Olympic Boxing On The Brink

Published

6 years ago

November 4, 2018

In 2012, the United States Treasury Department identified a group called “The Brothers’ Circle” alongside the infamous Japanese Yakuza as being a “significant Transnational Criminal Organization” and, prompted by the then President, Barack Obama, set out in “pursuing additional sanctions against their members and supporters.”

This has been and remains standard practice for the U.S. in working against its enemies when they lie beyond its borders and ordinary legal jurisdiction. Typically a key member of a criminal or political organization will find his or her assets frozen and their ability to move freely restricted. More, they have been branded, publicly and loudly, as being the worst kind of criminal: organized, powerful and dangerous. This can make doing business and establishing new professional relationships difficult – or at least, that is the theory.

The Yakuza are well known but “The Brother’s Circle” I had never heard of, and apparently with good reason. In 2012, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project spoke to sometime Guardian journalist and expert in Russian and Eurasian criminal activity Mark Galeotti on the subject of The Brother’s Circle and he had this to say: “I have not found anyone in Russian law enforcement or elsewhere who actually says ‘yes, the brother’s circle is an organization and it exists.’ It’s either complete myth, or 99% myth.”

I spoke to Mark today and he confirmed that this remained his position.

“I suspect,” wrote Galeotti after the action was handed down, “that given the absence of any other meaningful specific individual gangs to identify, reference to the Circle represents a convenient catch-all term, a way of making sure that Russian OC is included.”

Among those included is Gafur Rakhimov (pictured).

“Rakhimov,” claims the Treasury Department, “is one of the leaders of Uzbek organized crime with a specialty in the organized production of drugs in the countries of Central Asia. He has operated major international drug syndicates involving the trafficking of heroin.”

His passport number and an “alternative” passport number is listed as are other personal details including an address. His alleged background as car thief through to fixer through to drug dealer is laid out, albeit in very little detail. A power-point presentation illustrating some of the names of his associates and their subservient relationship to him is available. He is directly connected to and often identified as being in a position of authority over numerous men linked to murder, the trafficking of human beings and in one instance the assassination of a Ukrainian politician.

The U.S. Treasury Department is as serious about Gafur Rakhimov as they were about Al Capone.

Yesterday, Rakhimov was elected as the International Boxing Association (AIBA) president, amateur boxing’s global governing body.

If you were unaware of this story, and it has not been widely or properly reported by boxing media, take a moment to allow it to sink in.

The most acute problem here relates to the status of Olympic boxing. For some time the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has harbored concerns about the AIBA and the corruption which purveys the sport it runs. Most Americans reading this will think of the alleged match fixing in Seoul that saw local Park-Si hun “triumph” over Roy Jones; perhaps for the Europeans it may be a fresher memory, that of Michael Conlan who branded the AIBA “f****** cheats” and “cheating bastards” who were “paying [off] everybody” after an inexplicable loss at the 2016 games.

Sporadically, good journalism has actually outed corrupt judging, as in 1996 when Independent boxing journalist Steve Bunce was all set to travel to Russia to interview a judge caught with a thousand dollar bung. Unfortunately the judge was murdered before Bunce could get to him.

Japanese administrator Akira Yamane resigned this summer after his association with gangsters and allegations of tampering with officials emerged. The 2012 Azerbaijani amateur boxing scandal was as embroiled and confounding as to defy any thumbnail explanation here, suffice to say that once every four years the Olympics spotlights amateur boxing’s vast and varied shortcomings but they remain a problem year round. The gloom outwith the illumination of the Olympic torch fuels dark deeds.

So even before the election of Rakhimov as permanent AIBA president, the IOC were “extremely worried” about the governance of the sport and were prepared to take “bold action” against it. Hideous financial mismanagement was as much a concern as corruption, as the AIBA flirted with bankruptcy behind its involvement with Eurasian loans. Rakhimov, who stepped out from behind the shadow of the hapless outgoing president Wu Ching-Kuo, proceeded to direct the rescue of the AIBA to the everlasting gratitude of many of its members.

The IOC, horrified by the corruption and financial irresponsibility in the sport of amateur boxing seemed dumbfounded by the appearance of Rakhimov as its potential savior. The AIBA was, however, preparing to launch itself out of the proverbial frying pan into the proverbial fire with all the force of an institution actively seeking its own demise.

“The IOC reserves the right to review the inclusion of boxing,” it offered, “in the programs of the Youth Olympics 2018 and Tokyo 2020.”

Boxing was included at the Youth Olympics but Rakhimov was reportedly not accredited. This is as clear an indication as the IOC could make to the AIBA of their opinion of the AIBA’s unopposed nominee for president. It responded by reluctantly allowing opposition which had previously been excluded for petty technical reasons, but nobody was going to beat Rakhimov cold; it’s arguable that nobody could have beaten him with even a fair shake such was his position of power after his handling of the Ching-Kuo debacle. Had Rakhimov come from nowhere it is likely his past would have counted against him but his association with the AIBA is long and strong.

How this came to be is explained in some small way by the OCCRP who deemed Rakhimov “the classic Uzbek gangster,” and noted that “you don’t get to be an Uzbek gangster without being a partner of powerful people in the state apparatus.”

Or, as Mark Galeotti so elegantly put it, “whatever you say about Russian OC, it’s outgunned by the state.”

It is Rakhimov’s very involvement in the upper echelons of organized crime that would provide him with access to the upper echelons of administrative power in his country.

It should be noted here that Rakhimov protests his innocence, and vigorously, but this, in a sense, misses the point. It is unfair that Rakhimov’s being accused of unproven criminality by the United States government, Mark Galeotti and the OCCRP, among others, should exclude him from working for the AIBA – but it should. Unquestionably and inarguably, it should. It should absolutely exclude him from running that organization. He could be the most effective administrator to have ever lived and the fact would remain that his overall influence upon the sport he claims to love would be almost entirely negative. But his protestations of his innocence must be recorded.

In his own words, his inclusion as a U.S. Treasury target is a “mistake” that he hopes can be “corrected” within six months.

But he’s had six years.

Rakhimov has declared the date of his own election “a great day for the AIBA” and “an important step forward in boxing.” He spoke of the AIBA’s “commitment to the Olympic movement and Olympic values.” The IOC, meanwhile, are rumored to be weighing three options: excluding boxing from the Olympic games; staging an Olympic tournament without the inclusion of the AIBA (thereby withdrawing funding); or allowing the AIBA to run the Olympic boxing tournament under certain agreed-upon conditions.

None of these options are appealing, but I regretfully suggest that the third of these is the most harmful. While excluding boxing would deal a hammer blow to the sport that would be felt for a generation and the damage done to grassroots boxing by cutting off funding to the AIBA by the IOC would be enormous, either arrangement is likely preferable to doing nothing.

If there is a line of corruption our sport cannot be allowed to cross, I would suggest that it was reached and breached today. It saddens and shocks me that this has occurred in the world of amateur rather than professional boxing.

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Matt McGrain

Related Topics:AIBA Akira Yamane Al Capone Boxing Gafur Rakhimov IOC Matt McGrain Michael Conlan Roy Jones Jr.Steve Bunce The Sweet Science TSS Wu Ching-Kuo

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Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Skylar-Lacy-Blocked-for-Lamar-Jackson-Before-Making-his-Mark-in-Boxing

Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

5 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

6 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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