Earlier this month, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) unanimously passed a historic ruling at their Congress in Lausanne, opening the door for professionals to compete at Rio 2016. 

A special qualification tournament is set to be held in Venezuela from July 3 to 8 to give these fighters a chance to qualify.

The decision to allow professional boxers to compete has caused controversy in the sport, with critics arguing that it poses possible safety risks due to mismatches between professional and less experienced fighters.

The IBF, one of boxing’s sanctioning bodies, have now announced that they will strip boxers of their titles should they compete at the Games and they could also be removed from their rankings.

Britain’s Anthony Joshua, winner of the Olympic super-heavyweight gold medal at London 2012, would be one of the boxers at risk of losing his title should be compete at Rio 2016.

The 26-year-old Londoner is currently the IBF world champion.

His compatriot and Beijing 2008 Olympic champion James Degale and Kazakhstan’s Gennady Golovkin, a silver medallist at Athens 2004, would be at risk of losing their respective super middleweight and middleweight titles.

"Making this decision was not difficult for us," IBF President Daryl Peoples told the Associated Press.

"We felt it was important for the IBF to get involved and take a stance against professional boxers competing against amateurs due to safety concerns, as part of our commitment to this sport is to promote the health and well-being of the boxers."

The IBF have become the latest sanctioning body to state that they will sanction professionals who compete at the Olympics.

The World Boxing Council had already warned boxers ranked in the top 15 of their ratings that they face a two-year ban if they take part at Rio 2016.

AIBA have responded to the IBF’s announcement by stating that they are “well aware that there is always resistance to change” and claim the decision to allow professional boxers to compete was taken to ensure the long-term development of the sport.

“The guiding principle of the recent vote on the AIBA statutes change concerning pro eligibility on June 1 2016 is to empower the National Federations to select boxers from all areas of the sport, to enable boxers to benefit from the structures of a National Federation and provide them with an opportunity to pursue their dream to participate to the iconic Olympic Games,” an AIBA statement read.

“AIBA’s unique mission is to ensure the long term development of boxing in all its forms from grass roots to elite level.

“It is also essential to state that AIBA is guided by the purpose of working to unite the boxing family and create the best possible platform for the boxers to thrive upon without being restrained by institutional barriers.

“Putting boxers first, their health and their career will always be AIBA’s top priority.

“As AIBA is the sole boxing governing body recognized by the IOC with 197 National Federations affiliated, we have a duty to pave the way for boxing in the future and believe that such actions can only weigh down the image, the development and progress of our sport.”

Professionals from the United States will not be given the opportunity to compete at Rio 2016 with USA Boxing having already confirmed they would not change its already-selected team.

It is expected that other bodies will adopt the same policy, with GB Boxing having turned down a request from British professional boxer Chris Eubank Jr to compete at the Games earlier this month.