Wednesday 1 June 2016 22:50, UK
Tony Bellew and Johnny Nelson are united in their opposition to the decision that professional boxers will be allowed to compete in the Olympic Games tournament later this summer.
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) approved a rule change on Wednesday opening up places for up to 26 professionals to fight in Rio, with the vote proving almost unanimously in favour.
But criticism, which was loud enough when the possibility was mooted earlier this year, has continued to build and Bellew was particularly scathing.
Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ, the new WBC cruiserweight champion said: "I completely disagree with it. It's outlandish and I think it is actually dangerous.
"Imagine GGG, Gennady Golovkin, the triple middleweight champion, fighting an unknown amateur. That would be dangerous and I disagree with it very, very highly."
Sky Sports boxing pundit Nelson was similarly aghast at the rule change being passed by the AIBA, which will run a qualifying tournament in Venezuela in July.
Nelson said: "Somebody is going to get hurt.
"This is not like another professional game, like basketball, that is in the Olympics. You score, you get a shot, you dunk - it's done.
"In boxing, if you get hit, you get hurt - you do not play at boxing. To me, I think it is dangerous. I think they will reconsider after they let this slide and I think it is a bad, bad idea.
"I understand the point that it's only a three-round fight, and the pace is the only difference, but can you imagine Anthony Joshua today fighting the Anthony Joshua that won the gold medal (at London 2012)?
"They would be two completely different kinds of fighters. He's more controlled, he's more experienced and he knows exactly what to do, how to shut a guy down. It's absolutely crazy."
Former WBC and WBA super-middleweight champion Carl Froch also disagreed with the decision, and believes it could take away the prestige of winning gold.
"I feel it's better being left to the amateurs," he said.
"I still sort of regret when I look back, not qualifying for the Olympics. (But) If I went to the Olympics now as a professional, it wouldn't feel right, wouldn't feel the same.
"I'm not sure any top professional, who's got a chance of becoming a champion, earning a lot of money, would want to join the amateurs.
"Overall, it's a bad move. It takes the prestige away from winning a gold medal in the Olympics. It doesn't feel right for me."
Former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, who won Olympic gold with Canada in 1988, expressed his disappointment on Wednesday evening, tweeting: "Let me be clear. Pro boxers and removal of headgear in Olympic and amateur boxing is a BAD idea. Very disappointed in @AIBA_Boxing."
The reaction was also negative from David Price, who won a super-heavyweight bronze medal for Great Britain at the 2008 Games in Beijing and gold for England at the 2006 Commonwealth Games as an amateur.
Price said: "There's many cons and very few pros. Aside from the safety issues involved that everyone else is talking about, the magic of the Olympic Games would go.
"If a top pro was to go to the Olympics and win a gold medal, it wouldn't mean anything, and a young man who has probably trained all his life to be an Olympian could be robbed of the chance.
"It's like other sports in Olympics - like football, I couldn't tell you who won the gold medal in London because it pretty much doesn't mean a lot. Ask Andy Murray - what meant more to him, Wimbledon or the Olympics, I am pretty sure he would say Wimbledon.
"I've been there and I know how much it meant to go to an Olympic Games and win a medal. For it to be diluted would be a massive shame."
