[kenyan_cheena]

LAS VEGAS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Tuesday, 28 March, 2006

MOLK INTRODUCES IBL
ASSOCIATES AT MGM

Story by Geoff Hurst

Showing that his January announcement was merely a prelude Vegas businessman James Molk offically introduced his International Boxing League to the world yesterday afternoon, holding a press conference in one of the cavernous meeting rooms at his MGM Grand casino. Molk's words from January were proven to be absolutely on the money as he was joined by a quartet of individuals who will no doubt lend a great deal of clout to the IBL, none moreso than New York real estate and investment tycoon Michael Vincennes. He is the owner of the New York Age newspaper, one of the wealthiest men in America and a self-confessed fanatic of both his hometown Brooklyn Dodgers and the sweet science. Sports journalist James Reynolds is a long-time writer for the Age and has penned a number of articles publicising the IBL ever since Molk unveiled it in January. The reasons behind his promotion of the new organisation are now much, much clearer and it goes without saying that the league will continue to enjoy the publication's favour in the months and years to come.

Ohio industrialist James Harrison has been a good friend of Molk's for a number of years and was only too happy to help him in his new venture. Harrison is also a major stockholder in cable television channel Home Box Office and Molk revealed that the International Boxing League has signed a deal where HBO will broadcast each and every card of the league's upcoming world championship tournaments. Harrison has had experience in the area of sports administration as he was a part-owner of the Cincinnati Reds in the early '90s. He expressed his excitement at being involved in what he believes will be "the rebirth of boxing" under James Molk's leadership.

The other two members of Molk's team are both former world champion boxers and two of the sport's greatest fighters from the past twenty years. Born and raised in Harlem Leroy Grant was a world champion in the super-middleweight and light-heavyweight divisions, claiming five individual title belts over the course of the eight years from '89 through '97 and finishing his thirteen-year career with a record of 55-4-1(41). The involvement of Mexican legend Israel Martinez in the IBL had already been publicised before yesterday's announcement but that didn't stop the three-division champion being present at the MGM. Martinez claimed titles in the junior-lightweight, lightweight and junior-welterweight classes, including a fantastic run of six years as WBA lightweight king starting in 1982. Martinez boasts a career record of 62-7-2(44) and has been instrumental in the IBL's recruitment push as he's convinced a number of fighters from his homeland, South America and the Caribbean to sign with the league.

Introduced as the International Boxing League President Molk didn't mince words as he kicked off the conference, opening with a ten-minute verbal assault on the failures of the "alphabet" organisations. Molk targeted a number of issues including sanctioning fees, inconsistencies with rankings, the number of fighters currently branded as "world champions" and the "astonishing corruption" that has crippled the sport for far too long. During one passionate stretch he spoke of how the term "undisputed champion" is an indictment on the sport's credibility as it was an admission that none of the alphabet champions were really champions anyway. He also mentioned the recent Marquez-Ortiz lightweight unification bout, saying that while it was a great night for the sport such nights are far too rare and "the exception rather than the norm".

Molk then explained how the IBL will "restore boxing to its former glory", revealing that every fighter who signs with the organisation will be paid a weekly salary and be automatically entered into a superannuation scheme where the league would pay 10% of their gross earnings into a fund that could be accessed once they had retired from the sport. The salary and superannuation would be in addition to the prize money competitors earn from fights but Molk warned that as in any other business those who underperform would feel the effect of that when the time comes to negotiate a new contract. Molk claimed that unlike the WBA and other sanctioning bodies the league will be a completely self-sufficient entity, meaning that not only will it sanction bouts but also promote them, eliminating the need to be associated with the many shady promoters who have financially plundered the sport over the years.

The IBL President went into detail on how the league would be structured, saying that in an attempt to return the sport to "the way it once was" the IBL will not employ the "junior" weight classes such as junior-lightweight and junior-middleweight. It will feature nine weight classes, starting at heavyweight (200 lbs and above) and descending to junior-heavyweight (more commonly known as cruiserweight, up to 200 lbs), light-heavyweight (up to 175 lbs), middleweight (up to 160 lbs), welterweight (up to 147 lbs), lightweight (up to 135 lbs), featherweight (up to 126 lbs), bantamweight (up to 118 lbs) and flyweight (112 lbs and below). The league's goal is to establish itself quickly, Molk revealing that each of the nine weight classes would have three different championship belts up for grabs. These are the World Championship and two regional titles, the Americas Championship and Inter-Continental Championship.

Fighters from North America, South America and the Caribbean would be eligible to contest the Americas title while the Inter-Continental belt would encompass Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Molk was asked why the IC title had such a broad scope and his reply was that having a wide range of fighters able to challenge for the regional titles would make them more sought after. The two regional champions would earn a shot at the World Championship if they successfully defended their title five times, another factor that will make them a prized possession. He also said that the league had no desire to be weighed down by an assortment of titles, stating that one of the issues that has turned the public away from the sport is "the myriad of championships that exist, even amongst each individual organisation".

Starting in early June the IBL will run single-elimination tournaments to crown champions in each division. The World Championship tournament will feature eight contestants while sixteen fighters are to compete for each of the two regional titles. The league also plans to run a 16-man "challenger's tournament" in each division, the winner of which will take on the inaugural world champion in their first title defense. The most established and accomplished fighters in each weight class will be placed in the world championship and challenger's tournaments while the less experienced have the chance to claim one of the regional titles. According to Molk these tournaments should take "just over seven months" to complete. With 56 fighters competing in each division the IBL will need to sign 504 fighters and Molk confirmed that they are already "more than halfway there".

In addition to his four associates Molk had arranged to have a trio of the sport's current up-and-coming fighters present at the conference. Each of them won gold in Athens and have made impressive starts to their professional careers since then and, of course, have signed contracts with the IBL. They were Texas-born heavyweight Jack Johnson, Mexican featherweight Salvador Sanchez and Canadian cruiserweight Sam Langford. Each of them fielded questions from the large media contingent before posing for photos with Molk and his quartet. In particular they took up good natured fighting stances with both Grant and Martinez, 18 year-old Sanchez appearing awestruck in the presence of a man he described as "his hero and inspiration". It was certainly an entertaining ending to what was an impressive introduction to Molk's ambitious creation...