Ukrainian Boxing Champion Lomachenko Signs Pro Deal With AIBA

Ukrainian world champion boxer Vasyl Lomachenko and four of his Medal-winning teammates on Ukraine's dominant Olympic boxing team "have signed with a new professional boxing venture created by the governing body of the amateur sport," according to the AP. Int'l Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) President Wu Ching-Kuo announced his signings of the world's "best amateur boxer and his four talented teammates" Friday. The deals with five fighters on the most successful team at the London Games "are a coup" for Wu's organization and its fledgling AIBA Professional Boxing, "a novel venture -- similar to a league" -- scheduled to begin regular shows in the fall of '13.  Wu said, "We have signed many good, strong boxers. What we offer is different from the current professional promoter. The boxers have a full protection. They have a good living, and a minimum number of bouts a year, and also a close affiliation with their national federation" (AP, 8/10).