OCTOBER 2012 Volume 1 Neutral Corner Issue 4 From the Desk of Dr. Charles Butler... On September 21, 2012 the Disci- On September 27, 2012 USA Boxing The plinary Committee of AIBA sent a notice to Mr. received a letter from the USOC threatening Hal Adonis asking him to account for the public decertification of USA Boxing if immediate statements which he made that appear to vio- agreement to a change of governance were Inside this issue: late the principles of Olympism, the articles of not met. This letter included a timeline with- AIBA, the rules and code of conduct of USA in which USA Boxing must meet the required Checks to LBCs Boxing. The legal brief alleges that these change of governance or face dissolution. PAL streaming comments were defamatory to the reputation The letter from the USOC was several pages of AIBA, the sport of boxing, women's boxing in long and contained a laundry list of the past Keeping up with particular, certain minority groups within the failings and mistakes of USA Boxing. In Olympians organization, and inappropriately associated addition to the abbreviated list of our Coaches clinics child-abuse with the sport of boxing. failings, this letter contained the names of Unfortunately, USA Boxing was simultane- two members of our organization, Mr. Hal Junior World ously charged to respond to these same Adonis and Mr. Gary Pliner, who were each Team Open charged violations. Mr. Adonis was granted an specifically cited as partial cause for this de- extension until October 12 to AIBA. USA Boxing certification notice. submitted its response on September 28 to the The demands of the USOC to avoid International Federation, as originally request- immediate decertification included immedi- ed. ate acceptance of a mutually agreed-upon After Mr. Adonis made the alleged state- Advisory Committee which would oversee ments, the Board of USA Boxing voted to the actions of USA Boxing, acceptance of a remove Mr. Adonis as President and Chairman "Transitional Board" as of December 31, of the Board. Colorado law requires that 2012, and the "new governance" which removal from the Board of USA Boxing requires would be acceptable to the USOC and AIBA, a majority vote of the voting electors who and which would be put forward for mutual placed Mr. Adonis on the board. Accordingly, agreement by June 1, 2013. The service of the Board of Directors requested a vote of the the Transitional Board will terminate and the 72 electors to remove Mr. Adonis from the new governance takeover January 1, 2014. board. Fifty-one (51) of the 72 voting members Last Thursday night, your board, after a responded. The majority of the 51 voting very difficult meeting, voted to accept the members cast their ballots to retain Mr. Adonis terms of the USOC to avoid immediate as a board member. For this reason, USA dissolution of USA Boxing. There will be no Boxing is charged as equally guilty in these elections because our entire Board will cease violations of the Olympic principles, AIBA to exist as of January 1, 2013 when the tran- Articles, the Rules of USA Boxing and code of sitional board agreed-upon by the USOC, ethics of USA Boxing. AIBA, and USA Boxing will take control of the These charges create an extremely organization. This is a difficult path to take dangerous situation which could lead to the but please understand that the dissolution of suspension and/or the complete dissolution of USA Boxing would mean the closure of all of USA Boxing for supporting discriminatory re- our gymnasiums, the end all local boxing marks which many have taken as harmful to shows and the loss of recognition of Boxing the reputation of boxing, and many minority as an Olympic sport in the United States. and women’s groups within our organization. Page 2 The Neutral Corner October 2012 From the Desk of Dr. Charles Butler (cont. from pg. 1) This Board of Directors made a difficult decision but I believe the correct one to preserve Boxing, our local clubs, and our ability to compete at all levels. We all share the blame for this situation because of our previous management failures. I and your current Board of Directors are committed to preserving our sport and working to influence the institution of a new governance which will most benefit our members. We recognize that our role in this may be limited because of our current legal position and the authority of the USOC and AIBA, which we will try to influence but cannot dictate. The Board of Directors made a heroic decision. It was not easy for them. It will not be easy for you. They did the right thing. I ask you to give the Board you elected your full support. $1,000 LBC Checks Mailed It is a pleasure to announce that Dr. Charles The Board is supportive of this grant and wants Butler’s motion to provide a $1,000 grant to to emphasize that the direction of these monies each of the LBCs has passed. should be directed towards benefiting the athletes. The Board of Directors passed this motion (8 yes / 3 no / 1 abstain) with the understanding If you have any questions regarding this grant, that each LBC must explain in detail how the please feel free to contact Lynette Smith, USA Boxing grant was used for athlete development and/or Membership Director at 719-866-2311 or at assistance. [email protected]. The purpose of the grant is to provide opportu- nities for the grassroots to grow and implement marketable and educational programs for the members of the LBCs. Voting detail: Yes No Abstain Dr. Charles Butler Hal Adonis Kymmberli Stowe Jeaneene Hildebrandt Gary Pliner Gary Richards Reggie Winston Spence Carpenter Jim Beasley Angel Bovee Mikaela Mayer Ben Peterson USOC AAC ELECTIONS WILL STILL TAKE PLACE! DEADLINE FOR CANDIDATE SUBMISSION IS OCTOBER 15, 2012. More details on our website or contact Betsy McCallister at USA Boxing at 719-866-2302 or Aaron Alafa, the current USOC AAC rep, at 559-802-6566. Page 3 The Neutral Corner October 2012 Keeping Up with the Olympians They have been making the rounds at local sports events as well and enjoyed the chance to throw out the first pitch at their hometown baseball games on the same date. Prior to showing off their arms on the diamond, both Esparza and Shields enjoyed once in a lifetime experiences. Shields was honored with the opportuni- ty to present the great Muhammad Ali with the liberty medal in Philadelphia, Pa., on September 13. Just a few hours away, her Olympic teammates, Esparza, female lightweight Queen Underwood (Seattle, USA Boxing’s two medalists from the 2012 Wash.), male lightweight Jose Ramirez (Avenal, Calif.), Olympic Games, middleweight gold medalist light welterweight Jamel Herring (Coram, N.Y.), mid- Claressa Shields (Flint, Mich.) and flyweight dleweight Terrell Gausha (Cleveland, Ohio), light bronze medalist Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas) heavyweight Marcus Browne (Staten Island, N.Y.), have been busy since returning home from and super heavyweight Dominic Breazeale London in August. The two history makers have (Alhambra, Calif.) joined their fellow U.S. Olympians made numerous appearances with their new from other sports for the official White House visit. hardware, including Shields introducing Vice Pres- Each of the athletes got the chance to meet ident Joe Biden at a democratic event and President Obama, Vice President Biden and First Lady Esparza speaking to students at Yale University. Michelle Obama on the White House lawn. Olympic Esparza announced her intentions to make a Team Manager Delilah Ponce Rico joined the run at the 2016 Olympic Games on E!, and Shields Olympians in Washington DC to assist with their visit. appeared last week on The Colbert Report and 106 & Park. Streaming Live! 2012 National PAL! Watch every bout from the 2012 National PAL The event is $19.99 for all of the live action, LIVE online at USABoxing.org. All of the action will and the bouts are available to watch for up to a be captured in high quality so do not miss out on year in the online archive with your purchase of the the opportunity to watch top athletes like Olympic full event. Gold Medalist Claressa Shields, 2012 World Order before October 8th and receive an extra Champion Tiara Brown, 2012 World Champion- license to watch the bouts absolutely free. That ships Silver Medalist Franchon Crews, 2012 World way you can watch the bouts, and grandma will be Championships Bronze Medalists Christina Cruz able to watch on her computer absolutely free. and Mikaela Mayer as well as top youth boxers Log on to www.usaboxing.org , click on “watch making their debut at the senior elite level. live” and order today! Page 4 The Neutral Corner October 2012 Roque Otano Conducts Coaching Clinics in Dallas and San Antonio Newly named International Teaching Coach Pedro Roque Otano held the first of what will be a series of high level coaching clinics, September 22-23 at the Irving PAL Gym outside of Dallas. USA Boxing Executive Director Anthony Bartkowski, Former AIBA R/J Commission Member and International Referee and Judges Instructor Ray Silvas joined Coach Roque Otano for the event in Texas and 2012 Olympian Errol Spence made an appearance to support the clinic on Saturday as well. Forty coaches from three different states attended the two-day clinic to learn from the legendary Cuban boxing trainer and all of the participants learned a great deal over the two-day seminar. Roque Otano covered a wide range of topics at the clinic, including but not limited to: competition rules, the basics of preparing a boxer, the technique and tactics of the sport to the physics of an athlete, pre-training stretching and preparation exercises, and punch type and combinations.