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I was introduced to boxing at a
young age by the late great
Simmy Lewis, a boxing
statistician, a chess player, a
wonderful friend and neighbor,
and a truly amazing human being.
Simmy was one of the most
knowledgeable boxing men ever,
and even at his advanced age in
his nineties shortly before he
passed away, he could be called
at any hour to answer any boxing
question without having to refer
to any book or computer.
Simmy told me that boxing would
take me on an incredible journey
and as usual, how right he was.
I have stayed in many five-star
hotels, and I have also stayed
in zero-star hostels. I have
flown on the best airlines in
the world and I have flown on
the worst. I have been treated
mostly with respect, but also at
times with contempt.
I have met some of the finest
human beings in the world in
boxing and I have met some
scoundrels as well. Boxing has
taken me to the hottest places
on earth, and at the same time
to places well below zero. I
have been with people who speak
fluent English and I have been
with people who cannot speak a
single word of English.
I have eaten regular western
food, and I have eaten things
that were moving. I have stood
in front of a plane on the
tarmac of Nairobi preventing a
plane from leaving with soldiers
aiming rifles at me. I have been
in Sicily with bodyguards and I
have been in Tanzania with
likewise.
I have traveled many times for a
variety of boxing reasons with
my very good, crazy friend
Francois “The White Buffalo”
Botha but that’s another story
for another column. I have
refereed and judged scores of
South African title fights as
well as world title fights, and
I now preside over the World
Boxing Federation – an
organization with some of the
finest men and women I have ever
had the pleasure of working
with.
While we continue to grow as a
sanctioning body we do not lose
sight of the fact that we are a
team, a family with values and
principles – a team that is
professional at all times. A
family, who supports each and
every member of the team.
This family that I am so very
proud of will soon meet up in
Slovenia at the end of September
for our third WBF World
Convention, where we will
reunite as a whole, share a few
drinks, share old and wonderful
stories, and of course honor a
few people as well.
Of course the Convention is open
to all
and we would love to see other
friends join us at one of
Europe’s finest hotels in
Slovenia.
Boxing has been a true adventure
for me. It is my life and my
passion. It has given me ups and
downs. High blood pressure at
times, heart palpitations,
tested my resolve, pushed my
anger levels – but at the end of
the day I would not change a
thing. Boxing is the greatest
sport in the world and deserves
our respect.
See you in Slovenia!
Until next time, keep boxing.
Howard Goldberg
PRESIDENT: World Boxing
Federation
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