Boxing News Update from The World Boxing Council - WBC
By Media Report on Doghouse Boxing (April 26, 2010)    
Tom Kaczmarek of Brick, New Jersey , will receive the American Association for the Improvement of Boxing’s Rocky Marciano/AAIB Distinguished Officials Award in Boxing. The A.A.I.B. is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1969 by Rocky Marciano and Stephen B. Acunto. Tom will be presented with the award at the at the annual Boxerama Luncheon on May 23, 2010, in Elmsford , New York .

One of boxing’s best judges, Tom has been closely associated with the World Boxing Council for many years. He has judged approximately 75 WBC world championship fights dating back to 1988, and has served as Chairman of the WBC Ring Officials Committee. He is also the the author of “You Be the Boxing Judge,” a guide to judging professional boxing.

The WBC congratulates Tom on his well-deserved award.

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The following is one of the weekly “Hook to the Liver” columns by WBC President Jose Sulaiman that are published in El Universal every Sunday. From April 25, translated from Spanish:

HOOK TO THE LIVER

By Jose Sulaiman

Was Boxing Better Yesterday or Today ?

I read with interest the opinions of four great Mexican idols, Rubén Olivares, Chiquita Gonzalez, Pipino Cuevas and Ultiminio Ramos, who all coincided in thinking very strongly that boxing of the past was far better than boxing today ; I happen to agree with them on most except a few matters.

I was a close friend of Joe Louis during many of the last days of his life, when he was recovering from open-heart surgery which was taken care of by my heroes, Frank Sinatra and President John F. Kennedy. I used to visit him at his home in Las Vegas at the porch in the back facing a small garden, and witnessed how his wife pushed him several times a day to get up and walk on a wooden walking device installed at their home, which the “Brown Bomber” always did “grumping.” On one occasion I asked Joe who would have won between the great first heavyweight champion of the world, John L. Sullivan - who used to walk in many bars in New England shouting and threatening any SOB there to fight him - and himself. His answer left a mark deep in me when he said that he would have lost with Sullivan in his time, but that he would have knocked him out in Joe’s time. After that, there is no question to me that champions are champions on every different era of their lives ... excepting today, when there are more belts than casinos in Las Vegas and those fights when some boxers fight only for money, no title, and just to see who wins.

None of the four Mexican champions will ever be substituted because they were the best at their times, but I agree with them that the old-time boxing appears to have been far better - those were the days in Mexico of “Ratón” Macías, Toluco Lopez, Pajarito Moreno, Joe Becerra, Vicente Saldívar, Baby Vazquez, and so many other heroes of the past, when being the champion with their pride and honor of being the best and a pride of their country, rather than today when money appears to step on dignity, loyalty, gratitude, for all those that became their stepping stones to lead them to glory.

Also, how can we forget the fights of the past like the first one between the greats Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran; Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier ; the great trio Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns; Sal Sanchez-Wilfredo Gomez; Alacrán Torres-Chartchai Chionoi; Larry Holmes-Ken Norton, and so many other extraordinary bouts that will never be forgotten and which have left an indelible mark in the history of our sport.

We can not forget, however, the great fights of the recent times, as it would be an injustice like J.C.Chávez vs. Meldrick Taylor; the first of Eric Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera; the three brutal fights of Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez; Bernard Hopkins and Tito Trinidad, held in New York only a few days after the towers devastation; Oscar de la Hoya vs. Fernando Vargas; Lennox Lewis-Vitali Klitschko, and many others for the passionate enjoyment of the boxing fans of the world.



I would say that boxing has been great in every and all the almost 50 years that the WBC has been as one of the rulers of the sport, with our pride of having had as our champions the very best of the last half of the twentieth century and many of all times. But I have to agree that the old days remain as the limelight of the sport of our love. But, as Joe Louis said ... every champion has been the best at his time.



What we must accept in any consideration is that boxing remains as the sport that keeps its friendly hand extended to the poor of the world, for them to conquer glory and the idolatry of the boxing fans, as it has always been, hoping that the top TV corporations find an amicable way to get unity, mutual cooperation,

and opportunities without preferences for boxers and promoters of the world, and if not, we may very well see the decadence and perhaps devastation of the great sport of boxing in no more than the next 25 years; big TV corporations want always the top of the cream in boxing, which they have never and will never be able to produce.



Mexico is suffering today the devastating effects of some of the media, included that of our country, by presenting this country like a war in the jungle, which has produced serious moral, social and financial damages. Boxing is an activity that is showing Mexicans and the world that it is part of the 99 percent of the Mexican population that is devoted to work peacefully, with faith and success for the benefit of the country; during the three last years of resurrection of boxing, there have been countless fights promoted all over, from coast to coast and border to border, with sell-outs and record setting TV ratings and absolute Peace without one single violent incident ... this is our real Mexico that boxing wants to keep away from the other Mexico ... that of the one percentof violence.



Thank you, until next week..

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