January 2002 - July 2006 - The Jerry Quarry Foundation

national boxing commission must have the ability to control all of the parties
who may gain from it financially in order to effectively monitor it and to
remove the unfairness of boxing that has produced many of its problems,
especially for the fighters and the fans. While our position is extremely
unpopular with many people (especially the cable companies, the sanctioning
bodies, the casinos, hotels, their employees, and U.S. Senator John McCain), it
still stands. TJQF and the AAIB were set up to protect the fighters and improve
the sport, and that more than explains why we have taken this very unpopular
stance. For those of you who have followed this legislative issue, thank you.
Also, this bill will be re-introduced by Senator McCain for further
consideration by Congress next January. |
|12/18/04 08:35:33 AM|Kent Appel|La Habra, Ca||kentallenent@aol.com||||10|Thank
you Mr. Otto for the update on the legilslation. For those of you who don't
know, Mr. George Otto does a lot of work for the Jerry Quarry Foundation to get
laws passed to improve boxing.Mr. Otto, does that mean that Senator
McCain does not go far enough in the area you are stessing, about indenifying
all of the people involved in putting boxing promotions on? I always thought
Senator McCain was our friend in the senate on such matters. Anyway, please let
us know if we can do anything anytime soon to help get this important law
passed,ie writing letters, etc.|
|12/19/04 10:31:50 AM|George Otto|Youngstown, Ohio||ehnpbsa@aol.com||||10|Mr.
Appel, thank you for your comments and your kind words. Regarding Senator John
McCain, both the AAIB and TJQF believe that he has done the most to try to
resolve boxing's problems than any other political leader who has ever addressed
this issue. However, you are correct in stating that his bill (S. 275) does not
identify enough persons and organizations as "promoters". For too long boxing,
the boxers, and the fans have suffered from the secrecy, incompleteness,
duplicity, unfairness, and one-sidedness of the promotional agreements. Thus
all promotional parties, their roles, and their responsibilites need to be
clearly expressed in written agreements. Without this being included in the
bill, the national boxing commission will have little jurisdiction and power to
ensure the safety of the fighters, the establishment of pensions, the fairness
in carrying out the rules of engagement, the proper qualifications of the people
working the bouts, the fitness of the fighters going into, during, and after the
fights, and the elevation of the sport to a level of decency and respect.
Without the bill in-cluding this level of inclusiveness, boxing will
continue as a niche sport, never attaining the overall interest and respect
secured by major league baseball, football, basketball, or hockey. To do this,
all of the principle players (including the fighters) must be held to a high
level of accountability and responsibility. Other-wise boxing will continue as
"the red light dis- trict of sports." All of you can help by writing letters to
Senator McCain, your Senators, your Representative, and President Bush asking
them to support the change in this bill on behalf of the AAIB, TJQF, and
yourselves. Thank you. |
|12/19/04 11:20:48 AM|George Otto|Youngstown, Ohio ||ehnpbsa@aol.com||||10|In
addition to all that I have written below regarding boxing reform, let me also
state that enacting and implementing S. 275 as the AAIB and TJQF have suggested
is not enough to dramatically change the sport. As has been true in ML
Baseball, Basketball, Baseball, Football, and Hockey, the fighters must join,
support, and participate in a union. Without that solidarity, their needs can
not be adequately addressed--even if a national boxing commission exists. Eddie
Mustafa Muhammed, under the auspices of JAB, is trying to do that, but much work
needs to be done. I say this in realizing that all unions are not perfect, and
that, other than the AAIB andTJQF, no other boxing organization has made
this suggestion. Nevertheless, both the AAIB and TJQF have always been on the
front lines of reform and change (many times by themselves) to include this
issue which is most difficult and frightening to all those involved in this