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By Keith Terceira
The Boxing Scene
Sunday, April 04 @ 11:09:23 CDT
Keith Terecira is the Retired Boxers Foundation
(RBF) Mid-South Representative. He also is the co-owner
of The Boxing
Scene. Keith has followed boxing most of his life
and is the author of numerous boxing related topics.
I have spent the last several days pouring
over S.275, the Senate Bill that recently passed and
was moved along by individuals with little to no concept
of reality outside some cushy office paid for by your
tax dollars. What an utter waste of money and time.
If you fans thought the sport of Boxing was in a downward
spiral now, I suggest you move to the side before it
crashes completely. What I once considered a worthwhile
venture where the Boxer would have some protection under
the law looks more like an opportunity for federal intrusion
while providing nothing to the fighter except more vague
fees.
The truth is that this Bill is so vague
about the costs to the participants that of the sport
that it truly only sets up another organization that
gets in the pockets of the Sport. All the enforcement
of the bill already exists. The power to investigate
can be done through several law enforcement organizations
as well as the Dept. of Commerce. The entire bill is
an outline that could hold so many unfair unequal surprises
to the small promoter, the club fighter, and managers.
- This Bill further intrudes on the rights
of Native American Tribes across the land to self
government.
- It further violates the rights of States
to self government. IE; if a state so decides that
licensing for Matchmakers, corner men, and managers
are unneeded this bill violates that ruling and forces
it to comply or substitutes itself.
- It provides no benefits, no medical
insurance, no disability assistance for fighters which
is what the sport needs, it only sucks more funds
from the already poverty stricken bottom 90% of the
participants.
- Gives no protection to the fighter
against the sport heading overseas and circumventing
the USBC completely. IE: Move all Championship Fights
to Casinos and Arena's in Europe or the Caribbean
and televise from there.
(b) BOXERS- A boxer may not own
or control, directly or indirectly, an entity that
promotes the boxer's bouts if that entity is responsible
for--
(1) executing a bout agreement
or promotional agreement with the boxer's opponent;
or
(2) providing any payment or other compensation
to--
(A) the boxer's opponent for
participation in a bout with the boxer;
(B) the boxing commission that will regulate
the bout; or
(C) ring officials who officiate at the bout.'.
Here is one example that I speak of. Several
small promoters across the country are also fighters
and managers. That has always been the nature of the
sport. Does this section of the law suddenly prohibit
a fighter who as he nears the end of his career and
invests in a gym that puts on club fights which includes
some minor championship from making a living or fighting
on his own card. This is just one in a long line of
unfair and unrealistic sections of this law that only
further supports big corporate interests that already
are taking over the sport.
What about companies like SMC that offers
lower commission rates to boxers and seek to make boxers
the primary share holders in the company instead of
some mega promoter owning their rights. Does this mean
they can not promote their own events because they indirectly
own the corporation? Does this help protect fighters
or enforce the same old system, protecting the status
quo keeping fighters from gaining the upper hand?
Here is one little tidbit that I find
extremely interesting. The lawmakers that are voting
this bill, those suddenly so interested in conflicts
of interests in the little sport of boxing, are they
divesting themselves of shares in Beer Companies like
Bud, Miller and others who are major sponsors, or Casino
Companies, or Media outlets. I think not. This bill
only assists those in the sport that already have the
finances to hire the best attorneys, the smartest accountants,
and enough money to buy favor with Senators and Congressmen
in the states they work in. Fact is Don King recently
came out in support of George Bush and the Republicans.
Guess he is not so worried about a Republican written
bill.
Here is one example I am discussing. During
a previous Senate hearing several elite members of the
sport admitted to wrongdoing and criminal acts. Yet
still they function at the top of the sport. All the
power of the federal government, the IRS, the FBI, and
every other bureaucracy we possess could not remove
these individuals and protect fighters but we are to
believe that the USBC will be stronger than them. I
think not. Politicians suddenly want to improve boxing
when they have ignored and at times assisted those who
admitted guilt, giving them immunity from prosecution.
Exacting no punishment and protecting no one from further
crimes. Kind of like releasing a murderer because he
helped you catch a pickpocket.
Another farce in this bill is the absence
of hard fee schedules. Only vague references that the
boxer is to pay as little as possible. Would that be
10.00 or 10,000 dollars for licenses? What are the promoter's
fees etc?
No answers. So the boxing club that puts
on a fight in a gym those seats 300 may just end because
they thought to ignore the passing of this bill. What
if the fees etc. become several thousand a year or even
a couple? Is the federal government so ignorant that
they don't know that every single increase in the promoters
cost lowers the purses to the fighters. This bill sets
no minimum standards, no protection that because of
the added expenses that the majority of fighters who
already work in near poverty will make even less.
When will the federal government learn
that when you attempt to regulate you create cost, that
cost gets either passed on to the consumer or effects
the worker. Never does it affect the larger companies
only the small. So when it costs more to put on the
fights the tickets go up or the purses go down or the
venue and promoter goes away, but you have looked good
MR. Senators in an election year. When you are making
over hundred grand a year off the backs of hardworking
Americans a raise in tickets cost doesn't affect you
much but for many fans it could drive us from the Arena.
God knows that regulation and Commissions
have stopped Drugs America, Hunger in America, Lowered
Gas Prices, Stopped illegal immigration, Removed ignorance
and poor education, Stopped Jobs from Heading oversees,
Replenished the ozone, raised the minimum wage to above
the poverty level, reduced insurance costs and provided
affordable medical care to every American, Reduced the
death toll from Doctor related deaths, and reimbursed
shareholders that were screwed by fraud and corruption
in hundreds of bankrupt companies across America.
All the above problems have a bureau that
was supposed to cure the ills above; all those bureaus
collect funds for the federal government in the manner
of fines and fees. To this day the problems that these
commissions were set up to solve are worse not better.
There are so many loopholes in this bill that Butterbean
could walk through them.
I have a couple of questions for John
McCain, when your ignorant little publicity stunt here
takes the local Gym and clubs fights away, and puts
those kids back on the streets to run in gangs or to
have little or nothing to do because you have cut the
governments funding for after school programs etc. is
it your neighborhood they will live in?
My second question is if you couldn't
enforce the Mohammad Ali Act, how you can enforce all
these sections of laws in this bill.
This bill provides very little to the
Boxer, Manager, Corner man, Small Promoter, ETC. It
provides emergency medical requirements period. That
could have been done without a commission. This Bill
helps the large promoter, the big casino, and every
fighter not in the USA. So much for free enterprise.
Thirdly, I see no oversight of Boxing
Unions in this bill, no protections for boxers that
may get screwed by them. Is that because one such organization
assisted you in this endeavor.
God knows the Teamsters have never been
investigated!!!!
Further sections of this Bill will be
dissected in coming articles but I truly feel that just
when the sport needed a hand it is getting a hammer!
We will also investigate the conflict of interests some
Senators and Congressmen have even voting for this Bill.
KeithTerceira, The
Boxing Scene
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