One thing that is always on a boxers mind is the high price of glory. I remember lying in bed on the 12th of March 1974. My mind was in turmoil because the next night I was scheduled to fight Blakeney Kid Matthews at Blacktown RSL for the undisputed Australian title. Blakney at the time was rated number 6 in the world at Junior Lightweight and in his last fight he had stopped Andy Broome in the 8th round to lay claim to the disputed Australian Lightweight title. He had one version I had the other, so this fight would settle it. No one gave me a hope in hell of winning and all the newspapers scoffed at my chances So in my nervous tossing and turning I did what I have hardly ever done except in dire circumstances. I prayed. In my prayer I asked of God. "Let me have my brains punched out even die in the ring but let me win this fight" this I thought was fair because this title meant everything to me and I was willing to pay any price to win. So I knew firsthand what a boxer is willing to sacrifice to win. That little episode was a lifetime ago but I have never forgotten it. Fast forward to now and the present finds me now a referee and judge and still in the fight game. The ABF which I am a member of listened to and granted me a chance to put on a boxing seminar which the focus would be on increasing the longevity of a boxer. For this seminar I recruited the two best doctors I knew of in Australia in regard to boxing. They were Dr John Dory and Helen Clausen both had done numerous studies on boxers and injuries they suffered and had spoken at numerous seminars. The agenda I requested was if you had a son and he was a boxer and even though you disagree with his participation in this sport,what would be the best advice you could give him. What I wanted was a slip,slop ,slap message that boxers could understand. They both got back to me with what they would talk on and this was....... * The impact of boxing on the brain. * How to minimise the likelihood of brain injury. * What to watch for after a bout or sparring. * Increasing the Longevity of fighters. * The best advice you could give a fighter. * Psychological aspects of training. * Diet. * Preparing for a fight. * Role of a trainer before a fight * Role of a trainer in corner. * Care of injuries * Role of trainer in fighters life. We also recruited Barry Michaels,Lester Ellis and Susie Ramadan to talk on subjects with this theme. In preparation for this seminar I made over 150 phone calls informing boxers and trainers of this seminar and most assured me they would come. When the seminar finally arrived altogether there was only 47 people there and over 20 of them were officials and helpers and it honestly broke my heart. There was one thing that gave me redemption though and that was after the seminar a gentleman came up to me and told me he had read about the seminar on the forums and he said it was the best seminar he had been to. He then gave me an envelope which if you read the first draft you will see that an envelope on the way out was the original method of payment,but I was voted down on this at the ABF meeting and it was changed to a donation on the way in. So he gave a donation on the way in as well as an envelope on the way out. That envelope had $100 in it. That gentlemen gave me faith once again in human beings and I thank him from the bottom of my heart. The seminar was only lacking in attendence and I could live to be 100 and I will never go to a better one and it fufilled all my hopes. Kind regards Matt Ropis
Amatuers good, it leads to good things, professional is crap, people who pay money to watch fights at some stage want to see blokes get knocked out & thats no good for peoples brains
we're too rich & too happy in Australia to bash each other, no need to do this ****, if at some stage the world go's pear shape like in the "old days" then we'll go alright but i dont like our chances, lifes too good, leave the **** to places like Mexico & third world America
For a first up seminar thats a great effort. Keep them going. Might be a good idea if you can muster up some funding to take it on the road. The WA Combat Sports update had about 6 people at it for the second session. There would have been 30+ names on the list. If people really did love this sport you think they would take more interest in the machinations rather than choose to stand on the outside slinging mud. The changes here were more to reflect how competitions and their regulations now fall in l,ine with Victorias handling of combat sports events.
You have to pay to watch amateurs as well. The events are not free. Most amateurs who are any good clock up 60+ fights....they get their brains rattled as much if not more considering the head is the scoring target.
yeah but the vast majority of people who go to a show arent boxing connosuiers, theyre voyeurs who want to see "joe Blow" get knocked out, i've been to amatuer shows years ago & most peeps are industry people who just want to enjoy the show, but pro shows people want to see blood, they want to see Zab Juddah wobbly legs, they want to see drama.. thats life in the big city
Old man good on you for wanting to make the sport safer and even bigger props to you for actually taking steps in getting experts to advise you on what in their professional opinion should be done to make it so , however the old saying is you can take a horse to water etc but keep plugging away if you have the energy and maybe you should email former ESB writer Ted Sares to bounce a few ideas around with because he has a similar mindset to you on this subject mate .
Maybe start writing a book on the subject covering the topics you outlined. With seminars unless they are recorded the audience will always be small, even if you had your 150 people turn up. I think more people would be interested in this stuff than you could ever get in a seminar. It seems to me to be a very interesting point of view to look at boxing from.
Good concept but to have it reach more people, maybe you could condense it in to a Journal/ magazine and charge a fee for it.
You are clueless about boxing sunshine. You're a victim of boxing movies, whose writers are your equal. Do fans want a conclusive finish, Of course, but this **** about blood & spit & watching someone get battered mercilessly may exist in other countries, but not here. However, some of the greatest wars we've had are borderline, but they don't call it "Fighting", & fighters don't step through the ropes to be put into cotton wool. It's the science, the resilience, the heart, the elation of winning. Crashing through the wall that permeates all forms of dedicated sports peoples ambitions. And boxing is the toughest game of all. Nobody, except record padders, likes to see someone so dominated & damaged unless they have a mental problem. If you don't understand boxing, you'll never get it. :good Oh, & onya Matty. You're a legend.