WBO Day Two Convention Report
By David Finger
Day two of the 29th annual WBO convention featured the official’s seminars for much of the day as the morning saw Judge Steve Weisfeld give an effective judges training seminar to kick off the morning. While the judges were getting their ABC certification the executive committee listened to Vice President John Duggan in regards to the recently implemented amendments to the constitution and bylaws of the WBO. He also offered some clarification of the role of the WBO inspector in champion ship fights, in particular with issues like pregnancy tests, HIV tests, and other requirements often set forth by local commissions. Duggan stressed that these requirements need to be conducted by the local commission due to the danger of confusion over the role of the WBO in such fights.
“Dividing the authority can lead to it being improperly done,” Duggan said. “It confuses the function of the WBO. Host commissions have the responsibility. We want there to be a clear line of demarcation of authority. It’s not that we don’t want them done. We want them to be optimally done.”
Duggan expressed concerns over the possibility of a commission or inspector “passing the buck” if there was not this clear line of demarcation. “Our function is limited to awarding the championship,” Duggan added.
After lunch, the referees heard three excellent training sessions from Dr. Nitin Sethi, Dr. Barry Jordan, and Dr. Paul Wallace. Each doctor discussed different health issues associated with traumatic brain injury and steps referees can take to both recognize and prevent severe concussions or fatal injuries in prize fighters.
The night concluded at Tijuana’s Bar & Grill where both Terrence Crawford and Saul Alvarez made an appearance. The convention will continue tomorrow at 8:00 AM.
Correction: Yesterday it was reported that NABO Executive Director Jose Izquierdo withdrew his name from consideration in a contested election against First Vice President John Duggan. This was incorrect as he withdrew his name from consideration in a contested race for the vacant position of Second Vice President.