Reported By: Boxing Insider

Micky Ward Joins RBF Board of Directors

"Irish" Micky Ward Joins Retired Boxers Foundation Honorary Board of Directors

"Irish" Micky Ward Receives First Retired Boxers Foundation "Undisputed Champions for Dignity" Belt

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 7, 2003

[Simi Valley, CA] The Retired Boxers Foundation announced today that "Irish" Micky Ward has been appointed to the Retired Boxers Foundation Honorary Board of Directors as of December 1, 2003. According to RBF Founder and President, Alex "The Bronx Bomber" Ramos, "Micky Ward retired with dignity after a career that spanned nearly 20 years. He represents everything we want the sport of boxing to be: A sport where world class athletes compete with the best in their class, give the fans what they really want to see, and retire when they want to." Ward said he is looking forward to being a representative of all the fighters who have retired from the sport of boxing and his goal is to make sure that those who follow him are allowed the same dignity in retirement that he has claimed.

Alex Ramos has known Micky Ward from their amateur days, with Ramos being from New York and Ward from the Boston area. Amateur boxing in the North East has lead to more world-class boxing champions than any other region of the United States, with fierce competition between fighters from New York and New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston and the Washington, D.C. and Maryland areas. While Ramos and Ward were from different weight classes, they still followed the careers of their friends from the amateur days. When "Irish" Micky Ward announced his retirement from boxing in the summer of 2003, Alex Ramos wanted to include Ward in some way as a part of his Retired Boxers Foundation. The mission of the RBF is to assist retired professional boxers in the transition from their glorious days in the ring to a dignified retirement. The two of them talked on the telephone and in September, RBF Board Member, Gary Litchfield, organized a tribute to Micky Ward at his Billerica, Massachusetts restaurant, the Emerald Rose.

WARD RECEIVES FIRST RBF “UNDISPUTED CHAMPIONS FOR DIGNITY” BELT

As soon as the date was set for the event in Billerica, Alex Ramos contacted designer and owner of Silver Star Championship Belts, Armeni H. Akopian, and asked him to create a championship belt engraved with the words, "Undisputed Champion for Dignity" and "Irish" Micky Ward, to be presented to the retiring pugilist at the event. "The belt that Armeni created was awesome," said Ramos.

The RBF belt was presented to Ward at a fundraiser hosted by Board Member, Gary Litchfield, at the Emerald Rose Restaurant in Billerica, MA, on September 27, 2003. This event was sponsored in part by Everlast along with several Boston area businesses. Ben Doherty, former Massachusetts State Boxing Commissioner was the master of ceremonies. Former Massachusetts Sate Boxing Commission Chair and 1960 Olympic Gold Medallist, Skeeter McClure, also attended. Also on hand to honor Ward, along with Alex "The Bronx Bomber" Ramos, 1984 USBA Middleweight Champion, were recent WBA Welterweight Champion, Jose Rivera, former heavyweight contenders, Jim McNally and Peter McNeely and former welterweight champion, Tony DiMarco.

"Irish" Micky Ward was the inspiration for the event and for the award, according to Alex Ramos, RBF Founder and President. RBF Board Member, Gary Litchfield is an avid boxing fan and like everyone in the Boston area, a huge fan of Micky Ward. Ward is from Lowell, Massachusetts, and started boxing at the age of 7. He retired with a record of 38 wins (27 knockouts) and 13 losses. Ward’s most memorable fights will go down in history as the "wars" with Arturo Gatti. In three fights against Gatti, the fight in May 2002 was named "2002 Fight of the Year" by Ring Magazine.

The RBF intends to continue to work with Silver Star Championship Belts and will continue to present the "Undisputed Champion for Dignity" belt to professional fighters who represent the best of the sport of boxing. Silverstar's owner, Armeni Akopian has designed and manufactured world-class championship belts, including belts for the IBF, WBO, IFBA and the WBF. He has also created belts for Everlast, the World Kickboxing Federation and USA Boxing.

For more information about the Retired Boxers Foundation, visit their website at www.retiredboxers.org, or call Alex Ramos at (805) 583-5890.