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IBC CONVENTION Monroeville, Pennsylvania December 3-4, 1998
      Steve and I recently attended the first International Boxing Council (IBC) Convention which was held at Al Monzo's Palace Inn in Monroeville, Pennsylvania (just outside Pittsburgh). The highlights of the two day affair included an awards banquet one evening, followed by a pool side dinner and ballroom boxing card the next. Joseph "Blackie" Gennaro and his staff went all out to put on a first class affair that was unprecedented in its extravagance.

      There is no way that I could even come close to naming those in attendance, suffice to say that I knew most who were there without ever having met them before. Honored guests included Bill and Doris Cayton (whose association with boxing goes all the way back to Gillette's Friday Night Fights), and two current IBC world champions, Michael Grant (heavyweight) and Bernard Harris (jr. featherweight). For us it is always a pleasure to see the IBC's Fred Lampson, although this year has been a sad one for Fred as he recently lost his beloved wife, Frenchie.

      As far as the business end of the convention went, there were three seminars that were especially instructive. I like to come away from any meeting with something new that I learned or a good quote. From the judge's seminar, I liked David Hess's comment that a good judge should score each round as if it were an individual fight; and that the worst thing a judge can do is try to adjust his scoring later in a fight to compensate for scores cast earlier. All present agreed that, for better or worse, the referee is the man in charge, and whatever he says goes with regard to accidental or intentional fouls and points deducted.

      I was particularly intrigued by some of the comments made during the referee's seminar--that third man in the ring. I hadn't really thought about referees having a particular style, but Tony Orlando elaborated on ringmanship and said that whatever style a referee uses, his intentions should be clear to the fighters. Frank Cappuccino was the first to acknowledge that all referees make mistakes. From our perspective, it's unfortunate that those mistakes can often cost a fighter his career. Perhaps we should go back to the way it was in the old days, if a referee suspected that he missed something that occurred in the ring, he had the option to query other officials (commissioners or judges) about what they may or may not have seen. When so much is on the line in professional boxing, it seems a pity not to avail ouselves of any tools that might help the referees with their important decisions.

      Greg Sirb, President of the Association of Boxing Commissioners (ABC), led a seminar on the proposed federal legislation that was spearheaded through the Senate by McClain, and now is pending a vote in the House. This legislation may be founded on good intentions, but it was obviously written by people who don't know a whole lot about the sport. Parts of the legislation that is designed to protect the fighters may actually hurt them. We'll put more about that on our web page later.

      Mike Acri and his sister, Marci, put together a great card for the boxing show that featured Paul Spadafora's successful defense of his IBC lightweight title. The fights followed Friday night's pool side dinner, where the reflections of soft light on the water made it look more like a ballroom dance floor than a swimming pool. Frank Cappuccino was quite breathless when he realized that he had almost stepped into the pool, and it was agreed by all at his table that we would have liked to have seen that!

      We certainly hope that Blackie will make his conventions annual affairs. Debbie Jones saw to every minute detail, from elaborate party favors (the pugilistic chocolates were divine) to ferrying guests back and forth to the airport. She didn't even flinch when I told her that we would have to leave the hotel at 4 a.m. to catch our return flight. All in all, the convention was a wonderful opportunity to make and renew friendships, which is what boxing is all about.