DEATH IN THE RING – PART V
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 14 Apr 2007
In a comment posted in response to an article on “Death in the Boxing Ring” a fight fan identified as Leonard Carrier said in part “there has been more corruption in boxing than in any other sport. Its surprising there aren’t more deaths in the ring with the mismatches being promoted so a rising star can fatten his record.”
But there are those who disagree that fighters die because of mismatches. Although well-known boxing writer Kevin Iole of the Las Vegas Review Journal admits there are no absolutes, he stands by his contention that fighters die “when their competitive nature won't let them quit and they meet somebody just a little stronger, a little faster and a little better.”
Iole argues that in a mismatch, the overmatched fighter “is overwhelmed quickly and beaten early” while in an evenly matched bout “the risk is that a man will take punishment round after round.”
The journalist whose views are respected by many boxing people raised another significant issue that is often ignored by boxing authorities including our own GAB. And that is, the beating a fighter has absorbed in previous fights must be considered in evaluating approval of a fight. Those who crafted some of the rules of the GAB clearly hadn’t a clue about the sport.
For instance a fighter who is knocked out or suffers a TKO under GAB rules must take a 45-day break before being allowed to fight again. This is far too short a time because after a bad beating it is obvious that the boxer would need to take a few weeks off which means the time left for him to resume training in preparation for his succeeding fight is clearly too short. Beyond that nobody checks on the caliber of the opponent the fighter lost to and what kind of fight it was.
There is another rule which states that boxers should have won at least two of their last five fights before being allowed to fight abroad. No consideration is given to the quality of the boxers they defeated or whether the fights took place at all. There have been instances in the past when records have been doctored to reflect victories in fights that never really happened. It often happens that influential boxing managers and promoters match their fighters against relative patsies merely to improve their records and satisfy the GAB requirement or submit fake results.
One other anomaly is that there is a strict requirement by the Japan Boxing Commission that only boxers who are rated in the top 10 in their division by the GAB would be allowed to fight in Japan. Here again, with no real mechanism to check on the records there is an avenue for small-time crooks perhaps within the GAB itself to operate in connivance with unscrupulous managers and corrupt individuals in boxing.
The Philboxing website has the list of those serving in the Ratings Committee which is headed by Dr. Nasser Cruz as chief of the GAB boxing division. It also includes former boxing chief Noli Flores and Dr. Redentor Viernes of the medical division in addition to Antonio Comia who is from the boxing division, Glen Fuentevella, Juanito de Guzman, international referee/judge Ferdinand Estrella and journalists Edwin Sese, Nick Giongco and Salven Lagumbay.
We are not certain that these members, especially the media representatives, attend the meetings of the Ratings Committee whenever they are held and are provided with the necessary background information to pass sound judgment. While we know Lagumbay is a prolific writer and keeps up-to-date on ring happening both here and abroad and Sese has a boxing talk show on dzSR Sports Radio and appears to be updated, Giongco we understand doesn’t attend the Ratings Committee meetings and if his writing is an indication his attention is focused on Manny Pacquiao and the handful of other world contenders.
Chairman Buhain may well consider revamping his Ratings Committee and enabling them to do a much better job by having a strong secretariat that would provide regular information bulletins to the members of the committee so that when they meet there is the opportunity for a sensible discussion on the merits and de-merits of each fighter. I would also surely help if a qualified GAB representative who knows and understands the sport and its inherent nuances submits a report after every fight card both at home and abroad.
There is one other thing that Buhain may wish to look into without meaning to question the right of journalists to act as boxing judges or even their integrity. It is a well-known fact that some journalists are close to certain promoters and managers which isn’t intrinsically a bad thing. But when the fighters of these individuals compete there must be a conscious effort by the journalist-judges to set aside their personal friendships and to score the fights without fear or favor. Managers who also promote fights involving their boxers should not be allowed to influence the GAB on whom to appoint. It must be the sole discretion of the GAB.
Since these journalists are assigned by the GAB they must also have the courage of their profession not to believe they owe the appointing party any favors and if for instance the GAB or any of its officials deserve to be criticized for their actions or inaction then it must be done. It would also be worthwhile for Chairman Buhain to reconsider the policy of allowing GAB officials to serve as judges and receive compensation because for one thing, this may be against the law and for another how could an outsider compete with a GAB official for so-called juicy assignments abroad when the GAB chooses the judges?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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