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Presidents Column  |  July 2011

Posted on July 9 2011                                              Bookmark and Share
By WBF President Howard Goldberg  

         

 
 

It has been gratifying of late to witness the continued activity within the World Boxing Federation, as well as the up and coming title fights. To be able to afford opportunities to fighters and countries around the globe, to put their top fighters on the map or perhaps on the road to stardom is something we take quite seriously as a forward thinking world sanctioning organization.

 

Fights have taken place in France, Mexico, Hungary, Australia, USA, South Africa, Germany, Albania, Ireland to mention but a few, while upcoming fights include events in Ghana, Korea and Brazil again just mentioning a few that come to hand.

Interestingly enough, we at this point in time are incredibly prevented from operating in the UK, even though we have interest from a number of promoters wanting to stage our titles, affording their excellent and world rated fighters an opportunity to contest a world championship belt. The BBBofC were issued with a most polite letter from yours truly, introducing who we are and what we stand for. They were told about the integrity and moral fibre of how we operate, and were even afforded the opportunity of putting a member of their Board on our Executive Committee for a period of time simply to concur with our standards and operations. More importantly I asked to be given the opportunity to meet their Board on either a formal or informal basis just to introduce the WBF to them. Not only was I refused the opportunity to meet with the BBBofC, my letter apparently never even reached their main office, but was duly dismissed without discussion.

Without making judgement on the BBBofC as they did with us, surely an interesting debate is the moral fibre and duties of any boxing commission. Is it not to develop strategies to ensure the safety of their licensed boxers? Should they not be introducing an educational strategy to allow boxers who retire the capacity to find work elsewhere and in other forms? The management of a benevolent fund to cater for injuries sustained in the ring? Perhaps more frequent medicals for fighters to ensure that boxers are fit to fight. Yes, there are many functions of a boxing commission vital to the sustained continuity of excellence within the pugilistic art.

Perhaps one of the functions a commission should NOT have is to judge sanctioning bodies.  Perhaps that is the duty and responsiblility of the knowledgeable fans. Fans who know when title fights are legitimate and when they are not. They are perhaps better equipped to judge and support or possibly not support the World Boxing Federation. Title fights are as good as the fighters involved and the truth be told not the sanctioning bodies. Is it not strange that we are prepared to be judged by the fans while the BBBofC remains steadfast in preventing the true test of whether the WBF can do justice to excellence in the UK? A fighter like Derry Matthews, so highly thought of in England cannot fight a world rated opponent for a world title because administrators are not prepared to give the WBF a chance. What an injustice to Derry and other fighters interested in fighting for WBF titles.

Perhaps one day, sooner rather than later, the BBBofC will afford us the opportunity simply to meet with them and to talk - and that, my friends, would be the correct and cordial thing to afford any world sanctioning body.

Until next time, keep boxing.

Howard Goldberg

PRESIDENT: World Boxing Federation

 

 
 
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