RING, RHYME & REASON

By Stephen B. Acunto

Klitschko versus Peter -The Value of the Jab

The Wladimir Klitschko versus Samuel Peter bout was a perfect match of an outstanding boxing trainer in Emanuel Steward instructing and Wladimir Klitschko following his trainer's directions. Wladimir used his jab, which he doubled up and tripled at times.   Perhaps the Ukrainian could have used a little more leverage behind this effective jab.   Wladimir is tall, had the reach and did that particular stylistic thing that is absolutely necessary when a lofty boxer with a jab is fighting a short, squat puncher like Peter.   Steward told Wladimir to move to Peters left, thus oviating the power of Peter's lethal right hand.   The formula worked, which proved once again that styles have so much to do with the outcome of a match.

That is the strategy that James J. Braddock employed defeating Max Baer and becoming the vaunted personage in the film "Cinderella Man".    Another case in point is that of Max Schmelling, who moved slightly to Joe Louis' left when Louis dropped his jab.   Schmelling struck him with a straight right to the head until he finally stopped the undefeated 21-year-old contender.   It worked for Gene Tunney vs. Jack Dempsey.   Muhammad Ali combined speed of hand and foot and a left jab to gain the status as one of the greatest, if not the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.

As a teenaged boxing participant at the CYO, I had the good fortune to have had Jack Bratton as my trainer and he taught me the importance of the left jab.   A little later, Benny Leonard would reinforce this with me at Stillman's gym.   As a boxing coach, I have tried to impart the importance of the left jab to my students over the years.  

To get back to the Klitschko - Peter's match, in view of the way the fight was going, when one of the commentators passed the remark that   Klitschko   should have slugged it out with the lethal punching Peters, he sounded   ridiculous.   The exact reason why Wladimir won ten out of twelve rounds was because he jabbed and displayed good ring generalship by moving to his opponent's left.   At the conclusion of the contest, Samuel Peter mentioned that Wladimir had clinched and grabbed him for which referee Randy Newman warned Klitschko.   It was unclear why the "rabbit punches" that Peter struck Klitschko with a number of times behind the neck weren't called a foul and just seemed to slip through the cracks.  

Wladimir should be congratulated for his excellent performance, as well as Emauel Steward for his astute instructions and cool deportment as a second in the corner.   It was good for boxing because it highlighted the sport in a scientific fashion.

We have reached an impasse in the ring game that demands a different approach be taken when it comes to the sanctioning of professional boxers any place in this country.   The latest fatalities further substantiate the fact that the medical profession, combined with administrative competence of the boxing commission, could and should prevent any further fatalities, such as the two deaths that took place in Las Vegas, namely_Martin Sanchez and Levander Johnson.   In the case of Johnson the record reveals that he has been fighting since 1989 and in those sixteen years had a total of 40bouts, notwithstanding the fights he had as an amateur.   He was 35 years old.   Although he finally won another alphabet soup title from Stefano Zoff in Italy, it did not justify his being considered ready to fight Jesus Chavez..    Even Levander's own father, who worked in his corner that night, wanted to halt the contest in the 8 th round.   His son refused to comply, because he felt that he was wearing his opponent out.

Regardless of their valiancy and courage, it can no longer be the prerogative of the fighter to determine when irreversible injury or his life are at stake.  

Since the head was not meant to be hit in the first place, absorbing 400 unanswered punches was the road to a fatality.  

Perhaps, there should have been a scrupulous round by round, minute by minute monitoring of Levander's performance, as it should be in the case of every boxer in every match.

Dr. Goodman stated that at the tenth round no problem was found and many times a serious injury is not detected until it is too late.   Johnson left the ring on his own momentum when it was found his gait was erratic.   He obviously reached the trauma center on time, but the damage had been done and the clot on his brain was so large it shifted from one side of his head to the other.   It also seems to us that participants in the ring game, who, when the pattern of the fight does not change, meaning that round after round one boxer is assuming all of the punishment, then whether or not a   knockdown or TKO occurs, a bout should be stopped.

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A KENTUCKY INVITATIONAL

On the brighter side in Derby Town...
Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson gives Stephen B. Acunto a proclamation making him a citizen. Unfortunately, when asked if he could vote in Louisville, that was a horse of a different color!

L to R: Bud Schardein, Mayor Jerry Abramson, Stephen B. Acunto and Dr. Osric King

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Recently, AAIB Chairman and co-founder, Stephen B. Acunto was invited by a member of the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority (KBWA), Bud Schardein, to address one of the Authority's regular meetings.

Earlier in the year, Mr. Schardein, a former boxer who also serves as Executive Director of Louisville's Metropolitan Sewer District, had traveled to New York to learn more about the regulation of boxing in the State.   He had met with Acunto, who also serves as a Deputy Commissioner Emeritus of the New York State Athletic Commission, and   Schardein asked Mr. Acunto to give a formal presentation to the KBWA.

Acunto asked Dr. Osric King, M.D., who is a member of the New York Commission's medical board and on the staff at the Hospital for Special Surgery to join him in order to give the KBWA an opportunity to gain insight of procedures used by the NYSAC to ensure the safety of boxers.

Unfortunately, the two representatives, instead of receiving a positive reception, were treated skeptically by the newly-appointed KBWA Chairman, George Ginter, M.D., an anesthesiologist from Lexington, Kentucky.

Despite the devastating brain injury that former heavyweight champion Greg Page suffered in a fight in 2001 in Erlanger, KY, Dr. Ginter scoffed at the regulation that in New York State all boxers must have an MRI of the brain once a year. In Dr. Giinter's opinion such testing for young, healthy boxers is unnecessary. In view of the recent death of Martin Sanchez in Las Vegas at age 26 and other young boxers in the past, this seemed to be an unfounded statement.

Having attended the aforementioned meeting at the expense of the AAIB, both Acunto and King came with the goal of offering their knowledge and experience to the newly revamped board. Chairman Ginter allotted thirty minutes to the two New Yorkers and in that time they were either interrupted or criticized in respect to medical procedure and other criteria of the NYSAC. In respect to the AAIB and its Manifesto, Ginter added that it was too  "purist" but, wished the 37 year old organization luck.

The Board of the AAIB would like Dr. Ginter to respond to a few of the questions that Acunto and King did not have the opportunity to ask due to their being passed over .  

The following are the questions that we would have liked Dr. George Ginter to answer:  

•  Why is Kentucky a "different kind of place" from New York when it comes to safety and the   prevention of serious injuries,   such as those that Greg Page sustained.   Although this terrible "ring accident" happened prior to the appointment of this new authority, why would you want to take a chance at history repeating itself? What happened to Page was due to negligence ranging from both the absence of a licensed doctor ringside to a standby ambulance. Why would you want to be a "different kind of place" in medical safety issues?  

•  You referred to MRI testing and CAT scans as Orwellian concepts. Given the example of people having to take a road test before being issued a license to drive, Dr. King tried to ask you why protecting someone from themselves, was an Orwellian concept. Further, he gave the example of Joe Mesi, whom the NYSAC tested and banned indefinitely because of bleeding in his brain. You then said that Mesi's case could be argued either way. Would you sanction Mesi to fight in Kentucky?         

•  Do you have insurance for boxers in the event that there is an accident in the ring that could cause disfigurement or death?   If so, how much would the fighter receive?

•  Do you have medical coverage for MRI tests?

•  Is a standby ambulance with paramedics mandatory at bouts? If so, in the event that an ambulance has to be used, do you to wait for another ambulance to arrive before the next match can take place?

• Do you require urine testing before a boxer can enter the ring? In a title fight in New York, urine tests are taken before and after the fight. This is how we were able to detect that James Toney took steroids? Do you require the same testing for a title fight?

•  Do you have a policy regarding hand bandaging and the inspection of same by a commission inspector, who would then initial both the bandaging and the gloves?

•  Are there appointed inspectors at contests and what are their duties as to working corners, monitoring dressing rooms and many other duties performed by them?

•  Is there a security procedure in place, such as wristbands, tags or presenting a license to prevent unauthorized people from going into the dressing rooms and other places in the arena, that could cause problems?

•  What type of scorecards are issued in Kentucky? Outside of points for ring generalship, aggressiveness, clean and effective punching and defense, is there an area for remarks by the judges on each round and a space to report any fouls?   Do you use tri-colored cards signed by the judges?

•    In New York fighters go into the same corner as the dressing room where they prepare for the fight.   They are either red or blue.   (Female boxers have separate dressing rooms.) The information on the programs that are given to officials and others include the order of the bouts, the name, residence, professional record, weight , inspector in his/her corner, his/her seconds, and color of the trunks. Do you require this procedure in Kentucky?     

Despite the limitation of time afforded to the two commission representatives from New York, it was amazing that Dr. George Ginter had time to read an editorial about his accomplishments and background, that was roughly fourteen legal pages long.

It is really unfortunate that the views of the Chairman simply do not appear to be in sync with the explicit need to make boxing a safer sport.  

Jim Adams' article (dated August 17 th,), which gave a very accurate account of the meeting can be found in the Courier -Journal at www.courier-journal .com.  

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TERMINATION OF TBA

To be announced (TBA) should be completely terminated from listings of forthcoming fight contests.   The name of a champion or promising fighter, who is well known, is listed versus TBA on several fight schedules.   For example, the following are just a few of the "surprise opponents" on fight schedules: Lajuan   Simon vs. TBA, Willie Gibbs vs. TBA, Eric Ennis vs. TBA, Charlie Witherspoon vs. TBA., Paul Lopez vs. TBA and Elvin Ayara vs. TBA, to name a few.

This is totally unfair to the fans, who have a right to know who they are paying to see.   Further, there is the question of an even contest, or whether or not a promoter is trying to pan off a last minute substitute as a "fall guy" to further build up a champion or contender.

Inevitably, you will hear someone say,   "There aren't too many people here tonight."  

As far as the feature attraction is concerned, if someone cancels, then we feel the entire match should be canceled, too.   This would avoid a number of unfair moves such as, a fighter who is a last minute substitute and is neither conditioned or knowledgeable about his opponent's style; a boxer who has not fought for a while or who has a poor record.   A conscientious manager would not expose his fighter as a substitute in a fight in which he could not win, just for the money.     

In other words, before the public shows you the money , show them a caliber match.  

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FOR THE GOOD OF BOXING

We always like to recognize and applaud a really good fight.   The match we are referring to took place in Manchester, England recently. A nine-year outstanding titleholder Kostya Tszyu, 39-1 fought Ricky Hatton, 39-0.   The fight was halted in the 11 th round after a blistering battle.   Kostya's concerned trainer apparently detected something seriously wrong with Tszyu at the end of round 11 causing him not to come out for the 12 th and final round,   giving Hatton the championship.              

Since style is so much of a factor in the ring game,    we believe that Kostya, like Roy Jones, Jr. vs. Glen Johnson, was trapped on the ropes with relentless, hard punches,   which cut off the ring and did   not allow the boxer   long range and use of   effective jabs and defensive styles. Whatever it was, the strategy must have been right, because it worked.

It was especially gratifying to see the great sportsmanship and commentary made by both Tszyu and Hatton after the bout was over. Tszyu lost his title in a gallant fashion, and the post fight interviews were a refreshing departure from the usual lengthy diatribe of bull that some of the boxers and people interviewed, or for that matter, some of the interviewers give after a match.

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SINCE TIME AND TIDE WAIT FOR NO MAN....

Another thought occurs to us about closure to a boxing career.   Although Bernard Hopkins is listed pound for pound as the best fighter in the world today, and has been a truly great champion, we feel that it would be logical for him to have two more matches, maximum.   Then Bernard could retire as a proponent of what should be done in terms of leaving the boxing game.   That is, to exit the ring for the last time with your health and finances in tact.

We also feel that Arturo Gatti, a great warrior should also retire, win, lose or draw vs. Floyd Mayweather.  

Again, we strongly recommend that Antonio Barrera, who had surgery for a congenital brain problem, having a piece of mesh   placed in his skull, retire to avoid joining   too many other fighters who have had unnecessary accidents in the ring.  

In the immediate heavyweight division, Andrew Golota has seen his best days and should retire, as well as Mike Tyson, who was halted by Kevin McBride.   After the fight, Tyson stated he would not hurt boxing any further by continuing to compete.   We hope that he means it.

Speaking of the Heavyweight Division.....

Considering that the greatest heavyweights of all time weighed less than 200 pounds, we believe that the cruiserweight division is unneeded and unpopular.   Ring Magazine justifiably declares the championship vacant.   We agree with Ring's ratings because they are the real deal.

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TRIUMPHANT TWINS

The American Association for the Improvement of Boxing adds its congratulations and best wishes to the SpanaKOs twins, Nikos and Petros, who were honored on June 6 th and will be realizing the dream of the New York City Parks Department and the New York City Sports Commission.  

There was boxing at the Brooklyn Red Hook Recreation Center in 1952.   Murray Barron and, later legendary coach Johnny Reid, trained the 14-year-old twins there.   These two coaches motivated the twins into pursuing their respective educational careers.   The Spanakos' collectively captured 17 Golden Glove titles and Nikos was on the 1960 Roman Olympic Boxing Team.   Muhammad Ali, then know as Cassius Clay, was on both of their teams.   The twins and Muhammad Ali took the 1960 National Western Chicago Golden Gloves at Madison Square Garden.   We are proud of these two men who are members of our A.A.I.B. Consulting Committee.   The Brooklynites had a boxing career that numbered 200 fights and had trained at the storied Cus D' Amato's Empire Gym.

 

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ALL THE FIGHTS START HERE

Photo: Left to Right Stephen B. Acunto, who has the longest tenure in the NYSAC weighing in its newest Chairman, Ron Scott Stevens

After the weigh in, Canto stated that Ron Scott Stevens had the right weight in background and experience to be a successful and competent chairman. This calibrated scale was probably purchased by the commission in 1921 and weighed thousands of pounds of pugilistic flesh dating back from Jack Dempsey to Roy Jones, Jr. and other great icons and champions to date. It has been a demarcation point for some fighters who could not make the contractual poundage. Many fighters had been given the opportunity to lose weight by working out and eating correctly, hence tipping the scale at the correct weight.

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A TRIBUTE TO AL GAVIN

Al Gavin, a good friend, and past honoree of the AAIB, died on July 10th. He was acknowledged for his expertise as one of, if not the best cut man in the business. Al was in the corner of such athletes as Lennox Lewis, Oscar de la Hoya, Junior Jones and Micky Ward, to name a few. He also worked with amateurs in the PAL. By his friends he will be remembered as being a kind and caring man.

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RING, RHYME & REASON
By Stephen B. Acunto
"The Greatest Generation"

As an older member of the boxing fraternity, Mike Jacobs of the 20th Century Sporting Club came to mind recently. Mike's office was in the New York Hippodrome, which no longer exists. At that time there was no such thing as alphabet soup groups, pseudo titles, pseudo ratings or pseudo belts. Mike had only eight divisions in boxing to work with. There was only one champion in each division and everyone knew their names. One of Mike's most famous events was the Carnival of Champions at the Polo Grounds. The bouts started about 7 PM and were on the radio. I recall those bouts vividly. On one particular card there were four title matches. The opening bout was for the bantamweight championship; Harry Jeffra of Baltimore vs. Sixto (Sixth Son) Escobar of Puerto Rico. Jeffra was the victor. The great Barney Ross, the "Chicago Jabber" took on Pilipino, Seferino Garcia, famed exponent of the bolo punch. (Although Kid Gavilan used that blow later on, the originator of the punch was Garcia.) Seferino developed this punch because he used to cut sugar cane with a bolo knife in his native Philippine Islands, thus developing a sweeping upper cut punch motion. Ross earned the verdict. Another bout was between middleweights Fred Apostoli of San Francisco, who defeated Marcel Thil of France. Thil sustained a severe laceration over one of his eyes. The final bout, which is very familiar to this author (having sparred with Lou Ambers for two weeks before he met Pedro Montanez of Puerto Rico), had Montanez winning a ten round decision at the Garden over Lou. But, in a return 15 round title encounter, Ambers boxed brilliantly and retained the crown with a verdict over Montanez.
Mike Jacobs also promoted Joe Louis' fights. Jacobs' head matchmaker was Matt Rogers and his second matchmaker was Zunk Serling.
It was a wonderful era for boxing. The fights started at Madison Square Garden at exactly 10 PM. They observed the 11 PM curfew law in New York. The Garden was literally packed. In many of the bouts there were ethnic matches that drew a large following from the boroughs.
The famous St. Nicholas Arena at 66th Street and Columbus Avenue was an annex to the Garden. I remember one particular match between Maxie Shapiro and Tony Pellone of Brooklyn. Pellone's victory got him a main event at Madison Square Garden. Another exciting fighter was Beau Jack who holds the record for more main events than any other champion. Unfortunately, like many others, Beau Jack lost his money and ended up shining shoes at the Augusta National Golf Course in Atlanta.
There were many professional boxing clubs operating at the time. You could go to the New York Coliseum and Croake Park, both located in the Bronx. There was the original famous Ridgewood Grove and the Broadway Arena which were in Brooklyn. You would see such characters as matchmaker Max Joss, who always seemed to be mouthing a cigar at the Arena. Sunnyside Garden, Eastern Parkway, the Velodrome in Coney Island and White Plains' County Center were some of the other crammed houses of the era.

I believe that avid boxing fans would go to an arena every week as they did at the aforementioned arenas if bouts took place at the same time and place each week, or even each month.

We, of the older generation, were aware of homosexual and lesbian lifestyles. However, during that period of time discussion, or press about being gay was "in the closet". Nevertheless, I don't remember anyone in the boxing community or, for that matter, any other athletes being condemned or not allowed to participate in sports due to sexual preference.

Tom Brokow's book, which is a tribute to my generation, calls it "The Greatest Generation". We were hard workers, fighting for freedom during World War II, and sincerely trying to pave the way for a better world.

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RING, RHYME & REASON
By Stephen B. Acunto

It seems to me I've heard that song before. It's from an old familiar score which adds up to the ongoing infamy and corruption that exits in the oldest sport in the world. Over the decades there have been world-wide publicized injuries and fatalities. While we have witnessed some marked improvement in respect to medical safety in certain commissions, they will do absolutely no good unless mandatory standardization of physical examinations takes place in all 50 states. This could be accomplished with The Professional Boxing Safety Act currently pending in Congress. At an AAIB meeting in February, our Chief Legal Counsel, George Otto and the board members discussed the following:

The Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996, SECTION 5. SAFETY STANDARDS, b. Subsection 3 in its current form should be rewritten as follows: A physician continuously present at ringside who alone acting in accordance with the appropriate medical standards as put forth by the American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians, has the power to examine the fighters during the match and if necessary, direct the referee to stop the bout if either boxer is unable to defend himself or herself or may suffer serious and potentially permanent physical damage if the match continues.
One amendment that the AAIB Board members all concurred on in the aforesaid was that a physician and referee should have equal power in stopping a bout.
Frankly, and for far too long doctors, who are officials of the State Athletic Commissions, have not been able to function to full capacity. Doctors should determine when a fighter should terminate his career in the ring.
If tests, such as CAT scans, and medically, the more conclusive MRI deduces that a fighter has any indication of a problematical head injury, then he or she should not be allowed to continue to box. Quite simply, Athletic Commissions in any jurisdiction should not license a boxer to continue for their own good, and most certainly prevent him from being a pawn of some unscrupulous manager, thus averting a serious injury or fatality. Further, if a commission determines that a boxer should no longer continue because of the aforementioned, then that information should be communicated to all the existing commissions in the country, in addition to advising the press of these medical findings. Specifically, and contrary to what some people would like you to "buy", this is a dangerous sport, even when practiced scientifically and defensively. The head was not made to be struck. Too often the cumulative number of blows a fighter assimilates in the course of a career adds up to dementia, or Punch Drunk Syndrome. The fighter walks with an unsteady gate, slurred speech, and other serious, and unfortunately, avoidable physical problems.

As far as Strict Standardization and Medical Regulations are concerned, we will refer back to Bradley Rone, who lost 47 fights and only won 8. After an incredible loss of 25 in a row, he was turned down by the Nevada State Athletic Commission because he had a heart condition, but, sadly, he was sanctioned to box by the Utah Athletic Commission, where he died in the ring. In addition to all that infamy, the press, the AAIB, and even his family have not been able to obtain the autopsy report.

Another situation, among others, was the Greg Page debacle, which resulted in the former heavyweight champion becoming paralyzed due to the complete negligence and incompetence by the Kansas State Athletic Commission.
As for "accidents waiting to happen", one just needs to check current fight results, particularly in the heavyweight division, in states such as Tennessee, Missouri, Texas and others. The statistics regarding the much larger amount of loses over wins by these boxers are staggering.
This is what the AAIB feels has to be addressed by the U. S. Senate.
Finally, the inconsistency of the sport must be remedied by having it governed like all other major sports. During the hype and cheers for their "hero" only a minority of the fans know the extent of negative ramifications for the future of many athletes. After all, boxing, like all other sports is entertainment. Despite that, dramatic change has been and is desperately needed.
As the saying goes, "The musicians have changed, but the music is still the same". However, the truism of sports is incontrovertible. It's different from most other jobs because you have to make the putt, dunk the basketball, hit the homerun, score a knockout and make that touchdown. There is no way anyone can bluff, twist or turn the truth of the reality of what one must do in sports.

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RING, RHYME & REASON
By Stephen B. Acunto

While Baby Joe Mesi doesn't have the "cutest baby face", he is a personable, appealing and articulate pugilist and has a substantial amount of potential. He is a good right hand puncher, and is now taking on creditable opponents, which is what a fighter must do to improve and move onto serious contendership. In his latest bout vs. southpaw, Vassily Jirov, he breezed through the first nine rounds, but suddenly in the tenth round Mesi was not boxing like a professional. He reverted to being an amateur again by leaving himself wide open and getting hit and nearly knocked out. So many times when a fighter is winning going into the last round, corner mentors will logically advise boxers to fight defensively in the middle of the ring for those last three minutes. But, ironically Mesi's people were telling him he was losing, which might have made him vulnerable, causing him to open up against the experienced Vassily. Fortunately, Joe survived the knockdown and bombardment by Jirov to earn the decision. Very simply, Buffalo's big attraction in boxing could use corner men of the caliber of Buddy McGirt, Teddy Atlas and many others. Also included in the entourage should be someone of Al Gavin's competence. Baby Joe needs to know more about defensive boxing. We feel if that happens he will not be hampered in his quest to move up. Vassily Jirov, the more experienced former champion cruiserweight was a significant win for Mesi.
Joe's idol, Rocky Marciano, the only undefeated heavyweight champion of all time, was handicapped by having the shortest reach in heavyweight history. Rocky weighed 185 pounds and won the title coming from behind to win, a chief requisite in sports or anything else, for that matter. Aside from Marciano's indomitable spirit, he had a chin of granite and he could knock you out with either hand. We feel that Mesi would be smart to emulate the one thing that Rocky Marciano did which was greatly responsible for his success: grueling work outs that equate superb condition.

There's not very much to say about the Shane Mosley vs. Winky Wright duel. Simply, Wright whom so many have avoided facing was completely effective and pitched a shut out in a twelve round match. Justice finally triumphed when Winky Wright who has been seeking a title encounter for far too long, won. It was refreshing to see him win, particularly under the circumstances.
From the outcome of Mosely vs. Wright, it becomes more apparent that the Mosley- DeLaHoya fight might well have been won by Oscar DeLahoya. Having said that, we still feel that the Nevada State Athletic Commission should use two other judges outside of Nevada's jurisdiction.

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RING, RHYME & REASON
By Stephen B. Acunto

The AAIB was very saddened to learn of the passing of St. Claire Richard, editor, publicist and consultant. We recall visiting Clair at her home in Larchmont where she helped pen the first eight purposes for the establishment of the AAIB, which was structured like the League of Women Voters. We still have a copy of the purposes she helped put together in her unmistakable, large handwriting.
She was, in our opinion, a great lady and will be sadly missed by everybody who had the good fortune to be her friend. May she rest in peace.

WEST POINT
Students and coaches from the Westchester County Boxing Club made their annual pilgrimage to the U. S. Military Academy at West Point to cheer the 48th Annual Brigade boxing finals. Holland Center was nearly filled with enthusiastic cadets cheering their favorite participants on in the open boxing finals.We must again thank Lt. Col. Ray Barone for the very professional manner in which he refereed the eleven contests in preparation of the boxing team. It was also very gratifying to have the opportunity to present an award in honor of Herb Kroton, 45-year boxing coach at the Academy. Herb, a former Golden Glove champion was very helpful in the Westchester Community College boxing program, when it was launched in 1978. Further, he was involved in seminars held at the White Plain's Y.M.C.A., the Westchester Community College, and U.S.M.A. in which instructional demonstrations were filmed.

It was indeed refreshing to attend this yearly boxing event because the cadets battling in the ring represent the purest form of the amateur sport.

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RING, RHYME & REASON
By Stephen B. Acunto