[kenyan_cheena]

The New York Age

WEDNESDAY, 11 JANUARY, 2006

VEGAS CASINO KING
UNVEILS PLAN FOR
NEW BOXING ORGANISATION

Story by James Reynolds

The world of professional boxing received an unexpected shot of intrigue yesterday when Las Vegas businessman James Molk announced plans to establish a new organisation that will operate in direct competition with the sport's existing sanctioning bodies, such as the World Boxing Association. It will be known as the International Boxing League and, in the words of Molk himself, "will endeavour to return boxing to the days when the heavyweight championship was the greatest prize in sports and the American public adored and followed it with a devotion only equaled by baseball." Molk spoke openly and confidently of his ambitions for the IBL, saying that in the years to come he expects the organisation to become the "premier sanctioning body" running the sport.

"I don't need to express my disappointment when it comes to the terrible way in which this great sport has been administered for so many years now," Molk said. "Because my disappointment is the same disappointment that so many others who have followed boxing also feel. It's a source of great frustration but I will say right now, on this the day of its birth, that the International Boxing League will be built on a strong, rock-solid foundation of integrity. We will, above all else, uphold the integrity of the sport and it's brave combatants, who will be treated with more regard than at any time during boxing's entire history."

Molk made the announcement at a pre-arranged press conference held at his own casino, the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip. He went on to reveal that since last September he had engaged in extensive conversations and meetings with associates in various businesses throughout the United States and a number of former boxing greats as to their interest in assisting him in his venture. He had received positive feedback and commitments from a group of prominent individuals whose involvement and backing of the IBL will make it "a financial powerhouse." Molk declined to name names but assured the gathered media throng that such information, in addition to further details on the IBL, will be made available in time.

Born and raised in the Ventura County city of Oxnard Molk is the son of the late owner and founder of the Los Angeles Dragons baseball club, Kelvin Molk. After attending UCLA Molk followed his father's footsteps and entered into the casino business, where Kelvin had made his fortune before becoming involved in baseball. But James did not want to benefit from the favouritism that his father's name would have brought, making it a priority to become a success on his own terms. In doing this he legally changed his name to James Oakley before moving to Vegas. James went by the name for almost fifteen years, only reverting to his original moniker after successfully establishing himself. Now just three months short of his 51st birthday James Molk has carved out a business empire that, at the very least, rivals the accomplishments of his father.

It will be interesting to see and hear how boxing's established sanctioning bodies react to Molk's announcement. There's next to no chance that their responses will be favourable, especially considering some of the fighting words that Molk spoke yesterday. The "alphabet" organisations and the promoters attached to them have ruled the sport unopposed since the early '80s and there's no doubt that they won't appreciate Molk's attempt to rock the boat. Their incompetence and corruption has gone mostly unchecked but James Molk and his associates might end up being just the antidote that boxing needs...