WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman announces the Grand Prix tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
you!” Most used it. Others found themselves retired. Quality judges who know what they are watching will be able to use the system. Believe the WBC. Believe Turki Alalshikh. Believe me. This system works and will cut down the number of head- shaking decisions we have been seeing too much of. Watch the WBC Boxing Grand Prix. My two favorite fighters in the tournament so far are 11-0 (8 KOs) heavyweight Tsotne Rogava and power- punching 140-pounder Carlos Utria 10-0 (10 KOs) of Colombia. In his first bout in the WBC Boxing Grand Prix, Utria KO’d 9-0 Spaniard Elianel Guerrero in the second round. Only one other opponent has made it as far as Round 2 against Utria, who is just 21 years old. Rogava, who comes from the country of Georgia, lives in California and is trained by Joe Goossen. Rogava stopped his opponent in the second round. At 32, he is among the oldest competitors in the tournament. Keep watching. There will be several future stars coming out of the Grand Prix!
feature one of the hottest young fighters in the sport, super middleweight Marco Romero, as well as unbeaten heavyweight slugger Bruce Seldon Jr., the son of former WBA heavyweight titleholder Bruce Seldon. Goldberg’s success has piqued the interest of others who are now looking at the resurgent Atlantic City as a viable location. And Goldberg himself has become New York’s busiest, most- talked about promoter (he was voted the 2024 “Promoter of the Year” by Ring 8, a charity helping former fighters and others). His next NYC boxing show was scheduled to take place on May 9 in Sony Hall, located in the heart of Manhattan’s Theater District. That card was to feature the debut of highly touted Puerto Rican lightweight Yandiel Lozano-Oquendo, who will be guided by Hall of Famers Shelly Finkel and Frank Warren.
treatment like the champ he is. What is out of control are his medical bills. Recently a fundraiser was held for Czyz in his hometown of Nutley, New Jersey. Hundreds of fans and boxing celebrities showed up to help Czyz – among those in attendance were Larry Holmes, Tim Witherspoon, Gerry Cooney, Chuck Wepner, Al “Ice” Cole, John Scully, middleweight contender Vito Mielnicki, Tommy “Razor” Rainone, former heavyweight contender/referee Randy Neumann, former two-division titleholder Junior Jones, former welterweight king Aaron “Superman” Davis, former middleweight champion Vito Antuofermo and former light heavyweight/heavyweight champion Michael Spinks. Should you wish to donate (no amount is too small), make your check payable to: Long Island Boxing Charities 15 Lloyd Street Center Moriches, NY, 11934 (In the subject line, put “Bobby Czyz”). As Long Island Boxing Charities is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization, all donations are tax- exempt). Iran “The Blade” Barkley, the former three-division titleholder and only man to beat Thomas Hearns twice, also needs our help. According to his best friend, Milton Luban, Barkley was recently diagnosed with lymphoma. As of this writing, Barkley’s many friends in the sport were discussing how to help him with financial support. I am sure that by next month, I’ll know exactly what’s planned and will share it with you right here.
you lose, well, you’re out. The round of 32 is over. Next will be the round of 16 in June. The quarterfinals will be contested in August, the semifinals will be held in October and the finals will be held in December. The bouts are being shown on boxing’s busiest streaming platform, DAZN. All the round of 32 bouts were six- rounders. In this tournament, there can be no draws. That’s because judges are asked to employ an enhanced scoring system: They score rounds as close, moderate or decisive. No matter what the scoring system is (whether a 10-point must, a 5-point must, etc.), an extra point is given to the boxer who wins the round in impressive fashion, even without scoring a knockdown. Prior to 1988, New York State used this system, calling it supplemental points. The Grand Prix calls it alternative points. Same thing. So, a “close” round can be scored 10- 9. A more dominant round (“moderate”) may be scored 10-8. A dominant round, with one fighter winning throughout the course of each of the bouts’ 180-second rounds, can – and should – win it by a 10-7 score. A knockdown of the boxer who lost a “decisive” round may result in a score of perhaps 10-6. I like that. I like it a lot. The problem I see is getting veteran judges, who are so used to scoring virtually every round 10-9 – or 10-8 if it includes a knockdown – are very hesitant, reluctant, apprehensive and even afraid (“Maybe the commission won’t use me again if I score that round 10-6!”). If the round deserves to be scored 10-6, score it that way! I used that type of scoring system in my first year as head of the New York State Athletic Commission, and it was met by loud protest from most of my veterans. I was forced to tell them, “Use my system or I won’t be using
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TWO GREAT READS: Hall-of-Famer Jim Lampley just authored a terrific book. It’s called It Happened! and chronicles his rise from a kid with a dream of being a sportscaster to being recognized as one of boxing history’s greatest blow-by-blow announcers. Mark Kriegel, who has written books on Joe Namath ( Namath: A Biography ), Pete Maravich ( Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich ) and Ray Mancini ( The Good Son ), now gives us the most in-depth life story of the legendary Mike Tyson in a two-book series called Baddest Man: The Making of Mike Tyson. Both Lampley and Kriegel have scored sensational knockouts with these journalistic masterpieces.
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COMMISSIONER’S CORNER A NEW SOURCE OF STARS By Randy Gordon
Speaking of DAZN, I – along with color analyst Henry DeLeon – will be on the mic for the July 25 installment of Boxing Insider Promotions’ latest show from the Tropicana Hotel in Atlantic City. This will be promoter Larry Goldberg’s fifth show at the Tropicana. His last one, on March 22, packed the house. Between the events in both Atlantic City and in NYC’s Sony Hall, Boxing Insider Promotions has run around 17 shows in a little over two years. Goldberg, who grew up in nearby Margate, attended Atlantic City High School. As a kid, he helped promoters put up posters of upcoming fights at Boardwalk Hall, The Sands, Resorts, Trump Plaza, Bally’s and, of course, The Tropicana (where Don Elbaum ran nearly 250 fights cards between 1982-87). The one on July 25 will
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I love watching the WBC Boxing Grand Prix. Held in the Global Theater in Riyadh City, it features fighters – the majority under the age of 25 – in four weight classes:
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Here comes the IBHOF Induction Weekend, only a few weeks away. I will be putting together a “Commissioner’s Corner Diary” of every moment of the IBHOF Weekend from June 5-8. I am sure I could write a book on what that incredible weekend in Canastota will be like during those four sure-to-be-memorable days!
FIGHTERS NEEDING OUR HELP: Former light heavyweight and cruiserweight titleholder Bobby Czyz was diagnosed with neck, nose and brain cancer. He underwent extensive surgery, which doctors say was successful, and he is handling his
featherweight, junior welterweight, middleweight and heavyweight. The tournament began with 128 fighters in all. Thirty-two in each division in a single-elimination tournament. If you win, you move on. If
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