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Boxing is in his blood! Often
that statement is considered a
cliche, and rightly so, but in
the case of South African Edward
Marshall,
born on January 17 1955 in Cape
Town,
it is never the less a very
accurate statement.
His father, Ernest Marshall, was
a South African national amateur
champion, as was his uncle,
Martin Marshall.
Two
of Eddie´s
three
brothers boxed, and both Rodney
and Natheer
Marshall
went on to win South African
national championships.
To top everything off, he shares
a birthday with the most iconic
boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali.
And, to
someone who has “boxing in his
blood”, this is not irrelevant!
Eddie´s mother didn't box,
though.
She was a hard-working factory
employee, but with so many
boxers around her she was almost
forced to be supportive when
Eddie also decided to lace up
the gloves and start a career in
“the sweet science”.
And, with quite a few big shoes
to fill, young Edward
didn't
let himself or his family down.
He went on to fight 297 times,
losing only thirteen bouts, won
the South African national
championships at both
Bantamweight and Featherweight,
and represented his country in
various tournaments.
Trained by his father and known
in the ring as
“Rocky” Marshall, Eddie was
unquestionably good enough to
turn professional.
A boxer
hardly
compile a 284-13 record by being
just another run-of-the mill
participant,
but he never had the intention
to punch for pay.
So,
when his active career was over,
he instead went into
refereeing and judging
in the unpaid ranks, and served
as a treasurer for the Amateur
Boxing Board for twelve years.
But eventually the professional
side of the sport would get a
hold of him anyway, as his good
work in the amateurs
had been noticed and he
was persuaded
by the local governing body in
South Africa
to become a pro referee and
judge.
British
hero
Ricky Hatton,
and South African legend
“Baby” Jake Matlala,
are just a couple of the big
names Eddie has since been
involved with, officiating in
hundreds of
championship fights across the
globe, from England, Italy and
Germany to China, Australia and
Egypt, just to mention a few of
the locations.
Marshall´s
massive experience and knowledge
is currently benefiting the
World Boxing Federation (WBF)
greatly. His work in the WBF
Executive
Committee
is invaluable,
and he always does a magnificent
job when officiating WBF
title
fights.
“It
is, and has always been, a great
honor to represent the World
Boxing Federation”, says Eddie
from his home in Cape Town.
“Howard Goldberg, the WBF
President, approached me to join
at one point, and its just been
a pleasure.”
“I
have worked with other
sanctioning bodies, such as the
WBA, WBO, IBO and WBU, but have
since taken a stance to not
accept any assignments from
other organizations. I have
turned down quite a few such
assignments, staying loyal to
the WBF.”
It
probably
wont come as much of a surprise
to anyone that boxing continues
to be a major part of the
Marshall family.
Two of Eddies three sons also
boxed, and his 18-year-old
grandson, Logan, has
won seventeen of nineteen
amateur bouts to date, and
inherited
the “Rocky Marshall” moniker
from his grandfather.
“Unfortunately
my
boys
didn't
go very far as boxers, as they
both have knee-injuries that
curtailed their training.
But my youngest son, Marlin, is
now the coach of the Portland's
Boxing Club and doing extremely
well at that, and my second
eldest son, Elroy, is a WBF
official as well.”
Boxing
has
provided
Eddie
with many great memories,
and he treasures them all.
Meeting his idol, and
birth-day-buddy, Muhammad Ali,
and other legends such as
Evander Holyfield and Don King,
as well as spending time with
three-time world champion Jeff
Fenech at his home in Sydney,
Australia,
are among them.
“I
would like to dedicate my
success as and official to
Howard Goldberg, as he is the
reason I have achieved
and experienced
what I have. He believed in me,
and gave me the opportunity to
travel the world, which I am
very grateful for,” explains
the 2013 WBF Referee of the
Year.
Marshall is very passionate
about the WBF, and boxing in
general. The fact that the WBF
is focused on advancing the
sport, and giving opportunities
to boxers in South Africa, among
other places, makes him even
more passionate.
“The
World Boxing Federation is a
very progressive organization,
with a very energetic president
in Howard. I am concerned about
the state of boxing in South
Africa, so I am grateful for the
efforts of the WBF here to help
our sport.”
Married to Desiree, whom he says
is very patient and supportive
when boxing takes him away from
home on a regular basis, Eddie
is currently a pensioner
after retiring from his job as a
procurement manager at Romano
Signs in Cape Town.
While it could appear that there
is no room for much else besides
boxing in his life, that is not
the case. Marshall is also a
musician, and plays the tenor
saxophone. In fact, he is so
well thought-of in that field
that he is often hired as a
judge for various talent shows.
Besides that, he also makes an
effort to do different kinds of
community work. Eddie has no
immediate plans of retiring from
his work in
professional
boxing, and the World Boxing
Federation is more than happy
that this is the case.
As proud as he is to be part of
the
World Boxing Federation
family, the WBF is equally
proud,
and grateful,
to have him as a member.
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