Ukraine’s Olympic boxers sign pro deal

World champion 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.

AIBA president Wu Ching-Kuo announced his signings of the world's best amateur boxer and his four talented teammates to The Associated Press on Aug. 10.

Lomachenko has dominated his sport since his gold medal-winning performance at the Beijing Games, winning two world titles with crowd-pleasing skills that have attracted enormous interest from pro promoters worldwide.

“We have signed many good, strong boxers,” Wu said.

“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.”