Report/Photos: Boxing Bob Newman

Opening the meeting, Texas Commissioner Greg Alvarez gave the official welcome speech to the convention delegation.

NABF vice president Joanna Aguilar then called for the sounding of the bell for a ten count mourning the losses of Martha Sulaiman and Joe Mason of the Colorado commission, this year.

NABF president Duane Ford then greeted the delegates with praise- “You all make the NABF. Without you all, there is no NABF.”

Ford specifically cited ring officials as the protectors of the sport of boxing.

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“Ring officials need to participate in teamwork with each other. Support your teammates.” Ford stressed the code of ethics and looked at it as a “code of honor.” Ford had been referred to as a “barnacle” by an associate many years ago. The reference was to how barnacles protect whales in the ocean. Ford compared whales to boxing and the ring officials as barnacles, thus protecting boxing.

A video message from NABF vice president and WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman was played, wishing the NABF a very successful convention and gave praise to President Ford.

Former Nevada State Athletic Commission director Mark Ratner addressed the convention. Ratner gave a synopsis of his own history in the sport starting with attending the Liston-Patterson fight as a young fan.

Ratner reviewed some of the controversies which occurred during his tenure. The first was during Holyfield-Bowe #2 and the “fan man” debacle.

The round was scored after it resumed, once the “fan man” was removed, some 20+ minutes later. It ended up being scored 10-9 Bowe, 10-9 Holyfield and 10-10. Had the judge who scored it a draw, scored in favor of Bowe, the fight would have ended up a draw and Bowe would have retained the title, thus, altering boxing history.

Holyfield -Tyson #2, the infamous bite fight, was up next. Referee Mills Lane told Ratner he wanted to immediately disqualify Tyson. Ratner asked Lane if he was sure, giving Lane pause and then allowing the fight to resume. At that time Tyson committed another foul and bit Holyfield again, forcing the DQ by Lane.

The last incident was the Mayweather-Judah fight where a low blow by Judah resulted in a melee near the end of the 10th round. Both corners, advisors and Las Vegas police filled the ring in a scrum that took several minutes to clear.

Judge Steve Morrow was up next, giving a fascinating talk on his first intro boxing, first as a writer for the now defunct Boxing Update & Flash, then as a boxing judge. A former police officer, Morrow balanced his job of what would be 30+ years, with boxing, often at the cost of family time. “Perspective” was the theme of Morrow’s talk. As time went on, health issues would arise, and a lack of assignments would come his way. Throughout it all, Morrow had to keep perspective.

His advice on keeping perspective:
Family first, be the best ring official not working, and something he was told when first entering boxing- Outlive the bastards!

Ford called an audible and asked Canadian judge Joel Scobie up to the microphone. Scobie gave a brief synopsis of his entry into judging and refereeing in professional boxing.

Ray Corona also chronicled his path from prison to the ring as a top California referee. Faith and persistence was Corona’s guiding light back to solid standing with the CSAC.

Esther Lopez shared her journey through the gauntlet that is being a boxing judge.
At one point early in her career, Lopez had to judge her son! Fortunately, he scored a second round knockout and she avoided any potential scrutiny.

Oscar Cantu talked about his transition from rising contender and a participant in boxing for 23 years, to stepping outside the ring after suffering a brain aneurysm in 2000.

Barry Lindenman- statistician and boxing judge, reviewed the WBC remote scoring app and the statistical summary gathered every month, including whether the judges who used the app are purely judges, refs and judges, scoring variances of all participating judges, scoring accuracy by country (Canada narrowly leads the USA among the NABF countries). Lindenman cited author Malcolm Gladwell who opined that one must practice 10,000 hours in order to rise to the peak of proficiency in any endeavor.

NABF featherweight champ Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington accepted his Champion of the Year award. Carrington heads back to Las Vegas to continue training for his September 27 fight against Sulaiman Segawa at MSG.

The afternoon session was compromised of the round table sessions in which a veritable cornucopia of topics were discussed within the 20 person groups that were assembled. Social media, pre fight preparation for ring officials, mental health repair after a tough assignment, getting more assignments, were the topics.

At the end of the round table session, Duane Ford and Andy Foster opined with advice on each of the topics.