"To sanction," used as a transitive verb, translates "to give effective or authoritative approval or consent to." The operative adjectives in that definition are "effective" and "authoritative." A sanctioning body should provide effective and authoritative oversight to the people, places and things that the body is charged with overseeing. Sanctioning bodies have been in and around the sport of boxing almost from the days of bare-knuckle bouts on barges. And like so much about the sport, the range of achievement of boxing sanctioning bodies has been mixed. Sanctioning bodies are adjudged much like referees, generally considered to be doing a good job when nobody notices them. Recently, the WBC, one of the leading sanctioning bodies in the sport of Women's boxing, got noticed.

The WBC was the sanctioning authority for the proposed Christy Martin/Jane Couch bout scheduled for Monaco in the Fall. Martin and Couch are both coming to the end of long and proud careers as pathfinders in the sport of Women's boxing in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively. A matchup between these two legacy fighters, even at this point in their careers, had all the markings of a marquee main event. The promoter of the bout was announced as Starbox, a Montreal promotion company with, to put it kindly, limited experience in the sport of Women's boxing. Such a choice prompted several boxing community questions as to the capability of Starbox to promote a big time fight in a distant venue. The WBC, however, appeared content in the belief of the viability of the bout and the promoter. The announcement of the cancellation of the Martin/Couch fight came early last week.

"Commercial reasons," was the explanation, according to Jane Couch, that Starbox provided for canceling the bout. Christy Martin, true to her straight-from-the-shoulder nature, was considerably more direct and vociferous in expressing her dismay at the turn of events and the promoter. Martin issued a press release headlined, "Promoter Drops Ball on Martin/Couch." Not only was Martin's reaction to the cancellation somewhat more direct than Couch's, it seemed to work considerably better from an accuracy standpoint. In retrospect, it is fair to question whether Starbox was in over it's promotional head with a bout the size and magnitude of Martin/Couch. And it's only fair to question where was the WBC as this bout careened toward cancellation. Not only did the sanctioning body remain conspicuously silent, one might wonder whether the WBC, the ostensible boxing authority, might have done a bit more due diligence in selecting a promoter capable of staging Martin/Couch.

The NABF is an adjunct of the WBC and has been active in the sport of Women's boxing for several years. The organization recently put together a featherweight championship bout, set for August 3, in the Atlanta suburb of Doraville, for the vacant NABF title, between Melissa Hernandez and Brooke Dierdorff. The promoter of the event was Gladiator X Promotions. The bout matched two of the rising female boxers in the featherweight division. Hernandez and Dierdorff are not Martin and Couch, at least not yet. But the ten round bout seemed to promise bell/bell action between two nonstop fighters. That promise came empty when the fight was canceled several days prior to the bout.

The reason, "medical issues" with Melissa Hernandez, was later expanded by Hernadez when the fighter related that those "issues" centered on an MRI for the boxer, specifically the timing and the administrative details of the test, including responsibility for payment of the medical test. Adding to this chaotic situation were additional complications over travel plans to the fight venue. As with the Martin/Couch bout, the situation in Georgia called for oversight by a third party with the ability to mediate and solve the issues and confusion between the fighter and the promoter. That, in a word, seems to an observer, the job description of a boxing sanctioning body. In this case, it appears that the NABF became aware of the problems between the promoter and Melissa Hernadez at a point too late to salvage the situation. The logical question? Why?

In the case of both these bouts, Martin/Couch in Monaco and Hernandez/Dierdorff in Georgia, the primary responsibility is, as it is with every bout, with the promoter of the boxing cards, Starbox and Gladiator X, respectively. However, it can be validly questioned whether these bouts could have been saved if the sanctioning body, the WBC and the NABF, respectively, had exercised more proactive supervision: investigation into the capability of a promoter to stage a major bout in Monaco and supervision of the countless administrative details and medical requirements for the bout in Georgia. "People seldom do what you expect, they usually do what you inspect" is a cliche, and like all cliches, it has more than a modicum of truth to it. A bit more inspection in both these cases might have resulted in two very good boxing matches going on as scheduled.

Hindsight is always easy and crystal clear and the staging of a boxing card, whether in Georgia or Monaco is a difficult and detailed endeavor. But, in both cases, it seems at least arguable that just a bit more oversight might have succeeded in salvaging the bouts. Instead, the sport and the fans of the sport of Women's boxing and four very good fighters are left clinging to the hope that some savvy, knowledgeable promoter might see the value of putting two of the best female boxers in the history of the sport in the ring and also that the NABF follows on it's vow to "re-stage (Hernandez/Dierdorff) at the earliest date and venue." Because here's a fact, the real shame is that two very good female boxing bouts got canceled and the last time I looked there wasn't an overload of bouts like Martin/Couch and Hernandez/Dierdorff on the horizon of Women's boxing. "What ifs" are easy, particularly after the fact, but what if, the next time bouts like Martin/Couch and Hernandez/Dierdorff are put together, the arrangements and details of those bouts are closely supervised, from start to finish, by the sanctioning body in charge of the bout?

In truth, this is not about the WBC or the NABF, who are in the main, composed of dedicated boxing people committed to the sport. And that's true of the majority of sanctioning bodies throughout boxing. Neither is this about the vagaries of the boxing promotion business and the difficulty in staging a big time boxing card. This is not about the past, it's about the future. It's about every sanctioning body in the sport of Women's boxing and the need for those organizations to do much more than simply provide a label for a bout and then award a gaudy belt to the winner. This is about, first and foremost, protecting the interests of the fighters. Because without the fighters there is no sport. And, in reality, sanctioning bodies are often the first, and sometimes the last, line of protection for the fighters. This is about proactive diligence on the part of sanctioning bodies. Proactive diligence that will go a long way towards making sure bouts, good bouts, happen. It's about providing sanction, in the fullest meaning of the word, to the sport of Women's boxing. It's about providing "effective and authoritative" oversight to a sport that needs it in full measures. It's about putting the sport of Women's boxing on a path to success. It's about sanctioning bodies sanctioning.

 

#          #          #          #

For Online IWBHF Tickets for Next Event!

Check Our Next Annual International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame Event that we have to celebrate hour IWBHF Inductees and Special Award  Recipients!  Next Event, Go Here!

Our Online WBAN/IWBHF Online Store

Proceeds from the Online Store is to continue our mission to support the INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S BOXING HALL OF FAME. The Official collection includes IWBHF and WBAN Merchandise and Memorabilia from the WBAN Boxing Collection. We will continue to list items from the collection and merchandise.