COMMISSIONER’S CORNER
Erislandy Lara faced replacement Johan Gonzalez instead of Janibek Alimkhanuly.
suspension a minimum of three years, along with a forfeiture of their purse. Or do as Deontay Wilder says he would do if he had his way: “Ban the cheat from boxing. Don’t suspend him. Ban him! Throw him out of the sport forever!” That will certainly make fighters think twice – and maybe a few more times – before they cheat. Hit them with a career death sentence!
industry,” Goldberg told The Ring. “With the incredible combination of Nick Khan, Turki Alalshikh and Dana White, their company has media resources which nobody else has. Boxing is in fine hands with them. As 2026 is here, Zuffa is the king of boxing. Quite frankly, as a longtime fan and now as a local promoter in two states, I look at Zuffa as the biggest promotional company ever to come into boxing. I believe the next generation of boxing will be guided by Zuffa.” Another club-boxing promoter, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “If TKO Boxing thinks it’s gonna be easy to take over the sport just because they have a lot of money, they had better wake up.”
love to wake up tomorrow and find that Wallau – who passed away on October 10 – was indeed voted in last year and I was selected this year, along with my longtime pal, Kevin Iole. I was sure that last year it would be two of the Greenburg/Wallau/Iole trio who would be voted in, not me. I know Wallau would have been thrilled, had he gotten the call last year. From his perch in Heaven, I know he is smiling, delighted that he has been chosen for boxing immortality.
• Subriel Matias (in Matias’ case, his detectable level for the banned substance ostarine was low enough to fall under the New York State Athletic Commission’s limit for a violation) • Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller • Jaime Mungui a (Munguia’s adverse finding for exogenous testosterone was deemed the result of contamination and he was cleared by the British Boxing Board of Control and UK Anti-Doping) • Alexander Povetkin • Billy Joe Saunders Commissions are way too lenient with fighters who
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Boxing is going to be a different sport – beginning in 2026 – than it is now. Both internally and structurally, it will be. It won’t change all at once, but, by this time next year, we’ll all see the difference. The change is already under way. It is called TKO Boxing/Zuffa Boxing. Ratings will change. So will championships. And the balance of power. And megafights. And sanctioning bodies. And so much more. All the top promoters are shaking in their $1,000 shoes. So are all the sanctioning bodies. The phrase Ring Champion will become one of the most popular phrases in the sport. At the WBC convention in Thailand in December, the powerful sanctioning body’s president, Mauricio Sulaiman, told his minions, “The time for unity is now.” Quite frankly, the time for unity was years ago. The “Unity Train” left the station a long time ago. Over the last 50 years, sanctioning bodies – all of them – have contributed to the massive decline of the sport. A call for unity is too late. Way too late. “Zuffa Boxing is a juggernaut,” said Atlantic City-based promoter Larry Goldberg. Along with his promotional company, Boxing Insider, Goldberg has been instrumental in returning boxing to the Boardwalk in the popular casino town, and also in New York City, where, over the last few years, he has been among NYC’s busiest promoters. “Zuffa is great for the boxing
I’m so old that I remember a frightened young ring announcer named Michael Buffer getting his start and watching as he became the centerpiece of every person who has ever stood in mid-ring to introduce each fight to the audience. I was there when he uttered his now world- famous catchphrase, “Let’s get ready to rumble,” for the first time. I also watched from ringside around 15 years ago when a booming-voiced young man with dreadlocks yelled, “The fight starts now!” to a live television audience. It’s been a pleasure having watched David Diamante become a household name among boxing fans. Now, boxing’s next-in-line great ring announcer is being embraced by the boxing community. He is New Yorker Matt Competello, whose “Let’s take it home” while introducing the main event is already a popular catchphrase in boxing. Competello’s good looks, loud (but not overpowering) voice and his outgoing personality have made him a fan favorite throughout the sport. He is also a frequent emcee at sports dinners and functions throughout the country. Most recently, he emceed the Ring 8 Holiday Banquet, a packed affair at the renowned Russo’s On The Bay in Howard Beach, New York. If you have a chance to listen to him, do so. You’ll understand why I call him “Marvelous Matt.”
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Some thoughts about this year’s class of inductees into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. We all knew Gennadiy Golovkin was going to get in. That was a given. Everybody else, in each of the categories, was guesswork. In the Modern Fighters category, I nailed it, picking the three winners: GGG, Antonio Tarver and Nigel Benn. Among the Non-Participants, where we have five candidates to choose from, with two of them getting in, two of the five I selected (Jimmy Glenn and Dr. Flip Homansky) were chosen. I also voted for referee/judge Jack Reiss and judge Steve Weisfeld. I understand both came close, and my guess is they will get in – most likely in the next year or two. I will keep my fifth choice private, as it could have been any one of the remaining 25 candidates on the list. In the Observer category, where I, along with TV producer Ross Greenburg were selected last year, I voted for the category’s two winners – Alex Wallau and Kevin Iole – as well as three other well-deserving candidates. In retrospect, I wish Wallau had gotten in last year instead of me. I’d
“I’m glad he got caught. He cheated. He tried to make himself stronger and tireless. I believe I would have beaten him, had he not cheated. I’m 42. He’s 32. He should be punished, and the punishment should be severe. It should be that way for all who cheat.” - Erislandy Lara, after the cancellation of his middleweight unification fight against Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, who failed the pre-fight drug test for using a banned substance. THE TIME SHOULD FIT THE CRIME By Randy Gordon
cheat. Boxing and MMA are combat sports where athletes can and have suffered fatal injuries in competition. We don’t need to increase the odds of a competitor dying in combat due to being struck by a super-charged opponent. Unfortunately, most commissions are dishing out punishment to the rule-breakers with little more than a slap on the wrist. One-year suspensions are a joke. Let’s say the contest takes place in January. A few weeks after the event, one of the fighters tests positive for a banned substance. By the time the commission goes over the findings and makes the announcement, two months have elapsed. The commission then hands out a retroactive suspension. “One year,” they say. One year? It’s two months later! That means the cheat has a suspension of only 10 more months. Ten months??!! Many of today’s fighters don’t fight more than once or twice a year. Ten months is a vacation for them. It’s one of their usual layoffs between fights. Want to stop the cheating? Make the
The 17-0 Alimkhanuly wasn’t the first fighter to get caught cheating. Sadly, he won’t be the last. His A-sample came back positive for meldonium, which can help speed up recovery time from workouts. If his B-sample is also dirty, I believe the book should be thrown at him. I see nothing wrong with a three-year
suspension for drug cheats. In recent years, far too many
boxers have come up dirty in drug tests. Among the bigger names are (in alphabetical order): • Alycia Baumgardner • Conor Benn • Ryan Garcia • Amir Khan
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