It is coming up for six weeks since Britain's weekend of glory in the Olympic boxing ring. Time enough you would have thought for the fistful of fighters who departed the ExCeL with medals draped around their necks to cash them in for the brighter lights and six-figure – or more – paydays supposedly awaiting them in the professional game.

That is the usual pattern, but none have done so, and maybe some never will.

Of course, it is highly unlikely that the first female Olympic boxing champion, Nicola Adams, would even contemplate the idea. Forget all that Million Dollar Baby talk; there is no real money in women's pro boxing, even on the American and European circuits.

She is far better off trading on her deservedly newfound celebrity here, which can bring a small fortune in endorsements and sponsorship.

But it is different for gold medallists Anthony Joshua and Luke Campbell, silver medallist Fred Evans and bronze winner Anthony Ogogo.

The prize ring is a now obvious magnet for their talents, and promoters are keen to sign them. However, so far none have been sufficiently tempted to put pen to contract.

Go back four years and all three boxing medallists from Beijing, golden boy James DeGale and bronze medallists David Price and Tony Jeffries, were not slow to discard headguards and vests.

However, we are now in a changed economic climate. Except in the case of Joshua, where such is the desperation for a new heavyweight hope.

Josh virtually can name his dosh here, with the Klitschkos in Germany or Golden Boy in the United States.

Anthony Joshua has the potential to attract big offers to good to refuse

But there isn't the big up-front money around from television companies as there was when the BBC foolishly coughed up £1 million ($1.6 million/€1.2 million) for exclusive rights to Audley Harrison over a decade ago and Frank Warren's reputed seven-figure investments in Athens 2004 silver medallist Amir Khan (£2 million ($3.2 million/€2.5 million)) and DeGale (£1.8 million ($2.9 million/€2.2 million)) were backed by guaranteed income from Sky.

There could be another reason for their reluctance. And that is because the British Olympic set-up is now just as professional as the pro game. Moreover, it offers steady, well-paid employment

Most of the elite squad are on maximum Lottery funding of £27,000 ($44,000/€34,000), plus a package including accommodation and food while in training, travel expenses and all necessary kit and equipment, which provides a comfortable living estimated to be worth up to £80,000 ($130,000/€100,000) a year tax free. Plus, the opportunity of a few quid from commercial deals, like the one lightweight Campbell has been offered by a modelling agency.

Hardly a Premiership footballer's wage, but under the direction of head coach Rob McCracken, Britain's amateur boxers are well looked after both physically and financially.

Rob McCracken ensures that Britain's amateur boxers are well looked after

As they are contracted with the British Amateur Boxing Association (BABA) until March of next year, they may consider this too good an arrangement to discard.

Except Joshua. His personality, punch and potential put him in a different league attracting the proverbial offers he surely cannot refuse.

The charismatic 6 foot 6 inch Londoner is the most attractive British boxing prospect in a generation.

A genuine heavyweight with all the attributes, speed, power, technique and a decent chin, as he showed when dethroning the reigning Olympic champion, Italian copper Roberto Cammarelle.

A little fortunate maybe – but if he has luck in his corner, that's no bad thing, either.

Joshua, 23 next month, is a certainty to turn pro, probably with Warren, his most ardent promotional suitor, although it may not be until next year.

He says he is fed up with repeatedly being asked the "will-you-won't-you?" question.

"Look, I'm not blind to see what's in the papers. I know what people are saying I'm worth. But I'm not the finished article. I've only been boxing for four years and had just 43 bouts. I've so much more to learn.

"I'm contracted to GB until 2013. I'll be an amateur going into next year anyway, whatever happens."

McCracken's tutelage, he believes, is the best place in which to further nurture his talent. For the moment. The others may well feel the same.

Yet there is one factor which may determine how soon – even whether – London's larrupers turn pro.

Four years ago, it was the anticipated departure of popular coach Terry Edwards that accelerated the Beijing three's decision to defect.

The departure of Derek Mapp from BABA may see Team GB's boxers leave the amateur world for pro careers

Now there are rumours about hierarchical changes in the BABA set-up that could see the departure of chairman Derek Mapp. It would be disquieting if these were true, as he is a principal architect of the state-of-the-art set-up in Sheffield, which has helped make Britain the envy of the amateur boxing world.

It may be too, that there is another nagging thought at the back of the minds of the Olympians. It is that standing on the Games rostrum is no guarantee of similar glory in the professional ring.

There were 226 boxing gold medallists in the 16 post-war Olympics that preceded 2012. Many of them elected to punch for pay but only 29 eventually became world champions, over a third of them in the heavyweight division.

These have famously included Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko.

While lightweight runner-up Khan went on to win world titles, none of Britain's five gold medallists of the last 56 years have done so.

Flyweight Terry Spinks never fought for one, lightweight Dick McTaggart never turned pro, middleweight Chris Finnegan lost gallantly to Bob Foster, "Fraudley" Harrison's lamentable heavyweight challenge to David Haye remains eminently forgettable and the jury is still out on middleweight "Chunky" DeGale, the current European champion whose 14-fight pro career seems to have reached an impasse.

So there's a puncher's chance we may still see all Team GB's heroes battling it out in Rio in 2016. Although I'd be reluctant to bet on it.

Alan Hubbard is an award-winning sports columnist for The Independent on Sunday, and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered a total of 16 Summer and Winter Olympics, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire.