Just like the blazing July weather in Southern California, the World Boxing Hall of Fame (WBHF) is sizzling with exciting events planned in the upcoming months.
At a gathering in L.A. this past weekend, the nonprofit organization–led by President and former fighter Armando Muñiz–had a lot on the agenda as new announcements were made about future fundraisers that will be open to the public.
The second half of the year is full of plans galore, all in the name of honoring past and current boxers.
The Board of Directors just held a successful fundraising effort and is now gearing up for not one, but two golf tournaments in September and the jewel in their crown–the Banquet of Champions held in October.
First up at the luncheon was choosing the lucky Grand Prize winner in a raffle organized by board member Frank Martinez. “I had this idea to generate funds for our upcoming banquet,” the corrections officer explains. “And the great thing is…is that someone’s gonna win the tickets today!”
And what were the coveted tickets for?
The chosen one receives two tickets to the September bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez, $200 in cash and complimentary hotel accommodations at the Las Vegas Hilton. Beating the odds, the winner will see the fight (broadcast on HBO PPV) in person.
The raffle tickets turned out brisk sales with the return of “Money” Mayweather and a great undercard on schedule. The postponed and still highly-anticipated Rocky Juarez-Chris John bout will now take place on this night, along with a matchup between Zab Judah and Matthew Hatton. Word on the street is that the return of Victor Ortiz may also happen on this card. With all this action planned, the MGM Grand will be the place to be on September 19 (originally slated for July 18).
President Muñiz got a with a helpful assist from board member Richard Perry’s daughter, Rickie, who helped the former Olympian pick out the winning entry from a whopping field of 500 drawing tickets. Another board member, Alex Cornejo, videotaped the procession while the packed room waited anxiously for the name to be announced.
After a dramatic pause, Marcus Andrews is the lucky guy who will be heading to Vegas for the big fight. At the function, President Muñiz personally called this fortunate winner with the good news.
The WBHF will also be holding two golf events in the near future. On tap will be their evening golf tournament in the San Jacinto area, helmed by board members Paul Ritchie and Richard Perry. “I’m working on our golf tournament which will be on September 4,” Ritchie says. “It’s rollin’ now, and will be a great nighttime event on the Friday before Labor Day. It will be a lot of fun!”
Perry adds, “We just held our Cops4Kids night golf tournament with glow-in-the-dark golf balls. It was great! It’s all different colors of balls: blue, yellow, green, all different colors flying all over!” All ages are welcome to participate in the September 4 evening event.
On September 12, duffers will also be able to play in the 8th Annual Tournament of Champions, which will take place in the Coachella Valley. This year’s celebrity tourney will be a Pro-Am event being planned by fighter Ruben Castillo.
And mark your calendars now with the date of October 24 for the 30th Annual Banquet of Champions.
This is their main fundraiser of the year with the awards dinner to be held at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott. Muñiz, his Executive Committee and the Board of Directors have turned in their ballots and the Class of 2009 honorees were revealed.
Joining the roster of ring immortals will be 2009 Boxer Inductees: Bantamweight champ Orlando Canizales, WBC, NABF, and WBA titlist Rafael Herrera, “The Dutch Destroyer” Lucia Rijker and South African featherweight champ Brian Mitchell.
Voted in as Expanded Category Inductees is Showtime’s and IBN Sports’ Al Bernstein, referee/judge Dr. James Jen Kim and Argentinean trainer Amilcar Brusa.
Special posthumous awards will be presented at the fall ceremony too.
Muñiz just arrived back from a trip to Mexico where he met with WBC officials and Alberto Reyes of the famed Cleto-Reyes gloves. “Jose Sulaiman and Mauricio Sulaiman really gave us a lot of support. They held a press conference to announce our banquet,” said Muñiz. “A lot of fighters and champs came out and it was held in the tallest building in Mexico City! They are very excited about Rafael Herrera’s induction this year.
“It was held on the 51st floor of the Torre Mayor building and 15 ex-champs who live in the area came out, along with the sports press in Mexico.”
The WBHF president, who began his new term in January, is also proud to induct the first female fighter into the hall. There have been other ladies inducted, but Lucia Rijker will be the first female in the boxer category. “We’re getting a lot of interest about Lucia,” states Muñiz. “A lot of people from around the world are planning to come out to see her.”
The West Coast organization is made up of individuals who have contributed to the sport and must be voted in as a board member.
Many are current working members in the boxing industry like referees and judges Lou Filippo, Marty Denkin, Jack Reiss, and Gwen Adair, former pro fighters Muñiz and Rick Farris, boxing trainer and WBHF Treasurer Josie Arrey-Mejia (Bell Gardens Police Dept. Youth Boxing), trainer and award-winning artist Steve Harpst (Burbank Boxing Club), Richard Perry and Paul Ritchie, who help plan charity boxing shows benefiting at-risk kids, cutman “Indian” Willie Schunke, and current fighter 51-year-old Hassan Chitsaz (Iranian-American heavyweight champ).
Notable attendees at the Saturday function were former WBHF Presidents Filippo, Dr. Joe Noriega, and Adolfo Perez and Executive Vice President Julian Eget.
Founded in 1979 by Everett L. Sanders, their motto is “Where Champions Live Forever…” and plans are to build a museum to pay tribute to past and current legends of the ring.
President Muñiz has been on the board since 1980 and previously held presidency in 2005-2006. He has seen a lot of changes through the decades and the Internet and technology push is just one new way for fans to be able to follow the organization. The WBHF is now part of the Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook nation and soon you will have the opportunity to view their latest happenings.
The WBHF plans to offer live streaming videos from a few of their upcoming events. The group also announced their brand new website recently launched. Fans worldwide can now check on event and news updates at http://www.newwbhf.com
Stay tuned to this column for more exciting announcements as the WBHF continues to host events for fighters, champs, and boxing fans around the world.
Photos by Michele Chong:
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