By Boxing Bob Newman

Day 3 of IBF Convention saw the rolling up of the sleeves and the getting down to work of the convention. The general session began with the traditional self-introductions of the entire assembly and IBF board. With that done, IBF president Daryl Peoples called for each board member to deliver a condensed version of their reports, the full versions which were included in the registration packet.

Peoples reported that there has been an increase of IBF regional activity throughout the world, which has strengthened the IBF. Muay Thai was introduced as a new venture for the federation and leading promoter from Thailand Jimmy Chaichotchuang was lauded for leading the way in promoting the sport in Thailand and beyond.

World class judges Glenn Feldman and Don Trella will give the judges seminar later today while Ernie Sharif and Chris Flores will conduct the Referees Seminar tomorrow. Rick Weinstein and Massimiliano Bianco will deliver talks in the medical seminar first on Thursday.

Peoples made note that the IBF Caribbean title is being reinvigorated with the help of Panama’s Carlos Salazar.

SARB, or Special Assistance for Retired Boxers, continues to be a focus for the IBF to give back to the boxing community via financial assistance. The IBF does so and keeps the names of the assisted boxers anonymous so as to minimize any potential embarrassment that fighter may feel.

Each board member took a moment to deliver a mini-rendition of their report.

Pete Podgorski: Continuing to work on second day weigh-ins, with some measures being looked at to differentiate to rules within the weight classes as far as the amount of weight that can be regained after the official weigh in.

Aaron Kizer: Promoted the emergence of IBF China as a good thing because they represent a growing market that cannot be ignored.

Ben Keilty: IBF AustralAsia supervisor seeing continued growth in the region.

Roberto Rea: IBF Europe also seeing continued growth throughout Europe within the various regional entities.

Carlos Ortiz, Jr.: The number IBF world titles, both male and female, regional title fights have all gone up in the last year.

Anibal Miramontes: Thanked the German Boxing Board (BDB), the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC), the WBA and WBO and the IBF China for their continued partnerships and good faith.

Linda Torres: IBF Legal Counsel continues to work on purse bid split issues. The new IBF logo was accepted as an official trademark by the U.S. Patent office. Also there will be ongoing discussion with the World Boxing Super Series regarding certain IBF champions involved in the tournament and the subsequent tying up of the title for a long period of time.

Lou Priluker: Chairs the IBF Muy Thai division and has been involved in the institution of raises in the fees for IBF refs and judges.

Randy Neumann: Treasurer has shown the sixth straight year of strong net profit for the IBF. Sales of IBF merchandise all go toward funding the S.A.R.B.

Melvina Lathan: Has conducted training seminars in China and has high praise for those officials and their advancement in the sport.

Eddie Cotton: Is looking to start rating IBF officials on their performances. Also Cotton wants to start recognition of members based on their longevity in the organization, perhaps with pins for 5, 10, 15 years and so on, of membership.

IBF president Peoples then broached the subject of board elections. Three seats are up for election this year- those held by Pete Podgorski, Aaron Kizer and Lou Priluker. Each incumbent stumped to retain their positions with brief descriptions of their accomplishments and focus for the future. Challengers Onesmo Ngowi and Levi Martinez each also pitched their strengths and ambitions for the seat on the board. Ngowi is chair of IBF Africa and is looking to increase growth on the continent. Martinez was ill and delivered his pitch via video message. Martinez is a judge and has conducted seminars for judges. He also works as a mentor for young ring officials and has been instrumental in assisting with Native American commissions with developing officiating. The vote will be held at the end of the day.

Russian Boxing Federation head Kyril Schekutiev spoke for a moment on the upcoming Global Boxing Forum to be held in Yekaterinberg, Russia from 12-17 June.

IBF China president Ruihwang Wang expressed his thanks to the entire IBF China staff for their incredible job in putting together this convention. Wang also praised the continued progress of B & R Silk Road tournaments which have seen 100 shows under the IBF China banner in the past year.

David Braslow gave a very informative introduction to Muay Thai as a sport in general, regarding the rules, technique and subtle differences of the game between America, Thailand and elsewhere. The assembly had the chance to score an actual round and discuss their opinions.

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After a timely lunch break. The Judges Seminar was conducted by veteran judges Glenn Feldman and Don Trella. Feldman opened with a power point presentation focusing on key tenants of judging. Feldman echoed the recently emerging sentiment that social media has no place in a judge’s professional arena. Posting photos with fighters or comments about your exciting upcoming assignment to a big fight or in an exotic locale is a definite “no no.”

Feldman also stressed focusing as a member of a five-person team- three judges, one referee and a supervisor. “Support each other with your actions. You’re all in this together to do a good job as a team.”

Don Trella discussed seven skills of successful judges:

1. Choose and maintain a positive attitude
2. Maintain a level of self-motivation
3. Deal effectively with other people
4. Use positive self-talk
5. Positive mental imagery
6. Managing anxiety effectively
7. Maintain concentration/focus

The traditional scoring of rounds shown on two large screens was done.

Some classic fights scored were round 1 of Hagler-Hearns, round 4 of Leonard-Hearns, round 7 of Holmes-Cooney. Then more contemporary fights and rounds were looked at: round 10 of Ward-Kovalev I, Canelo Alvarez-Amir Khan, round 3, Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko round 5 and Isaac Dogboe-Jesse Magdaleno round 5.

In many of the rounds scored, there were wildly divergent scores. In some cases, the scores were divided evenly, while other rounds there were just a few dissenting votes for one fighter while a majority saw for the winning fighter.

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Simultaneous to the Judges Seminar, the Ratings Committee headed by Ratings Chair Anibal Miramontes and assisted by Aaron Kizer, Ben Keilty and Carlos Ortiz, Jr. Per the usual routine, promoters, agents and managers took to the microphone in support of their fighters to rise in the rankings of their respective weight classes. Miramontes took all into consideration and the results will come to fruition in the next rankings.

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At the end of the day, the vote was held for the three board seats. The results were as follows: Incumbents Aaron Kizer and Pete Podgorski retained their director seats and Levi Martinez joined the board. Congratulations to the winners. Tonight is a free night with no scheduled events.

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