Tom Stalker

Tom Stalker has decided to turn professional with Match Room http://www1.skysports.com/boxing/news/12183/8386940/Tom-Stalker-brings-an-end-to-his-days-as-an-amateur

I say good luck to him and he made the right move!

I thought he got jobbed in the Olympics and even if he trainied for Rio in 4 years there is no telling whether he would get jobbed again. Mayweather and Jones are but a few high profile names who have suffered.

What do you guys think of the move?

I think he would have been better off staying amateur myself. The funding and support is good and without a medal and being relatively old Im not sure what kind of career Stalker can realistically have in financial terms.

I'm glad he's joined matchroom as he should get plenty of regular fights

He's 28. I doubt he'll get beyond British level. But good luck to him. Hope he proves me wrong.

His age is a problem in terms of career progression, but i do think he can achieve british, commonwealth and european titles by 34, gives him 6 years, but dont think he will push for world titles.

Is the money at domestic level really good enough to tempt an Olympian to go pro though unless they had real ambitions for world titles, or were being given a juicy sign on bonus from a promoter?

Given that the amateur boxing in the U.K is on a real high and getting great funding for its athletes, and given Stalker missed out on a medal previously, I really dont see the great temptation to go pro?

Possibly he is extremelly confident he can go far in the pro game. But if one felt that domestic was maybe the furthest they could go then I wouldnt really advise it.