COME OUT WRITING
WELCOME BACK I was surprised and thrilled to receive my December 2024 print edition of The Ring in the mail recently. I have been a subscriber of The Ring for over 45 years. While settling for reading the e-edition of The Ring was better than no Ring Magazine, it was not nearly the same as the print magazine. Thank you to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh for bringing back the print edition. It is also noticeable that the quality of the magazine was better than ever, with the thicker pages and ink quality. I am looking forward to enjoying many more years of The Ring in print. Rick Flanagan Ballwin, Missouri JACK REISS My name is Thomas Taylor. I am a professional boxing referee from the state of California. I am writing to you in hopes of drawing your attention to the recent retirement of an outstanding professional boxing referee, Jack Reiss. Jack’s career spans over 26 years and 1,152 professional boxing bouts, which is more than any referee in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The notable fights Jack has officiated and his accomplishments are countless, but to name a few....
his career and has earned the respect of not only his fellow boxing officials, but that of fighters, their trainers, sanctioning bodies (IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC and WBO) as well as commissions around the world. If you ask Jack what his biggest accomplishment has been in the sport, he will tell you he shared the ring with 2,304 fighters and every one of them went home safe to their families. An incredible feat in a very dangerous sport. Speaks volumes to his good
get better and elevate their proficiency by learning from one of the best to have ever been in the ring. The most recent course was held in Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend (2024) and saw the biggest turnout in Sole Arbiter’s existence. Besides his referee training course, Jack is also a certified Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) trainer. This consists of him traveling all over the world, meeting with the boxing commissions and conducting referee training seminars. Jack was born in Brooklyn, New York, and in his teens came to California to visit a friend and never looked back. He spent his professional life as a firefighter in the city of Los Angeles, rising to the rank of captain for 19 years, and retired after 31 years of service. In his retirement from the ring, he is transitioning into an Instant Replay Official, a professional boxing judge, and will be ringside for years to come. It’s not often we get to honor a living legend in a sport where most people, fighters and officials stay well past their prime. Jack’s respect for the sport led him to leave a bit early, rather than too late and put any fighter in harm’s way. Speaks to his integrity and love of the sport. I ask you to please consider a full-page article to honor one of the best to have ever been in the ring and one who certainly has left the sport better than when he came in. Respectfully, Thomas Taylor Editor’s reply: Jack Reiss is absolutely worthy of at least a full-page article in this publication. Heck, I’d love to have him contribute as a regular columnist addressing referee- and boxing official- related subjects. But for the time being, your letter is a fine tribute. WRITE TO THE RING! Email comeoutwriting@gmail.com or use this address: P.O. Box 90254, Brooklyn, NY 11209
CHAPTER 2:
The print edition of The Ring returned with the issue previewing Usyk-Fury II.
1. Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov
2. Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury I 3. Errol Spence Jr. vs. Shawn Porter 4. Multiple Vasiliy Lomachenko fights 5. Multiple Gennadiy Golovkin fights 6. Refereed over 100 title fights 7. Has been inducted into three boxing halls of fame 8. Refereed throughout the United States as well as Germany, Australia, Japan, Russia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, China, United Kingdom, Chile and Thailand.
judgment, empathy and knowledge of the rules and regulations of one of the most difficult sports to officiate. But that is not all Jack is about. His love of boxing and wanting to leave the sport better than it was when he first got in drew him to start his own professional boxing referee training course, Sole Arbiter. The course consists of three days of deep study into film, referee mechanics, rules, regulations and best practices for referees. It is for current professional boxing referees looking to
Jack has shared the ring with numerous world titleholders throughout
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