Imagine ringside tickets for a clash of hall of fame boxers, Tommy Hearns vs. Aaron Pryor, being sold for $10.00! Good seats to watch Lennox Lewis vs. Riddick Bowe for $25.00, or how about Shane Mosley taking on Stevie Johnston for about $10.00?

Some very lucky people do not need their imagination. They saw those fights, at those prices, at amateur boxing tourneys. I have never been a big fan of amateur boxing. To me, it is like choosing between a Volkswagen and a Mercedes Benz. The same quality, German engineering is in both cars, but the step up in quality, and refinement is obvious. Beginning with the new century, there was a flood of fighters with less than 20 professional fights winning world titles. It got me to thinking that, perhaps, it was their amateur background that prepared them ready for those title victories.

What do (All records listed are from amateur competition) Fernando Vargas (100-5), Sven Ottke (256-47-5), Tim Austin (113-9), Floyd Mayweather (84-6), Harry Simon (271-2), Joel Casamayor (333-30), and David Reid (150-15) have in common? They have all won world championships before their 20th professional bout. The other common thread is that they had extensive amateur careers. Each had at least 90 amateur bouts, and in some cases over 200 amateur bouts.

Floyd Mayweather made Genaro Hernandez (the best jr. lightweight champion of the 90's) look silly in his first title shot, and nothing on his pro resume seemed to have prepared him for that. Fernando Vargas, Harry Simon, and David Reid defeated good fighters with relative ease to win their titles. With this in mind, I looked into the amateur background of some former, and current world champions. They are laced with interesting facts.

A lot was made of Vernon Forrest's (225-15) amateur win over Shane Mosley (230-12) in the pre-fight hype for their world welterweight title fight.

Almost everyone dismissed it as a thing of the past with little meaning, and more importantly, little to learn from. It looks like we were wrong about that. Most experts now agree that Forrest's style will give Mosley fits every time. Forrest could now set his sights on newly crowned IBF welterweight champion Michele Piccirillo, whom he also defeated on points in the amateurs. But, could Kostya Tszyu (259-11) demolish Vernon Forrest in the pro ranks as easily as he did at the 1992 amateur world championships?

Two recent losers who might want to revisit an amateur fight are Hector Camacho Jr., and Zab Judah. Judah won that fight on points in the Olympic trials of 1996.

Sven Ottke (256-47-5), and Juan Carlos Gomez (158-2) are currently stars, and stablemates in Germany. In the amateurs, it was another story. Ottke defeated the Cuban expatriate Gomez on points. If Antonio Tarver does not get to fight Roy Jones, he might want to duplicate his amateur victory over Jones' next rumored opponent Vassiliy Jirov (207-10), though Jirov did get revenge in the 1996 Olympics by defeating the "Magic Man".

The amateur ranks had some fights that anyone would have paid big money to see in the pros. How would you have liked to see the legendary Thomas Hearns (155-8), and Aaron Pryor (204-16) fight? By all accounts, it was an excellent fight with Pryor overcoming his size disadvantage to win a decision victory for the 1976 lightweight Golden Gloves title. Pryor also defeated pro champion Hilmer Kenty, but twice lost to amateur marvel Howard Davis. Sugar Ray Leonard (165-5) also defeated future champion Hilmer Kenty, but somehow lost to Randy Shields in the amateurs. Everyone wanted to see a Lennox Lewis vs. Riddick Bowe fight at the pro level. It never happened. You can find a tape of Lewis dominating Bowe for the 1988 Olympic Gold medal from most boxing video collectors. One time Hearns victim Virgil Hill (150-11), in a match of future pro champions, lost to Michael Nunn (168-6), but twice avenged that loss in the amateurs. Another match of former champions saw William Joppy (48-4) outboxed by Chris Byrd (275-19) when both were still middleweights.

If you prefer the brawlers, to boxers, how about a matchup between pro champions Dariusz Michalczewski (133-15-2), and Fabrice Tiozzo? It happened in 1986 with Michalczewski winning on points. In an all-French battle, former champ Khalid Rahilou (45-7) twice defeated Oscar De La Hoya foe Patrick Charpentier on points. An all-Africa match of Henry Akinwande vs.Herbie Hide ended with Akinwande winning on points.

In the mid 90's, everyone was looking forward to a Roy Jones (121-3) vs. Gerald McClellan fight, but that match-up was derailed by the tragic injuries McClellan suffered in the Nigel Benn bout. If the amateurs were any indication of what could have been, McClellan would have won on points.

Most people think Shane Mosley and Stevie Johnston (260-13) were the two best lightweights of the late 1990's. They fought twice in the amateurs, and Mosley won both bouts. Before you assume that that would automatically convert to a pro win, one of Mosley's amateur defeats came against former jr. lightweight champ, Eddie Hopson, who ranks as one of the last decade's least accomplished champions. Steve Johnston came back from the Mosley loss to post amateur wins over pro champions Terronn Millett and Vernon Forrest.

Staying with the lighter weights, Tim Austin (113-9) only lost nine amateur fights, and two of those losses came against Ireland's Wayne McCullough. But Wayne fell short of the ultimate amateur prize when Joel Casamayor defeated him for his 1992 Olympic Gold medal. Current WBA lightweight champion, Leonard Dorin lost to current WBO lightweight champion Artur Grigorian in the amateurs, and also suffered a setback against Oktay Urkal. I think both would trade places with Dorin now.

Being a great amateur does not guarantee success in the pros. Exceptional amateurs like Jesse Benavides (320-20), Mark Breland (110-1), Adolpho Washington (200-30), and Paul Vaden (317-10) had good, but by no means great, pro careers.

The reverse can also be true for relatively modest amateur boxers. Future greats Julio Cesar Chavez (14-1), Roberto Duran (13-3), Buddy McGirt (54-9), James Toney (20-2), and Larry Holmes (19-3) are examples of men who perfected their craft in the pro rings, ironically, on the undercards of Olympic medallists they would later eclipse.

Mike Tyson had a decent 48-6 record, but somehow lost to professional heavyweight journeymen Craig Payne, Kimmuel Odum, and Henry Tillman in the amateurs.

So, the next time you see an amateur show being advertised in your region, go watch the fights. You might see a future great ... and you will not have to spend a week's paycheck for the tickets.