A veteran of British small-hall undercards is set to become one of the first professional boxers to bid for a place at the Rio Olympic Games.
Serbian 35-year-old Geard Ajetovic will compete in the final qualifying tournament in Venezuela next week after rules restricting professionals from competing at the Games were abolished by the sport's world governing body AIBA.
Ajetovic represented Yugoslavia in the 2000 Olympics, where he lost in the first round, before he launched an underwhelming professional career in the UK.
He has had 44 professional fights, winning 28 of them, and is regarded as a journeyman fighter with his last two bouts coming earlier this year in Dar-Es-Salaam and Dusseldorf respectively.
AIBA are yet to officially reveal the final entry list for the Venezuela qualifier, which represents the last chance for boxers to reach Rio, notwithstanding the Tripartite places, which are reserved for minor nations.
And while a number of other professionals are also believed to have entered the tournament, the expected lack of star names will come as a major embarrassment to the governing body.
Since first revealing his intention to abolish eligibility criteria in an interview with the Press Association in February, AIBA president Ching-kuo Wu has worked hard to land a headline act for Rio.
Approaches have been made to the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan but with established governing bodies such as the World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation threatening sanctions, the star names have stayed away.
If he comes through the qualifier, Ajetovic will compete at the 75kg weight in Rio, meaning he could come up against Great Britain's Antony Fowler.
Source: PA
