Our Canadian VP walks the line between Men & Women's Boxing. Hear what he has to say about the sport of Kings.

Jill: Why did you decide to get involved in boxing?

Ed: Boxing is just such an exciting sport. I first got involved working at a radio station in Edmonton. We broadcasted the fights of world amateur champion Willie deWitt in the year or two leading up to the 1984 Olympics. Once deWitt turned pro, we broadcasted his pro fights as well. I got to know some of the commissioners in Edmonton at the time, and decided to submit my name for the commission. I was a commissioner, Vice Chairman and Chairman and eventually Executive Director of the commission in a span of about 15 or 16 years. Through that connection I became involved with the Canadian Boxing Federation and the NABF and WBC. Even now, at the local level, I will time keep or do whatever they need help with because of the love of the sport.

Jill: Any advice to young boxers turning pro?

Ed: Far be it for me to give advice to a young amateur boxer looking to turn pro. It all depends on their individual situation. What type of boxer they are (some styles are more suited to the pro game), whether their priority is to go to the Olympics, how much amateur experience they have, whether they have a good promoter, etc. There are no easy answers for this question. Whatever the reason they want to turn pro, put your nose to the grindstone and concentrate on learning your craft, and keep in mind hard work will pay off. There are no shortcuts.

Jill: With so many World Belts, why should a boxer go for the NABF Belt?

Ed: The NABF title does mean a lot. The belts are only as good as their history and prominence. The NABF belt has a great history in men’s boxing. Some of the world’s greatest fighters have held the NABF belt at one time or another. It’s a great stepping stone to a WBC world title opportunity. We don’t yet have the history with it in female boxing, but Carina Moreno and Jessica Rakoczy, two of the current great female boxers have used this championship to catapult themselves into WBC world champions. And next week Suszannah Warner is fighting for the WBC International and soon, Missy Fiorentino for the WBC SF Interim.

Jill: How is Boxing doing in Canada?

Ed: Boxing in Canada is at an all-time high. The Canadian Boxing Federation has, in the past 2 or 3 years, had more title matches than at any time in the past couple decades. We have active boxers, male and female, in most jurisdictions, especially in Nova Scotia, Quebec, which is one of the busiest commissions in North America, Edmonton and the lower mainland of British Columbia, which had been dormant for many years. I don’t think there is much that can be done to strengthen it at this time, because it appears that boxing is firing on all cylinders in Canada right now. We have very good boxers, many of which are of prominence on the world stage, great promoters and fantastic boxing fans from coast to coast.

Jill: Most fun or worst moment?

Ed: I can’t single out any particular instances in either category. I get great satisfaction watching boxers win their titles – the sheer joy on their faces! Specifically, I think it’s great when after a fight, an out of town boxer or their manager comes up to me and say they were treated fairly by the judges. That is usually the biggest fear for a boxer going into someone else’s backyard. That is why we try to get neutral officials whenever we can. When we can’t, my job as a supervisor is to talk to, and explain to the judges, that there are no home town biases, no hometown advantage, and that they must judge the fight according to what happens in the ring - period. The worst experiences are when a boxer is hurt in the ring, or when someone is treated unfairly.

Jill: With all you do, is there life outside of boxing for you?

Ed: I’m a firefighter, so when I’m not “working” at boxing, that’s what I do. Of course my family also keeps me busy. Until the past year and a half, my wife Shelley was a stay at home Mom, a decision we thought was best for the two girls, Madison, now 11 and Marissa, soon to be 9. Now that she’s back working, I spend a lot of time taking the girls to Tae Kwon Do, and to other lessons, swimming, movies etc. We are also in the midst of building a new house, which keeps us hopping. Oddly enough, we’ve outgrown a house with only 1.5 bathrooms and 3 females!! Good thing I can shower at work!

Jill: A story you’d like to share with us?

Ed: I don’t really have a specific story I’d like to share. But, there are some many situations that arise weekly, and sometimes daily, that require time to resolve. I can’t imagine what President Sulaiman and Mauricio must go through on a continual basis. I am busy, and I do probably 1/10 as much as I’m sure they do. For those who like to criticize, walk a mile in their shoes. I guess there is one story I could share. We had a WBC Female Strawweight match in Leemore California with our Champion Carina Moreno being challenged by Dan Bi Kim of Korea. As sometimes happens, some things fall through the cracks, and as it turned out, Kim was not 18 years old, and therefore was not permitted to box in California. Therefore, she was not paid her purse. As I saw it, there were no malicious dealings from the commission, the boxer or the promoter. The boxer’s people didn’t know you had to be 18; the promoter didn’t realize she wasn’t 18; the records used indicated she was 18. Only when the boxer filled out her license application, was it noticed she was 17. In the end, the fight was cancelled, and the boxer went home empty handed. The WBC was paid the sanction fee, and when there was no resolution to having this boxer paid at least some of her purse, the WBC stepped in decided to send the boxer money to offset her costs, something nobody else was willing to come forward and do. I think that shows the reason the WBC is considered the pre-eminent organization in boxing.

Jill: In addition to everything else, you work with women boxers. How does this differ than the work you do with the men?

Ed: With the CBF, NABF, and WBC I work on the men’s side, doing ratings for all three, and various other things with the CBF. On the female side, there are some stark contrasts from that of the men’s boxing. Obviously, the gene pool on the female side is not nearly as deep, and there are far less female in boxing than males. In terms of ratings, it makes it difficult to keep a handle on what division a female is to be ranked, because in her last 3 fights, she may have boxed in 3 different divisions. So, sometimes ratings can be a challenge, more so than men’s ratings. In terms of championship matches, given the numbers of female boxers, it’s not uncommon to have a fighter of 5 -3 fighting a champion of 14-2, and having a great match. This can sometimes be a problem with those who cover the sport, who sometimes have a hard time wrapping their head around these sorts of things. More often than not, when we approve a fight like this we’ve done our homework, and the fights are usually very competitive. However, the powers that be, which control the exposure of female boxing and purse strings to a certain extent, seem to always want to compare it to male boxing, and scoff at such things. The reality is, if they just watch the fights, they’d be just as entertained with most of the elite female boxing, as they would be with the male boxing. It’s a different spot in many ways, but different does not equate to inferior. Treat it for what it is, a great entertaining sport with great athletes who have a passion for the sport. They must have a passion, because they sure ain’t in it for the money!

Jill: Your goals?

Ed: I don’t have any personal goals. I am someone with a passion for boxing, and I see female boxing as a growing sport worldwide, and I’m just doing what I can to help it succeed. We have a great team on the WBC Female Championship Committee. People from all over the world and all have a great deal of experience in the sport and their own opinions and perspectives on how we should do things and where we should go. That is a very healthy thing, and helps make the WBC the best and most diverse boxing organization in the world.

Jill: Your hopes for the future of Boxing?

Ed: I’d like to see the sport become more mainstream, obviously, thereby increasing the purses for the fighters. It’s a very complicated problem, without an easy fix. I guess I’d like to see some of the major US promoters become more involved in female boxing, just as the European promoters have. I think we’re moving, albeit slowly, in that direction. We seem to be moving that way in Asia, and as I mentioned, female boxing is big in Europe. I just think that if we just keep chipping away at the old attitudes, converting one promoter or TV executive at a time, it’ll reach critical mass at some point, and the females in this sport will be taken as seriously as the males – and be able to make a decent purse for their efforts.