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Gavin: Medal hope
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Great Britain's boxing coach Terry Edwards believes that many of his fighters are better off in the amateur ranks than if they moved on to become professionals.
Team GB take eight boxers to Beijing and each one will be hoping for a medal after some impressive displays over the past year or so.
The World Amateur Boxing Championships in Chicago and European Championships proved particularly successful for Britain and Edwards says that it is due to their new boxing scheme.
Britain's amateurs now get first-class training and treatment, along with a wage to keep them going and Edwards says it will stop many of them being lured into the professional ranks.
Olympic success can still lead to amateur's turning professional, but for every Amir Khan there is an Audley Harrison and Edwards believes boxers are now wary of turning pro.
"When you look at the package we've already got, we spend something in the region of £75,000 a year on them and that takes in travel, insurance, kit, flights and accommodation among other things," Edwards said.
Lifestyle
"Some of my boxers are probably getting more than professional fighters. If my boxer is injured he goes straight to a BUPA hospital.
"There's a rehabilitation unit at the English Institute of Sport and when he's not boxing he'll still get his fund.
"If you're a pro and you have a hand injury, if you're not boxing, you're not getting paid. My boxers are.
"Some of my boxers may not be academic but they're street-wise, I promise you that, and they know where they're best off and so we've been able to retain boxers from the Commonwealth Games.
"With UK Sport's money we are able to keep the boxers for much longer so they can realise not only their full potential but their dream of competing in the Olympics.
"It enables them to live a lifestyle that befits their place in world sport."
London hope
Edwards does fear he could lose the likes of medal prospect Frankie Gavin after Beijing, and believes he will need private funding to keep hold of his stars.
"I'm hoping for that and I think we will be high-profile enough to add something to that private sponsor," he added.
"Wages are performance-related. It could be more - we'd like it to be more - and we think that intervention would come from private sponsorship."
Edwards does thing though that the lure of fighting in front of home crowd in London 2012 will be a major attraction.
"I believe of all the Olympic Games that I've ever been to, 2012 will be offering enormous prospects for all sport within Britain and maybe at this stage, boxing is one of those high-profile sports that industry and private sponsors can maybe help us retain our boxers.
"I think 2012 is something very special, not only because it's in London but for boxers we'll be able to retain them as hopefully the private sponsorship will be available.
"I think sport in Great Britain is going to see a massive turnaround. I think it's going to be absolutely enormous and the retention of boxers will aid that.
"The thought of boxing in their own country at an Olympic Games with the amount of media attention and whatever, I think it's just too enormous for them to go professional."
