Why are professionals allowed in some Olympic disciplines and not in others?

Question

It appears that only true amateurs are participating in olympic boxing. All the professionals are present in olympic basketball. It seems that the rules governing the amateurs vs. professionals eligibility are arbitrary at best. The Olympic movement does not exist anymore and Olympic ideals are now dead.

Answer 1

Every sport is governed by an International Organization which determines whether or not to allow professionals to compete, which is why different sports have different participation rules.

You also have to look at the way the different sports compare to the pro game.  Basketball is essentially the same at the Olympics as it is in Professional leagues around the world.  Boxing on the other hand, is not.  Many top level pro fighters fight maybe two or three times per year.  In the Olympics, they have to fight that many times in two weeks.  Also, Professional fighters are a lot stronger and a lot more refined than amateurs, and allowing pro fighters would make Olympic boxing more dangerous, as the pros would be able to do more damage, and winning fighters may not get enough time to fully recover before their next fight.

Answer 2

I would suppose because no professional boxers actually want to participate in the Olympics.  All that training, grueling fights, and then...no money?  Does that sound like a typical pro boxer to you?  

Whereas there were actually pro basketball players who wanted to compete

Answer 3

Catch http://www.olympicgamesbeijingin2008.com... for detail info

Answer 4

Well... I don't really know the answer to this question but I just wanted to mention that olympic athletes do get money (if they win a medal). So what that guy under my comment said is not true. For the rest... I think that athletes decide if they want to participate or not. For example: An Italian girl from the swim team started at 16 years and back then she said she will partecipate at only 2 or 3 olympic games because after that she wants to have a family... kids etc. Maybe amateurs are still looking for a career while professionals have it already and might just want to give a new turn to their lives.