Boxing Amateur

The referee is the key to safety in the boxing ring.  They are the closest to the action and will most likely be able to perceive quickly if a boxer is hurt.  The referee will adhere to all of the items listed in “Rule 10” of the Intramural Boxing Manual, plus notes for referees.  It must be emphasized that the rules are outlined are absolute.  In no way will referees allow cadets to deviate from these rules.  Referees should be cadets who are ineligible to box in intramurals due to their experience level and can be underclassmen.  Underclassmen that serve as referees will receive IM credit. All referees will be trained and certified by the Director of Fourth ClassBoxing.  Referees will adhere to the following:

a.  The referee will stop the bout at any time he feels that a boxer can no longer

adequately defend himself.  The boxer does not have to be knocked down for the referee to stop the match.  It is strictly a judgment factor and the referee may stop the match at any time. Referees are encouraged to seek assistance from the DPE trainers and DPE Sport educators at ringside when determining if a ROC should be stopped.

b.  The referee will ask for advice from the DPE Sport Educator if there is a question concerning any aspect of a ROC that may affect the safety of the participants.

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As I look back through the decades of amateur boxing history of the BC Golden Gloves from 1939 to 2009, there have been many BC Golden Boys such as two time Golden Boy Dick Findlay and three time BC Junior Golden Boy Cliff Ballendine.  But, neither of them and many more are in any boxing or sports hall of fame.

As I look back through the decades of amateur boxing history of the BC Diamond Belt tournaments in the Fifties and  Sixties in Vancouver  or the revival of the tournament at Victoria in 1980, there have been many Diamond Boys such as Vancouver Firefighters Boxing Club’s  Dave Wylie in 1967 and Victoria’s Gary Robinson in 1980.  But, neither of them and many more are in any boxing or sports hall of fame.

As I look back through the decades of amateur boxing history of the British Columbia amateur boxing clubs, past and present, there are and have been many clubs of distinction that have contributed to the success of Amateur Boxing in British Columbia in a variety of ways.  There was the London Boxing Club of Victoria that hosted a Vancouver Island Amateur Boxing Championship in 1964, hosted club cards that featured the 1964 Olympic Games boxer Fred Desrosiers, and hosted a 1976 BC Selects vs NW England junior boxing tournament that included 1984 Olympic bronze medal winner Dale Walters.  There is the Nanaimo Boxing Club that revived boxing in Nanaimo in 1971 by Dan Wright and Brian Zelley, had the first Canadian senior boxing champion Jack Snaith (1973) since 1967 when Bill Taylor of the London Boxing Club was champion.   There was the  North West Eagles Boxing Club that  hosted many of the BC Bronze Gloves tournaments in the Sixties for junior novice boxers, produced various Canadian champions such as Chris Ius and Les Hamilton under the direction of head coach Elio Ius and coaches Mel Ius and Terry Cooke, and allowed there gym to be used by Muhammed Ali and George Chuvalo, Manuel Gonzalez and Clyde Gray in 1972 before a major pro boxing show.  There have been many other boxing clubs scattered throughout British Columbia but they are not included in any boxing or sports hall of fame.

Throughout the decades there have been many excellent officials and regional amateur boxing commissioners such as Vancouver Island’s Bert Wilkinson (Sixties), Howard Curling (Seventies) and Rick Brought (Eighties) but their  names are not mentioned or listed on any boxing or sports hall of fame.

Over the years, some folks have been inducted into a  Provincial Sports Hall of Fame such as Harold Mann and Bert Lowes (BC) or Eddie Haddad (Manitoba), but there are many deserving individuals, teams and clubs that are worthy of such recognition such as the British Columbia senior boxing team of 1970, but they appear to be forgotten memories of a few.

The British Columbia Amateur Boxing Association (Boxing BC) has the provincial responsibility to ensure the proper organization, education and growth in the sport.  To understand true education should not be to limit the learning to coaches and officials clinics but to educate the members and general public of the history of the sport of amateur boxing in British Columbia.   The establishment of a BC AMATEUR BOXING HALL OF FAME would provide an important public relations opportunity and recognize some of the many past boxers, coaches, officials, and other builders, and members of the sports news media. Buy online ticket with payday advance

Pierce Egan, the famed 19th-century boxing journalist who coined the term “sweet science,” wrote that “Drummers and boxers, to acquire excellence, must begin young.”

It is as if the fates conspired to push 22-year-old Deontay Wilder toward pugilism just to prove Egan wrong. The 6-foot-7 heavyweight, whose bronze medal on Friday kept alive the U.S. streak of winning a boxing medal in every Olympics in which it competed, never meant to be a boxer. Not like his USA Boxing teammates, all of whom were ducking and diving by age 12.

Wilder grew up as a basketball player in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He was in his freshman year playing at Shelton Community College when his girlfriend became pregnant. It wasn’t by design. An early ultrasound showed that Wilder’s daughter would be born with spina bifida.

“Our hearts dropped,” Wilder said. “Doctors gave us the choice to terminate the pregnancy, but after a while I just said, it really doesn’t matter, this is my little girl.”

Wilder dropped out of school and found work at Red Lobster and driving a Budweiser truck so he could support his daughter and shuttle her to doctors and hospitals to fix her clubbed feet. But there was a hole in his heart where basketball had been, and with team sports out of the question, boxing was something that offered a flexible schedule. Thus, 3-year-old Naieya Wilder helped keep the U.S. medal streak alive by turning her daddy to boxing. “She’s healthy and smart,” Wilder said, proudly.

For the first time in 20 years, USA Boxing established a residence program and required Olympic boxers to live in Colorado Springs beginning last September, a response to America’s dearth of boxing gold in recent Olympics after a gilded history. Wilder, with his coach’s blessing, seized the opportunity to “play catch up,” he says, with intensive training.

But other team members resented being plucked from their long-time coaches. David Ali, father of 20-year-old lightweight Sadam Ali, who lost his opening bout, said before the Olympics that Sadam “could have gotten better training [at home in New York]. He has two trainers here.”

Light welterweight Javier Molina, 18, who lost his first fight at the Olympics, said that the residence program “takes me out of my comfort zone. The only thing I like is I get to know the other Olympians, but I don’t know if that’ll help me. This isn’t like a basketball team.” Molina said that while the USA Boxing coaches are very good coaches, Roberto Luna, the man who has coached him since he was eight, “knows my weaknesses.”

It didn’t help that some of the coaches were loath to part with their prized pupils, and many continued to exert influence from afar by email and phone. Wilder’s coach, Jay Deas, bought into the idea that Wilder needed to make up for lost time, and “did not interfere,” says USA Boxing coach Dan Campbell. “Other coaches didn’t want to cooperate.”

In the broader view, though, Egan had a point about experience. This U.S. team was extremely young, with an average age just older than 20, and only one returning Olympian, world champion flyweight Rau’shee Warren, who lost his opening bout.

Wilder could use more amateur bouts to hone his skills, but his punishing power — in a test prior to the Olympics, his jab measured stronger than all but one other U.S. boxer’s power punch — may ensure this is his last Olympics. Wilder said he’s already gotten calls from promoters. In other countries, so-called amateurs enjoy great financial support.

“International boxers, like Cubans, they get paid to stay amateur; we don’t get paid to stay,” said Ali, the first Olympic team member since Riddick Bowe in 1988 to hail from New York City, where boxing gyms have dwindled from a high of 150 in the mid-1980s to 50. “So we go for it once, and turn pro.”

To the detriment of both amateur and professional boxing.

Many people believe that boxing is dead because of the rise of MMA, and while that may be true there will always be those amateurs who continue to keep the sport alive with some highlight reel knockouts of their own.  After all, who needs a ring or octagon when you can put on a show in the comfort of your own living room.

These two guys put the gloves on and decided to get a couple of swings in there with their friends watching.  They touch gloves and right away the mayhem begins.  With their fists swinging wildly, both guys get in some devastating shots before the final blow is landed.

It was the type of blow you would expect to see delivered from a giant heavyweight fighter, or perhaps even the right hand of Dan Henderson.

This is without a doubt one of the better amateur boxing matches I have witnessed as there could have been at least two or three knockouts prior to the punch that ended it.  It was a great finishing shot, but I am not sure what was more enjoyable to watch; the knockout, or the reaction of those in the room, including the male who delivered it.

One thing about amateur boxing is the ringside doctors tend to be amateurs as well.

This edition of articles emphasizes safety concerns, and is in honor of the late award winning actress, Natasha Richardson, who recently died from what initially appeared to be a minor blow to her head in a skiing accident, and to her surviving husband actor Liam Neeson who as a teenager was the youth heavyweight amateur boxing champion of Northern Ireland:

The standing count can serve as a means for the referee to assess the condition of the boxer’s situation in the ring.  This tool of the referee is readily available and is routinely initiated as a result of a blow or from a series of blows.  These eight seconds give the referee an up close opportunity to evaluate and focus on the boxer.  While the referee is administering the eight count, the referee has plenty of time to assess the boxer’s physical condition by assessing his/her: stance, muscle tone, and the eyes.  Within those precious eight seconds, the referee determines if the boxer is capable to continue, or if the bout should be stopped.  At the end of those eight seconds, the referee should either command the bout to continue, or stop it.  Compliments of Ray Silvas, Vice-Chair AIBA R/J Commission; past Technical Committee Chair and National COO of USA Boxing.

Second impact syndrome. Referees who have issued RSC-Hs and who have signed a restriction Affidavit and/or those Officials who perform practice judging, and/or who referee sparring in the gyms should pay particular attention.  All the guidelines focus on the question of when is it safe for the boxer to return to competition after suffering a concussion.  Several serious risks are associated with a premature return to boxing.  The most serious is the second impact syndrome.  This syndrome was first described in 1973 and it occurs in athletes that return to competition before the symptoms of the first concussion have completely resolved.  A second blow to the head, even a minor one, can result in loss of auto regulation of the brain blood supply.  This in turn can result in brain injury and possible death.  All coaches and boxers should also be made aware of this risk.  Many injuries usually can occur in unsupervised sparring sessions.  Therefore, close supervision during sparring sessions should be given to the boxers at all times.  If there are any questions, it is always better to keep the boxer from any further competition/sparring until a physician examines that person.  Compliments of Robert Voy, MD, LBC 49 Nevada ringside physician; past member AIBA medical commission; and past President of USA Boxing

With the low ratings that many boxing matches have received, and the extremely high ratings that MMA has received, is it reasonable to conclude that boxing is losing the battle?

Boxing has fallen out of favor in recent years for many good reasons:  There are too many shady promoters (can we say Don King?), too many weight classes, too many weight divisions, too many “manufactured” stars, and too little of what boxing fans need:  Great fights between great fighters.

In the wake of MMA-Mixed Martial Arts-many have questioned the continued viability of boxing.  Pay per view trends in each sport were beginning to support that claim.  Mixed Martial Arts, once relegated to the blood and lust fans, regulated itself (or was regulated!) and became a sport with true cross-over appeal.  The pay per view numbers began to meet and exceed those of prized boxing matches.

Boxing and MMA are two different sports.  Many will say “fighting is fighting is fighting.”  True, in each sport, the competitors go to war and seek to beat the other into submission, but that is where the similarities end.  Boxing is (or was?) pure, natural and…sweet with a storied history.  MMA is new, raw, and much broader.  A fighter can use multiple skills from wrestling to Jujitsu to defeat their opponent.

MMA captured the viewership of many boxing fans not for the blood and guts (its rawness!) but because it was beginning to show signs of what people loved about boxing:  competitors willing to lay everything on the line to beat their opponent.

We recently witnessed the last fight of one of MMA’s greatest fighters, Chuck Lidell.  He embodies the phrase lay it on the line.  When Chuck Lidell walked into the ring, he would give you everything he had, risking life and limb (a literal statement in MMA) to provide a great fight.

When was the last time you have seen this in boxing?  The boxer laying everything on the line in the ring?  The recently retired (and now becoming unretired) greatest pound-for- pound boxing champion is Floyd Mayweather Jr.  With such amazing skill, he never once seemed to give everything he had, or risk anything, in the ring.  True, he would always win fights, but he never won the hearts and minds of the people.  He was always in it for him, not for you, not for the fans.  The people paid Floyd Mayweather Jr.  He did not pay them back.

In this manner, boxing lost its fan base.  The people decided to stop paying because they were not being paid back.

However, just when it looked like boxing was going to receive a knockout punch, recent boxing champions, like Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, are proving their mettle and their willingness to lay it on the line.

The battle between MMA and boxing is not yet over.  It’s in the mid-rounds and boxing has recently caught a second wind.