Report/Photos: Boxing Bob Newman
The final day of the 52nd NABF convention in Las Vegas kicked off at 9:00 am in the Versailles Ballroom at the Paris Hotel.
The first was NABF treasurer and world-class referee Laurence Cole. He presented the new NABF website (https://nabfnews.com/), managed by the Cleto Reyes boxing team.
Retired DEA agent Rocky Herron, now the WBC Drug Prevention Ambassador, delivered a hard-hitting lecture on the US drug epidemic and specifically the fentanyl problem. Herron has traveled throughout North and South America, working with youth to prevent their possible foray into the world of drugs and alcohol. Herron even went so far as to talk about social media/smartphone addiction and its effect on anxiety and depression in young people. Ironically, with the legalization of marijuana across the US, Herron noted that 1980s marijuana contained 4% THC, while today’s marijuana contains 25%, with a much more profound and negative effect on the brain human.
After a short break, a locker room instructional scenario was enacted with Kenny Bayless playing the referee, Duane Ford as the supervisor, Jay Nady as the wrestler and Gaby Mancini as the trainer. Bayless was chosen due to his reputation for being lively and vocal in his dressing room instructions. Nady, in his predictable way, posed several vexing questions for the referee, should the opponent foul, etc.
Nady, himself an ABC (Association of Boxing Commissions) instructor, then gave a lecture on the unified rules. He focused on the fouls committed by a fighter, called time out, taking points, called the doctor and communicated with the commission and the judges.
After a lunch break, judges David Sutherland and Tim Cheatham gave a talk on the qualifying criteria. Both men are members of the WBC judging committee. There have been a lot of changes to the scoring criteria when it comes to the WBC. Defense is no longer part of the scoring criteria. Punching, Ring Control/Generalship and Effective Aggression are still important criteria. The term “clean hit” has now been replaced with “scoring hit”. “Fair punching” is considered more of an amateur term. Then the “Mental Meter” was discussed. Close, moderate, decisive and extremely decisive rounds are something that the WBC and NABF have been supporting for several years. In Extreme Decisive, the score can be 10-8 without scoring a knockdown, where a fighter has been overpowered and probably hurt in a round, but did not score effectively. As is the norm, several rounds were shown on video, giving attendees the opportunity to give their scores, close, moderate, decisive or extremely decisive.
Tryouts for ring officials were administered at 2:45.
Tonight we’ll see the “Personality Enhancement” cocktail hour, followed by the annual awards banquet that will officially bring the NABF 52nd Annual Convention to a close.
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