Former world champion in three weight classes Vasily Lomachenko said that even after winning the Beijing Olympics in 2008, he was going to turn professional, but his father insisted that he remain amateur for one more Olympic cycle.
“All amateur boxers who want to become Olympic champions go pro after winning a gold medal. I think all great amateur champions want to try and become pro champions. It was like that for me too.
When I won my first gold medal at the Olympics, I decided to turn pro. But I stayed because my father made such a decision. He explained that I had to go to another Olympics, since Ukraine did not have a two-time Olympic champion. This is a historic moment.
But I didn't think about it. I didn't understand this. One medal was enough for me, because it was my childhood dream. I fell asleep and woke up with this dream, lived with this dream. When I took the gold medal, I was ready for professional boxing. But my father explained to me that we need to do it again. I said: “Okay, no problem,” Lomachenko said in an interview with the ESNEWS YouTube channel.
