Pennsylvania Boxing Head Greg Sirb, Much Admired, Steps Aside After 33 Years

Published

2 months ago

October 4, 2023

Pennsylvania-Boxing-Head-Greg-Sirb-Much-Admired-Steps-Aside-After-33-Years

When it comes to assessments of anyone’s career longevity, it helps to have a particularly persistent standard-bearer against whom an apt comparison can be made. Not that their respective involvements in boxing fit the same criteria, but consider this: Greg Sirb, the just-retired executive director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, stayed the course for 33½ years, during which he served in the administrations of seven governors and outlasted 14 secretaries of the Commonwealth. B-Hop swapped punches with gloved opponents in sanctioned bouts for 28 years, a span covering the time in office of “only” five occupants of the White House and six chief executives of his home state of PA.

Not that Sirb, 61, doesn’t know a thing or two about getting into scraps of a different sort and, like Hopkins, winning most of them. Just 28 when he was appointed by then-Governor Bob Casey Sr. on Jan. 29, 1990, to a post that seemingly came with scant prestige and even less sense of direction, the two-time former All-America wrestler at Edinboro (Pa.) University (that’s wrestling as it is done at the intercollegiate level, not scripted rasslin’ as performed by the pros) immediately went about the task, as Paul McCartney sang in Hey, Jude, of taking a somewhat sad song and making it better. A lot better, which is the consensus opinion of even some of those who periodically butted heads with Sirb over his intransigence when it came to the observance of rules, some of which he personally wrote when in 1992 he drafted language to amend the PSAC’s 1989 bylaws which many believed to be in need of an overhaul.

“I had a professor in grad school (Penn State, where he earned a master’s in Public Administration) who told me that when you leave a position, leave it better than when you took it over,” said Sirb, whose farewell gig was at ringside for a fight card in Philadelphia on Sept. 29. “Never leave the cupboard bare. I think I’m doing that.”

Time will tell, of course, but Sirb is confident that his hand-picked successor, Ed Kunkle, can keep a high gloss on the reputation of the PSAC which owes in large part to his predecessor’s handiwork that often lapped over the boundaries of Pennsylvania into other states. Sirb is a co-founder of the Association of Boxing Commissions, serving as its president from 1996 to 2001, and he was instrumental in the passage by the U.S. Congress of the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 and the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 2000. That the same legislators who passed those groundbreaking initiatives into law have given the ABC inadequate authority to enforce their tenets is embarrassing, but even Sirb is only capable of carrying the ball so far toward the goal line.

Professional boxing, of course, has its share of murky areas, so much so that identifying contributors to any cleanup project can be a daunting task. That said, the Boxing Writers Association of America’s vote to present Sirb with the James A. Farley Award for Honesty and Integrity in 2019 offers further proof that even a short guy with good intentions can stand tall among his peers.

“Greg has been instrumental in shaping the landscape not just of Pennsylvania’s state athletic commission, but also of athletic commissions across the country,” current Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said in a statement in praise of the retiring Sirb. “During his 33 years here, Greg has left an indelible mark on innumerable athletes through the sports and events he’s overseen.”

How many such events have there been during Sirb’s three-decades-plus watch? The man himself can’t give an exact number, but reasonably close estimates are than he has regulated 2,000-plus boxing events and 1,000 or so martial arts shows in Pennsylvania, in addition to supervising combat-sports cards in 21 states and tribal jurisdictions. He also oversees wrestling, nee rasslin’, events, which suits him fine given his stellar work on the mat as a college grappler at Edinboro.

So, what went into the making of Greg Sirb the ring-rattling rebel who was not content to settle for the status quo when he took on a state agency that needed just such a feisty fixer-upper? Well, his family background, and natural temperament, definitely were factors.

“When I was nine or 10 years old my father, who had boxed in the Army, would take me to the gym and that’s what we learned to do, me and my brothers,” he recalled. “It’s just something that I fell in love with. I also fell in love with wrestling. I liked the physicality of those sports, as well as MMA. It’s just a part of my DNA.”

Upon getting his master’s degree in Public Administration from Penn State, the 28-year-old Sirb, a native of Sharon, Pa., got a job in state government, with the Budget and Finance Committee. One of his duties was to audit all the state agencies, one of which was the state athletic commission. He quickly determined that the commission had “a lot of problems,” which led he and his colleagues to write a “not-so-good report about it.” It must have been a convincing document, because legislators basically decided that they were going to address the issue by coming up with a new and improved set of bylaws.

“They rewrote the law and created an executive director position,” said Sirb, noting that the commission was then headed by “executive secretary” Frank Walker, who did not have much authority to enact needed changes. Walker was eventually replaced by an older man who was with the horse racing commission, but he resigned after six weeks and then-Governor Bob Casey Sr., a Democrat, called upon Sirb to fill the vacancy on a trial basis.

“When I took the job I was young,” Sirb noted. “I had to earn my stripes. But I knew boxing – not as well as I know it now, but, boy, I got an education real quick. But I told myself (the commission) would be run a certain way. I did learn a few things, particularly from guys like (promoters) Russell Peltz, Artie Pelullo and Joe Hand Sr. and Jr. Those guys taught me there were a few things I needed to be a little more flexible on, like changing weigh-ins from the day-of to the day-before. With other things, though, I just couldn’t back down.”

Sirb’s status was hardly entrenched, and he wondered if he’d be let go when Casey left office and was replaced by Republican Tom Ridge. “I had to go for an interview and tell him what I did,” Sirb said of Ridge. “Obviously, state athletic commissions aren’t a high priority for any governor. But I was kept on, and (Ridge) was one of the best governors I’ve been with. He was very pro-boxing, came to a lot of the events. He turned out to be a huge fan of the commission.”

It didn’t hurt that Sirb made the PSAC self-sufficient financially, to the extent that the profits were funneled back into the general fund. So he kept on keeping on, making friends and also the occasional contrarian, most of whom he eventually won over. But more recent developments have made Sirb’s responsibilities even more taxing of his time and energy, which contributed to his decision to finally step away after the Sept. 29 fight card in Philly.

“I don’t think many people realize there aren’t many positions like mine,” he said. “I bet there’s less than 20 full-time executive directors of state commissions in the country. You’re working every single weekend, and since ’98 or ’99 I’ve had to deal with licensing athletic agents. With the work I was doing for the ABC, it was literally seven days a week. That phone never stopped ringing. But (Josh) Shapiro is my seventh governor. I just figured, let’s just get a new guy in here (as executive director of the PSAC) with a new governor.”

So, what’s next for the Energizer Bunny who felt he needed some much-deserved time off?

“I’m kind of mulling over some offers,” Sirb said. “I might do some consulting with (the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania). It’s going to be hard, though, just walking away from something I’ve done for 33 years. There is interesting stuff I can do, but that’s not going to be for a couple of months.”

Bernard Fernandez, named to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the Observer category with the Class of 2020, was the recipient of numerous awards for writing excellence during his 28-year career as a sports writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. Fernandez’s first book, “Championship Rounds,” a compendium of previously published material, was released in May of last year. The sequel, “Championship Rounds, Round 2,” with a foreword by Jim Lampley, is currently out. His third boxing anthology, “Championship Rounds, Round 3,” is now out and available from Amazon and other book-selling outlets.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 1,945

Bernard Fernandez

Up Next

Avila Perspective, Chap, 254: Canelo, Jim Lampley and More Boxing

Don't Miss

International Brotherhood of Prizefighters Rankings: Week of October 1, 2023

The Murder of Samuel Teah Calls to Mind Other Boxers Who Were Homicide Victims

Published

2 days ago

November 27, 2023

Arne K. Lang

The-Murder-of-Samuel-Teah-Calls-to-Mind-Other-Boxers-Who-Were-Homicide-Victims

There will be a boxing show this Friday at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena, a low-budget card featuring the return of former IBF 130-pound world title-holder Tevin Farmer. During the event, there will assuredly be a somber moment when those in attendance stand and silently pay homage to Samuel Teah as the timekeeper tolls the traditional 10-bell farewell. Teah passed away last week on Black Friday, Nov. 24, another victim of America’s epidemic of gun violence. He was 36 years old.

Teah was shot in the mid-afternoon during an altercation that spilled onto the sidewalk of a street in Wilmington, Delaware, and died at a Wilmington hospital. As of this writing, there’s been no arrest, but the shooting was apparently not random. A bus driver for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, Teah was purportedly in Wilmington (roughly 35 miles from his home in Philadelphia) to visit the mother of his child.

Samuel Teah fought as recently as this past May when he suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of journeyman Andrew Rodgers at a show in Pennsylvania’s Newton Township, reducing his record to 19-5-1. Two months earlier he had spoiled the undefeated record of Enriko Gogokhia, an Egis Klimas fighter (think Oleksandr Usyk and Vasily Lomachenko) on a card in Ontario, California. This embellished his reputation as a spoiler. Earlier in his career, he had spoiled the undefeated record of O’Shaquie Foster, winning an 8-round unanimous decision over the man that currently reigns as the WBC world super featherweight champion.

What made Teah’s death more tragic, if that were possible, were all the tragedies that he had overcome. He was born in Liberia when that country was embroiled in a civil war. The family escaped to a refugee camp in Ghana and eventually reached the United States, settling first in New York and then Philadelphia. On the day after Christmas in 2008, when Teah was 21 and working at a Home Depot, he lost six members of his family in a fire that swept his mother’s West Philadelphia duplex after a kerosene heater exploded.

For some, Teah’s violent death may call to mind the murder of another Philadelphia boxer, Tyrone Everett.

That’s an awkward comparison.

Tyrone Everett was a world-class fighter. Six months before he was shot dead by his girlfriend in May of 1977, Everett, then 34-0, lost a 15-round split decision to Puerto Rico’s Alfredo Escalera in a failed bid to win Escalera’s WBC junior lightweight title, a decision so rancid that it stands among the worst decisions of all time. Moreover, the circumstances of Everett’s murder were sordid. His girlfriend, no stranger to the police, fatally shot him after finding him with a transvestite and there was heroin in the apartment they shared. (Editor’s note: For more on this incident, check out the new book by TSS contributor Sean Nam: “Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, Fixed Fights, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing” available on Amazon).

Samuel Teah was no Tyrone Everett. A man of deep faith, Sam’s positive attitude, despite all his tribulations, was infectious. “Everyone liked Teah,” said prominent Philadelphia sports journalist Joe Santoliquito who, upon hearing of Teah’s death, tweeted, “he will always have a special place in my heart.”

While the circumstances are different in every case, Teah joins a long list of boxers who met a violent death. If we limit the list to fighters who were still active at the time of their passing, here are four that jump immediately to mind.

Stanley Ketchel

The fabled Michigan Assassin, Ketchel met his maker on Oct. 15, 1910, at a ranch in Conway, Missouri. In the immortal words of John Lardner, “Stanley Ketchel was twenty-four years old when he was fatally shot in the back by the common-law husband of the lady who was cooking his breakfast.”

Battling Siki

Famed for knocking out Georges Carpentier when the “Orchid Man” held the world light heavyweight title, Siki was only 28 years old when he was gunned down in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan on Dec. 15, 1925, but by then the Senegal-born Frenchman had already degenerated into a trial horse. Siki’s body was found in the middle of the street with two bullets in his back fired at close range by an assailant, never identified, who was thought to be avenging a beating he suffered at one of the speakeasies that Siki was known to frequent.

Oscar Bonavena

At age 33, Oscar Bonavena was still an active boxer when he was gunned down on May 22, 1976, on the outskirts of Reno, Nevada, at the front gate of the infamous Mustang Ranch, a legal brothel. Bonavena had come up short in his biggest fights, losing a 15-round decision to Joe Frazier and losing by TKO in the 15^th round to Muhammad Ali, but the rugged Argentine was still a major player in the heavyweight division.

The shooter was a bodyguard for the brothel’s owner Joe Conforte, and rumor has that Conforte was the de facto triggerman, having Bonavena assassinated because the boxer was having an affair with Conforte’s 59-year-old wife Sally who was also Bonavena’s manager of record at this point in the boxer’s career. The story about it spawned “Love Shack,” a 2010 movie that despite a seemingly can’t-miss storyline and a formidable cast (Joe Pesci played Joe and Helen Mirren played Sally) proved to be a box-office dud.

Vernon Forrest

While all homicides are tragic, some are more distressing than others and the death of Vernon Forrest on July 25, 2009, was particularly gut-wrenching. Forrest was shot twice in the back by would-be robbers with whom he exchanged gunfire on July 25, 2009 at a gas station in Atlanta.

Forget the fact that Forrest was a two-division title-holder who had regained the WBC world super welterweight title in his most recent fight with a lopsided decision over Sergio Mora. Few in the sport were as widely admired. His philanthropic work included establishing group homes in Atlanta for the mentally disabled. His death came just two weeks after the death of Arturo Gatti who left the sport following a loss by TKO to Alfonso Gomez in July of 2007 and died under suspicious circumstances at age 37 at a hotel in Brazil.

We here at The Sweet Science send our condolences to Samuel Teah’s family and loved ones. May he rest in peace.

Post Views: 1,482

Benavidez Dismantles Andrade: Will Canelo Be Next?

Published

4 days ago

November 25, 2023

Arne K. Lang

Benavidez-Dismantles-Andrade-Will-Canelo-Be-Next?

SHOWTIME aired its final pay-per-view event tonight with a show that aired from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The four-fight PPV card included world title fights in the 140 and 130-pound divisions, plus an interim title fight at 168 and the return of former two-division title-holder Jarmall Charlo. The interim title fight was a battle of unbeatens between David Benavidez and Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade and that was the featured attraction.

Benavidez, 26, is big for the weight class and lived up to his new nickname, “El Monstro.” He had too much firepower for the 35-year-old Andrade, a 2008 Beijing Olympian who began his pro career at 154 and had won world titles in two lower weight classes. His big moment came in the waning seconds of round four when he knocked Andrade to his knees with a sweeping right hand. The fight turned brutally one-sided at that point although one of the judges had Benavidez ahead by only one point when the sixth round ended. But there would be no seventh round. Andrade’s corner wisely stopped the fight.

A consensus 7/2 favorite in man-to-man betting, Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) began his pro career in Mexico at age 16. In his post-fight interview, he called out Canelo Alvarez while brashly predicting that he would be a legend before he left the sport (and you’ll get no argument from this corner). It was the first pro loss for Andrade (32-1).

Co-Feature

Jermall Charlo returned to the ring after a 29-month absence and scored a lopsided 10-round decision over Jose Benavidez Jr. The judges had it 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.

This bout was slated for the catch-weight of 163 pounds. Charlo came in overweight (166.4) but the match went ahead. Benavides Jr, a world title challenger during his days as a welterweight, had his moments, but was outclassed by Charlo who advanced his record to 33-0 (22). Benavidez falls to 28-3-1.

Matias-Ergashev

In what shaped up as the most action-packed fight of the night, 31-year-old Puerto Rican Subriel Matias retained his IBF 140-pound title, battering Shohjahon Ergashev into submission in a match that was halted by Ergashev’s corner two seconds into the sixth round. The heavy-handed Ergashev, who was undefeated heading in, dominated the first round-and-a-half, but Matias (20-1, 20 KOs) gradually wore him down.

Matias, who avenged his lone defeat to Petros Ananyan with a dominant showing in the rematch, had become something of a forgotten man in the talent-rich 140-pound weight class, but tonight he showed that he belongs among the elite in the division. It was the first pro loss for Egrashev (23-1, 20 KOs), a southpaw from Uzbekistan who fights out of Detroit and had SugarHill Steward (formally Javan “Sugar” Hill) in his corner.

Garcia-Roach

In the pay-per-view opener, Lamont Roach (24-1-1, 9 KOs) wrested the WBA 130-pound title from Hector Garcia (16-2) with a well-earned split decision. The judges had it 116-111 and 144-113 for Roach with the dissenter favoring Garcia 114-113.

A 32-year-old Dominican southpaw, Garcia was making the first defense of the title he won from Roger Gutierrez, a belt he was allowed to keep after moving up to lightweight to challenge Gervonta Davis, a bout he lost on a ninth-round stoppage. Roach, an underdog in the betting making his first start in 16 months, had come up short in a previous world title fight, losing a decision to Jamel Herring in 2019.

Roach was trailing on two of the scorecards through 10 rounds in what had been a ho-hum fight. But he cranked up the juice in the homestretch, rocking Garcia in the 11^th and flooring him with a right hook in the final stanza. Take away that knockdown (an illegal punch as it landed behind Roach’s head), and Garcia would have retained his belt with a draw.

Non-PPV

In his first start at 140 pounds, Puerto Rico’s Michel Rivera rebounded from his first pro loss (a wide decision at the hands of Frank Martin) with a unanimous 10-round decision over Sergey Lipinets. The judges had it 96-94 and 97-93 twice. Rivera, who improved to 25-1 (14) patterns his style and his persona after Muhammad Ali with whom he bears a strong facial resemblance.

It was the first fight in 16 months for the 34-year-old Lipinets (17-3-1), from SoCal via Kazakhstan. He rarely took a backward step but it wasn’t effective aggression.

In the opener on Showtime’s YouTube channel. 21-year-old super welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr, now trained by Ronnie Shields, scored the best win of his career, advancing to 16-1 (11 KOs). The pride of Vineland, NJ, Mielnicki had Alexis Salazar on the canvas three times before the match was halted at the 2:27 mark of the opening stanza. Guadalajara’s Salazar (25-6) had been stopped only once previously.

Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 970

Katie Taylor Turns the Tables on Chantelle Cameron in a Dublin Blockbuster

Published

4 days ago

November 25, 2023

David A. Avila

Katie Taylor Turns the Tables on Chantelle Cameron in a Dublin Blockbuster

Underdogs win too.

Katie Taylor changed tactics and changed the outcome to defeat her conqueror Chantelle Cameron by majority decision and become undisputed super lightweight champion on Saturday.

“Two weight undisputed champion, that sounds great,” said Taylor.

It took six months but the sold-out crowd in Dublin, Ireland saw Taylor (23-1) avenge a loss to Cameron (18-1) and re-assume her position as one of the leaders of the female fight world.

It was a different Taylor who returned to Ireland and this time she brought changes against the younger, stronger Cameron that proved effective.

At first it looked grim for Taylor who resumed her style of speed combinations and was met with jolting left jabs from Cameron. One jab actually delivered Taylor to the canvas but a slip of the foot was caught by the referee.

In the second round Taylor showed her cards.

Using her speed and agility, Taylor used her own jabs and movement to score and then would suddenly clinch both arms. And in between clinches, quick uppercuts and rights scored.

It was the recipe used by the Irish fighter for the remainder of the fight.

The change in tactics by Taylor took away Cameron’s most effective weapon, her strong left jab. Unable to use that weapon, she dove in looking to use her strength and was butted by Taylor in the third round. A deep bloody gash on the forehead of Cameron formed quickly.

Cameron never quit attacking and finally found success in the fourth and fifth rounds with pounding body shots. It seemed to slow her opponent down, who had been busier until the body attack slowed her volume.

Both tried their best to control the rounds. Taylor used her hit-and-clinch recipe while Cameron pounded the body and used her strength inside. The best round erupted in the seventh as both unleashed wicked combinations and uppercuts.

The crowd roared its approval.

All that furious action seemed to drain Taylor and allowed Cameron to overpower her with body shots in the eighth. It also forced Taylor to grab Cameron every time she got close. It became so obvious that the referee warned Taylor to stop holding.

A tired Taylor seemed ready to be taken over, but somehow she mustered enough energy to sling quick combos and clinch. Cameron tried avoiding the clinches but was not able to find a solution.

Taylor closed out the fight with speed combinations as Cameron looked to end the fight with one big blow that never arrived. A spent Taylor looked relieved at the final bell as Cameron could not land the big one.

After 10 rounds one judge scored it 95-95 while two others saw it 98-92 and 96-94 for Taylor who becomes undisputed super lightweight champion.

“Whoever wrote me off you don’t know me very well,” said Taylor. “Tonight, you saw the real me. When I’m boxing no one can beat me.”

The win by Taylor sets up a trilogy with Cameron.

“I don’t think there has ever been a trilogy in women’s boxing. This would be the first,” said Taylor.

2024 look out.

Nicolson Wins

Australia’s Skye Nicolson (9-0) controlled every round over Sweden’s Lucy Wildheart (10-3) by hitting and moving against the slow-moving fighter and eventually won by stoppage in the ninth round to retain an interim featherweight title.

Nicolson proved too fast and agile for Wildheart who seemed a second slower and was punished by counter shots. Eventually a bloody nose forced Wildheart’s corner to stop the fight at 1:11 of the ninth round.

The speedy featherweight Nicolson is the number one contender for undisputed champion Amanda Serrano.

Other Bouts

Ireland’s Gary Cully (17-1, 10 KOs) won by split decision over Reece Mould (18-2, 6 KOs) to return to the victory column after suffering a knockout loss six months ago in the same arena.

Cully, a tall lightweight, started slowly but soon found his rhythm and used uppercuts and movement to offset the hard-charging Mould. There were no knockdowns in the back-and-forth battle with two judges favoring Cully 97-93, 96-93 and one for Mould 97-93.

“I’m back baby and it feels good,” said Cully who was stopped by Mexico’s Jose Felix six months ago.

Speed southpaw Paddy Donovan (12-0, 9 KOs) knocked out Danny Ball (13-2-1) in their welterweight clash with a left to the body in the fourth round. He first dropped Ball with an overhand left during an exchange.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 939