IS BOX REC.COM HAZARDOUS TO A BOXER’S HEALTH?
“Warning: This record may be incomplete/inaccurate and/or the boxer may still be active.” That is the disclaimer BoxRec.com lists when reporting the records of professional fighters.” The following story was researched and written by a fine feature writer at Fight News.com who shall be nameless for now. They refused to run this important story. Along with Aussie Mike Altamura, the pair have done their homework.
NOT BEING CLOSE TO 100% A PROBLEM
While online boxing record database Box Rec has been a welcome addition to the information available to boxing fans on the Internet, the inherent danger that commission officials are assuming the accuracy of their records, and approving fights based on them, could be a very hazardous reality.
SOME RECORDS A BIT “SUSPECT” ALREADY!
Take, for example, super middleweight Lolenga “Lumumba Boy” Mock of the Congo, whose record on Box Rec record stands at a respectable 24-9-1, (10 KO’s). Mock has also won the vacant WBO Intercontinental super middleweight and the vacant WBA International light heavyweight titles against respectable foes. Judging by his Box Rec record, it would be a safe bet Mock would be competitive against any opponent in the world.
CONSIDER THE SOURCE OF THE RESULTS PEOPLE!
However, according to www.FightFax.com, boxing’s only official record keeper, Mock’s verifiable record is really a dismal 4-12, with get this, just 1 KO! A difference of 17 fights with all of the questionable results being reported out of Africa by his former manager, Henrik Risum, who is a Box Rec editor (although he is not listed as one on the home page, Risum has posted over 1100 results to the site).
BOX REC STATS, CAN THEY GET PEOPLE HURT?
Regardless of the fact that he won, how does a fighter with a 4-12 record fight for three (according to Fight Fax, four according to Box Rec) regional titles and end up in the ring with former world champion, but badly faded Charles Brewer? And which records were the WBA and WBO basing their approval of Mock’s title fights on?
BETTER LISTEN TO WHAT THE MAN SAYS!
“The trouble,” says Fight Fax owner Anibal Miramontes, “is that some commissioners in the U.S. and abroad seem to be making fights based on the Box Rec records and that is creating some very gross mismatches that could border on negligence if anything ever went wrong.”
“DOWN UNDER” SCRIBE DOES THE MATH
Australian investigative reporter Mike Altamura, who did an extensive study on the accuracy of Box Rec’s database, agrees. “I found countless examples of fighters with fights on their records that are, at best erroneous and at worst, fabricated. fighters such as Victor Grimaldo; Ruben Poma (after his first three fights in 1989, Poma apparently went on a nine-fight winning streak, not one fight of which appears on his official record. Overall, according to Box Rec, Poma is 22-9-3, (8 KO’s. According to Fight Fax, he is 6-9-2 with NO KO’s; Albert Rossel (whose Box Rec record sports five unofficial fights, all in Peru after his first six fights were reported properly, also in Peru); Tony Hernandez; Freddy Blanco; and Erick Lombardi are all Peruvians, and all have Box Rec records sprinkled with very questionable wins,” he added.
FANS, PROMOTERS, COMMISSIONS, BEING DUPED?
This doesn’t stop with regional title fights either. A Brazilian flyweight named Reginaldo Martins, whose Box Rec record said he was 12-1 when he challenged Omar Andres Narvaez for the WBO (World) flyweight title, was actually just 4-1. Martins lost by TKO in three rounds. How does a fighter with a 4-1 verified record fight for a WBO title? This is not an isolated case. Several fighters with verified records that aren’t acceptable for a world title challenger have fought for world titles for several of the sanctioning bodies.”
AND THEN THERE’S THE “PERUVIAN CONNECTION”
While Altamura says he found no solid evidence of deliberate corruption, he has collected countless more examples of records that are, at least, highly questionable. “All these Peruvian fighters I just listed are managed by Daniel Meza-Cuadra, who you will find posts all their results at BoxRec.com, he’s an editor.” (Meza-Cuadra is also not listed as an editor on the Box Rec homepage). And several sources have confirmed to me that Box Rec has let go of several editors in the past for inputting faked fights, so they’re aware of this. The problem is that even when someone gets caught doing this, the faked fights are often not erased from the record.”
DO HONEST FOLKS MAKE THAT MANY ERRORS?
“It’s hard to prove that anyone is doing anything on purpose,” cautions Fight Fax head Miramontes, “but there are currently over 100 editors with the ability to make changes to records in Box Rec and they include matchmakers, managers and even officials. Imagine if someone with a financial interest in some fighters was allowed to put his own fighters’ results up there and decided to falsify their records to make his guys seem more experienced than they really are and eligible for higher-paying fights. That would be (to say the least) unethical.”
COMMISSIONS NEED TO HEED WARNING
And imagine if some commission official went to Box Rec and saw that a fighter was, for example, 30-3, when in reality, he is only 1-3, and then approved this fighter for a fight against an opponent he doesn’t belong in the ring with, for more money than he would get being paid like the novice, or journeyman, that he is? It’s not fair to fighters who have earned their records in the ring, because these professional losers show up with these inaccurate records that look great on a poster and they are virtually guaranteed to lose.”
FIGHT FAX CHIEFTAIN HAS OTHER ISSUES
Aside from financial concerns, Miramontes also cites safety and legal concerns. “By letting boxers with inaccurate records into fights they are nowhere near prepared for, a commission is putting itself in position for a possible lawsuit. What if the family of some poor boxer who gets hurt finds out that their relative, with only four professional fights, ended up in the ring with a world champion? They’re going to want answers and they’re going to want to know who approved the fight and based on what.”
COMMISSIONS NEED TO REALIZE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY
The head of the Georgia Boxing Commission is Tom Mishou. He says that because of the inaccuracies he finds, he uses Box Rec as a tool to roughly gauge the abilities and resume of a boxer, but not as the last word on approving or disapproving a fight. “I use Box Rec as a preliminary check on boxers who will fight in Georgia,” he explained. “I do not, however, rely on Box Rec and I require all promoters to submit the Fight Fax record before I will approve a match. If other commissions are approving fights based on the Box Rec records, that’s strictly up to them. I wouldn’t want to expose myself to that liability.”
GEORGIA GUY CONTINUES
In addition, Mishou says that not all commissions report official results to Box Rec. “I send results to Fight Fax, according to the Federal law and the Association of Boxing Commissions. But if I started sending out results to everyone who wanted them, I wouldn’t have the time, so I just do what the federal law says. Anibal is right about the dangers of approving fights between world-class boxers and novices with inflated records, but there is another side to the coin that I think Tom Mishou touched on,” said Altamura. “A promoter looking for an easy mark for their fighter to look good against could be unwittingly putting his kid in with a tiger. It works both ways, if a fighter’s Box Rec record says he’s 1-1, and there are many, and he’s actually 15-15, you are essentially putting your green novice in with a hardened veteran and you will never know if you rely on the online record and don’t check the official record. The potential is there for someone to get really hurt.”
THESE ARE THE OFFICIAL RESULTS FOLKS!
Altamura says his research didn’t end with fighters overseas. “There was a show in Waterloo, Iowa on November 27, 2004. The official results according to the commission report are as follows: Brian Fulton KO 1 Curtis Jamison; Jeremy Marts KO 1 Dwan Collier; Maurenzo Smith TKO 1 Arthur Pugh; Jesse Sanders TKO 2 Lonnie Hill; Bruce Rumbolz TKO 1 Elvin Versey and Luis Fuente TKO 1 Oney Hellems.
AND THE BOX REC STATS THAT DON’T MATCH!
Here are the Box Rec results listed for the same show: Brian Fulton KO 1 Curt Jamison; Maurenzo Smith TKO 1 Arthur Pugh; Jesse Sanders TKO 2 Lonnie Hill; Bruce Rumbolz KO 1 Marquette Penelton; Luis Fuente TKO 1 Oney Hellems; Anthony Ivory TKO 4 Alvin Versey; and Travis Fulton KO 1 Dan Wheatly.
ERRORS LIKE THIS JUST AN ACCIDENT?
In just one show, you have two fights that may or may not have happened, and two guys that fought each other listed as having fought two other guys. That’s a considerable difference in the official result and the Box Rec result for a show that happened in the United States.”
THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION FOLKS IS…
While Box Rec has made delving into the histories of boxers past and present as easy as typing in their names, the inherent flaws and possibilities for corruption with having the general public inputting important information are considerable. The disclaimer at the bottom of each fighter’s record says it all. “Warning: This record may be incomplete/inaccurate and/or the boxer may still be active.” Those in charge of ensuring the safety of boxers should always remember to believe it.
***** ************ (Name of proud author witheld)
Note: Special thanks to Mike Altamura. This article was originally submited to Fight News.com. They chose not to print this story that was penned by one of their feature writers. It was then presented by the author to Fight Fax, who in turn sent the article to me for publication. So even though everybody uses Box Rec at times, the feeling here is that you should know the factsl. We thank Karl Freitag of Fight News for his staying true to form (shill?) and not running the story.
CAN YOU SEE NOW THROUGH THE FIGHT NEWS FOG?
Once again when the safety of a boxer is involved, or the fight fan, even if a fighter is getting burned, Fight News won’t tell you the truth. Imagine being this longtime writer, having done hours, if not days of research on this fine story. And then having it all bearout as being factual, and your boss being afraid to print your work! If you are writing at Fight News or anywhere else, and you feel you are being censored, you are welcome here at Ring Talk.com as we look to branch out with new writers. Feel free to send a confidential email to [email protected]
