BUHAIN IS APPLAUDED FOR SUCCESSFUL WBC CONVENTION
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 17 Nov 2007
Games and Amusements Board chairman Eric Buhain has been applauded by delegates to the 45th Annual convention of the World Boxing Council which ended at the historic Manila Hotel yesterday for what they said was ?the best convention in the history of the WBC.?
Well-known boxing writer James Blears of Boxing Scene said the convention had done ?a number of important things? which included ?formalizing sanction fees and getting promoters to pay them properly and on time.?
He praised WBC president Jose Sulaiman for doing ?so many different things for the safety of boxing? and cited one of ?the most important which was reducing the rounds from 15 to 12 because so many serious injuries happen between those last three rounds when fighters were desperately tired.?
Blears also mentioned a number of other important decisions about safety and other aspects and that the convention had been ?a marvelous opportunity for a lot of people from many places to meet.?
Former world welterweight champion John Stracey who won the title from the great Jose Napoles told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today the WBC Convention is ?one of the greatest things you can go to. Its one of the greatest conventions in the world. I go to the Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota and this is on par if not better.?
Stracey noted that while you see the fighters get inducted ?you don?t see what goes on behind the scenes. You don?t see the ratings, the promotions, the judges, the referees, the scores, how you rate a boxer. This is all done in these places.?
He said they have had ?an amazing time? in Manila and hopes to be back next year to spend some time with a friend of 30 years, international referee Bruce McTavish who lives in Angeles City.
Boxing writer Blears noted that for many of them it was their first visit to the Philippines and the first time in Manila. Blears enthused, ?its beautiful, lush and exotic and I wish we could have stayed longer.?
International referee and judge Malcolm Bulner who was the referee when Manny Pacquiao stopped then WBC flyweight champion Chatchai Sasakul in Thailand in December 1998 and was also a judge when Luisito Espinosa won the WBC featherweight crown with a twelve round decision over Manuel ?Mantecas? Medina said it was a wonderful event.
Bulner, a former Olympian who resides in Melbourne, Australia said the convention ?went very well and the Filipinos and the GAB have done a marvelous job and its been one of the best conventions that I have attended. And that is a sincere opinion of mine.?
Top photo: GAB Chairman Eric Buhain (L) receives a belt from WBC President Jose Sulaiman for Buhain's successful hosting of the 45th WBC Convention at the Manila Hotel. Photo by Dong Secuya.
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