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In what was an extremely busy
day, the morning was exclusively
reserved for the seminars of the
WBF Convention. The main one, of
course, was the Referee’s &
Judges Seminar, for the first
time held by WBF President
Howard Goldberg and WBF Vice
President Torben Seemann Hansen,
both hugely experienced ring
officials in their own right.
In the following Medical
Seminar, WBF Medical Advisor Dr.
Adam Balogh reported on new
developments in HIV research.
This topic was of definite
interest to every convention
attendee since everyone involved
in the actual fight – the boxers
themselves, but also their
cornermen as well as the referee
– may be subjected to blood
splattering.
However,
the unique highlight of this
convention’s list of seminars
was certainly the lecture held
by WBF women’s world lightweight
champion Nicole Wesner. Entitled
“To Victory Through Meditation”,
Wesner reported about her
extensive experience in using
meditation and yoga practices to
positive effect inside the
boxing ring. If nothing else,
the seminar gave a complete new
perspective to what is possible
with innovative methods and the
undefeated Wesner received a big
round of applause.
Finally, Executive Director Olaf
Schroeder during the Legal
Seminar introduced the details,
finer aspects and consequences
of the Muhammad Ali Boxing
Reform Act to an audience that
largely consisted of
international members, who had
never had an in-depth look at
this probably most important
piece of legislation in
professional boxing worldwide.
After a short coffee
break, the mood got lighter and
during a “Meet the Champions”
Q&A everybody got a chance to
address the boxing legends on
site, ask personal questions or
take photos and autographs.
Donny Lalonde, Robin Reid and
Jan Zaveck were enjoying the
stage and happy to accommodate
everyone.
Especially
78-year-old living legend Nino
Benvenuti had a massively good
time, saying: "It's very nice to
look back on my career and see
that people still care today. I
am really touched by the
reception I received, it shows
that maybe I didn't do too badly
as a fighter."
In the
afternoon, a public weigh-in was
held for tomorrow’s “WBF
Championship Boxing Night” at
the Tabor Dvorana Hall in
Maribor. All WBF championship
fighters hit the limit with the
following official weights:
WBF Intercontinental
Middleweight Title:
-
Ferenc Hafner:
70,40 Kg. / 155,23 Lbs.
vs. Attila Koros:
71,95 Kg. / 158,65 Lbs.
WBF
International Light Welterweight
Title:
- Jean
Moraiti:
62,75 Kg. / 138,36 Lbs.
vs. Mikheil Avakyan:
62,80 Kg. / 138,47 Lbs.
WBF
International Light Heavyweight
Title:
-
Malik Zinad:
79,20 Kg. / 174,60 Lbs.
vs. Attila Palko:
79,30 Kg. / 174,86 Lbs.
WBF
International Super
Featherweight Title:
-
David Rajuili:
58,55 Kg. / 129,10 Lbs.
vs. Giorgi Gachechiladze:
58,20 Kg. / 128,33 Lbs.
The evening began
with a vine tasting in one of
the world’s top locations for
wine lovers, the “Old Vine
House” in the heart of ancient
Maribor. The attraction is the
still growing of the oldest
grapevine in the world with an
estimated age of at least 400
years.
This jolly
entry into the night was
followed by a short walk into
Maribor’s oldest restaurant
(with over 300 years of
tradition), located in the large
city park and surrounded by
three big ponds, hence the
restaurant’s name “Trije
Ribniki“. During an excellent
dinner, the WBF Awards Ceremony
took place with the following
honorees receiving the prices:
-
Nicole Wesner (Female
Fighter of the Year).
-
Jan Zaveck vs Sasha
Yengoyan (Fight of the Year).
-
Dan Bi Kim (Female
Newcomer of the Year).
-
Dr. Adam Balogh
(Presidents Special Service
Award).
-
Bertrand Chagnoux
(Referee of the Year).
-
Christophe Hembert
(Executive of the Year).
-
Gabisile Tshabalala vs
Unathi Myekeni (Female Fight
of the Year).
-
Frans Ramabola
(Newcomer of the Year).
-
Mbali Zantsi
(Promoter of the Year).
Nino Benvenuti, Jan
Zaveck and Tomaz Barada were
honored with WBF mini
championship belts for their
contributions to the big success
of the III. WBF World
Convention. Special awards went
to Darryl Ribbink and Hoosik
Choi for the work on behalf of
the WBF in their countries South
Africa and South Korea
respectively.
***
The full
convention program including a
precise time schedule can be
found on the special Convention
section of this website by
clicking
here.
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