# The 15 Best Olympic Boxers Who Turned Professional

> Gold in the amateurs is one career. What each of them did next is the argument.

*By YPB Team · Published September 20, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-15-best-olympic-boxers-who-turned-professional*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Lennox Lewis** — score 1000/1000
   Won heavyweight gold for Canada in Seoul in 1988 before boxing for Britain.
2. **Andre Ward** — score 900/1000
   The last American man to win Olympic boxing gold, in Athens in 2004.
3. **Claressa Shields** — score 900/1000
   Won gold in London and Rio, then became undisputed champion in three professional divisions.
4. **Oleksandr Usyk** — score 812/1000
   Won heavyweight gold in London in 2012 and became undisputed in two professional divisions.
5. **Vasiliy Lomachenko** — score 771/1000
   Won gold in Beijing and London with an amateur record reported at 396-1.
6. **Joe Frazier** — score 680/1000
   Won heavyweight gold in Tokyo in 1964 with a broken thumb.
7. **Muhammad Ali** — score 680/1000
   Won light heavyweight gold in Rome in 1960 as Cassius Clay.
8. **Anthony Joshua** — score 508/1000
   Won super heavyweight gold at his home Olympics in 2012.
9. **Katie Taylor** — score 508/1000
   Won lightweight gold in London in 2012 and headlined Madison Square Garden as a professional.
10. **George Foreman** — score 507/1000
   Won heavyweight gold in Mexico City in 1968 and waved a small American flag in the ring.
11. **Floyd Mayweather** — score 273/1000
   Took featherweight bronze in Atlanta in 1996 and never lost again as a professional.
12. **Oscar De La Hoya** — score 273/1000
   Won lightweight gold in Barcelona in 1992 and was sold as the Golden Boy from day one.
13. **Sugar Ray Leonard** — score 0/1000
   Won light welterweight gold in Montreal in 1976 and turned professional the same year.
14. **Guillermo Rigondeaux** — score 0/1000
   Won bantamweight gold in Sydney and Athens before defecting and turning professional.
15. **Wladimir Klitschko** — score 0/1000
   Won super heavyweight gold in Atlanta in 1996, the same Games as Mayweather.

Tags: sports, olympics, boxing, boxers