The legendary Manny Pacquiao has received an invite from boxing's top brass to compete at this year's Olympics, but his famous rival Floyd Mayweather is a confirmed non-starter at Rio.
Boxing's world governing body, the AIBA, is fast tracking an extraordinary proposal which would allow the world's finest professionals to compete at the summer Olympics, starting this year in Brazil.
Olympic boxing has been an amateur domain, of three round contests where boxers wear protective head gear and focus on scoring points rather than knockouts. There is a vast difference between professional and amateur boxing although many Olympic medallists like Muhammad Ali and Mayweather went on to become professional superstars.
The Daily Mail reports that according to the Philippine Star, Pacquiao received the personal invite from AIBA president Dr Ching-Kuo Wu. Pacquiao is preparing for his third fight against Timothy Bradley, a world welterweight contest, in what is supposed to be his swansong.
Mayweather, who defeated Pacquiao last year in their belated but long-awaited 'Fight of the Century', won bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
