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Many people tell me that they
envy the fact that as President
of the World Boxing Federation,
I get to travel extensively and
that I get to see the world.
Sometimes true, sometimes not.
This month I will provide a
little of the 'glamor'
of the adventures of a traveling
sports administrator.
With an interim world title
fight scheduled for General
Santos City in the Philippines,
my WBF Vice President suggested
subtly that it was time for me
to have my first trip to boxing
crazy Philippines.
A two-hour flight from Cape Town
to Johannesburg with a four-hour
wait at the Johannesburg
airport. Then it was a
fourteen-hour flight to Hong
Kong with an eighteen-hour
stopover.
After that long wait, it was a
two-hour flight to Manila and
again a four-hour wait before
the final two-hour flight to
General Santos City (all economy
class, mind you, in accordance
with our WBF philosophy!), where
a tired and sweaty President was
enthusiastically received by a
driver sent by the promoter.
A thirty minute drive to the
resort, and I was told that I
would be collected in a couple
of hours to go for dinner. The
next day was a very impressive
weigh-in, and of course followed
the day after by the event,
which was highly professional,
very exciting and which produced
two quality WBF champions. Back
to the resort after the show,
two hours sleep and then
collected at 4 am in the morning
to be taken back to the airport
to start the long four flights
back to Cape Town.
Of course
nothing is simple and with a
typhoon hitting Manila and Hong
Kong and flights being
threatened with potential delays
and cancellations
my nerves were on end.
Fortunately none of the trips
were delayed and apart from the
aggravation of many hours
waiting in various airports, I
returned home timely.
So which sane
person would go on such a long,
drawn out trip as described
above? The truth is that I live,
eat, sleep boxing and it is my
love for the sport, and the huge
passion that I have for boxing
that would have me do this all
over again, every single week,
52 weeks a year. To go to
Philippines and meet our WBF
Representative Jim Claude
Manangquil and all the boxing
people in the great boxing
country of the Philippines was
an honor for me and made me even
appreciate the sport that much
more.
Boxing travel is not always
glamor,
but it is part of the greatest
sport in the world, and I would
have it no other way. It is
wonderful to meet boxing people
around the world, and speak the
universal language of boxing. My
thanks to Jim Claude and his
team for their great hospitality
and my congratulations go to
Harmonito Dela Torre and John
Vincent Moralde for winning WBF
titles.
I look forward to returning to
the Philippines soon to see more
of the great fighters in this
country fighting for more title
– even if it means four flights
to get there.
Until next time, keep boxing.
Howard Goldberg
PRESIDENT: World Boxing
Federation
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