US boxers cleared over pro-contract claims

The United States men's boxing team was cleared on Wednesday by amateur boxing chiefs of allegations their fighters had signed contracts with professional promoters prior to the Olympic Games. The International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) were alerted that some had signed pre-Games contracts last week. The website of American boxing legend and 1992 gold medallist Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions announced a link-up with US television station CBS for initially two live shows of their post-Olympics professional debuts of several American boxers on October 14 and December 15. Several of the team have been linked with Golden Boy including bantamweight Joseph Diaz Junior and lightweight Jose Ramirez -- who is fancied to become the first American since de la Hoya to take the lightweight title -- and de la Hoya's business partner Swiss Richard Schaefer is here to talent-spot. However, after seeking clarification the strict rule of not signing professional contracts before the Games had been observed, the AIBA cleared the US team of an infringement. "AIBA has confirmed that USOC (United States Olympic Committee) boxers participating in London 2012 have not broken AIBA rules by entering into contracts with professional promoters," the governing body said on their website. AIBA's Taiwanese president Dr Ching-Kuo Wu added: "AIBA would like to thank USOC and USA Boxing for their swift action in clarifying this situation. "We are committed to ensuring complete transparency and that our rules are adhered to at all times."