Boxing News magazine 29.9.2011 Download pdf

Boxing News Magazine 2011  History

IT is easy to slam governing bodies. There are
too many belts, too much money made off
fighters in sanctioning fees and rankings that
are not ethically, morally or factually correct.
Historically, you have the main three, the
WBC, the WBA and the IBF. Then you have
the fourth to be 'accepted', the WBO, followed
by the rest. Titles are generally won and lost
in prizefights but with so many out-of-thering
shenanigans that is not always the case.
Sometimes they change hands without a punch
being thrown or taken.

IN response to the rhetorical question (B/V Sept 8) regarding
troubled Oscar De La Hoya, "Is He Still A Golden Boy?"
My answer: he has always been a Golden Marketing
Strategy. A sure investment for the official media given his
supposed good looks, questionable decision wins (against Ike
Quartey and Pernell Whitaker to name just two) and decisive
defeats whenever the level of opponents rose.
This very magazine published another letter of mine several
years ago, the header shouting "Oscar's career reminds me
of the Truman Show". I am still convinced of that Cocaine,
alcohol and - especially - Manny Pacquiao's punches have
definitely ruined the theoretical Golden Boy.

CONGRATULATIONS to Larry
Merchant. While I can't doubt that
Mayweather dominated Victor Ortiz, his
total disregard for anything not made of
green paper with a presidential face on
it showed yet again in his foul language
towards a respected interviewer.
Merchant has a history of asking
questions that require honest and
sometimes uncomfortable answers. He has
never been a walkover for any interviewee
and knows how to stand his ground. Who
can forget his show of self-defence when
repelling the advances of an intruder whilst
interviewing Daniel Zaragoza after he beat
Wayne McCullough in January 1997?
Mayweather is an excellent boxer and
could well beat Pacquiao but he's quite
obviously learned his ways from a disused,

AMATEUR boxing finds itself at a dangerous
bend in the road following the BBC Newsnight
allegations over a mysterious source of
funding for the World Series of Boxing (see
story on these pages).
Governing body AIBA insists everything is
above board and it would be no great surprise
if its investigation - into itself, effectively -
finds nothing wrong. Harder to predict is what
the International Olympic Committee will do,
although they must let the AIBA investigation
run its course before they react.