Olympics in August. It has sparked a raging controversy throughout the sport.

“If you’re talking about this Olympics, 2016, I don’t think it would be a wise idea for any professional who just heard the news and would run to the Olympic Games right now,” Lomachenko said Thursday on a conference call. “I think there needs to be more time to prepare for it.

“The idea of having professional boxers in the Olympics, I’m all for it. I like the idea. If you take basketball, tennis, any other sport, they support professional athletes, and they participate in the Olympic Games, and it makes it that much stronger.”

Lomachenko (5-1, three knockouts) said he thinks few pros will fight in Rio de Janeiro.

“I think in the 2020 Olympics, you will see a lot more fighters because they will have a lot of time to prepare,” he said. “But I don’t think the big stars in boxing, like (Manny) Pacquiao or (Floyd) Mayweather will take the risks in the Olympic Games. When they go, there is a chance the amateur can win, and they won’t want to take the risk.”

THURMAN CAMP UPDATE

Three weeks before Keith Thurman defends his World Boxing Association welterweight title against Shawn Porter on June 25 in Brooklyn, N.Y., he said the injuries he sustained in a February car accident in Florida have healed. Thurman hurt his neck and shoulder, causing a postponement of their March 12 fight in Connecticut.

“I’m fully recovered,” Thurman said Thursday. “I’m sparring. I’m training. I’ve been throwing power punches for what seems like forever, and this camp, if anything, I feel more comfortable.”

Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) expects a tough fight from Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs), a former International Boxing Federation welterweight champ who lost his title to Kell Brook in 2014.

“I’m coming to bring it,” Porter said. “Shawn is coming to bring it. It’ll be a great fight. We are two of the top welterweights in the division, two of the strongest in the sport going toe to toe.”

BATTLE BORN BOXING

The third installment of Battle Born Boxing is scheduled Thursday at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center. Twelve bouts are on the card, featuring amateurs from Nevada, California, Utah and Arizona.

Battle Born Boxing was created to support the professional cards Roy Jones Jr. Boxing has been promoting at the events center. The cards are on the night before the pro cards.

Tickets are $10. The first bell is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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