Letter from Dr. Charles Butler, USA Boxing President

[KingEugene]

Quote:New Elite Men's Boxing Technical Rules

Dear Friends in Boxing,

We need your input. My last letter drew over 500 responses, which was more than normal -- and I read them all. Once again we will read everything and depending on the volume, respond accordingly. We are asking for your input on how to best address AIBA's new rules for Elite Men's competition that we must comply with in order to compete internationally.

AIBA has made several rule changes that will be announced on or about February 15, 2013.

? The age range for elite men's and women's boxers will now be 19-40 years old. The upcoming USA Boxing National Championships in Spokane, Washington, will have Youth (17-18 years old) and Elite (19-40 years old) age divisions.

? For the ELITE MALES ONLY, all international competition after June 1 will be without headgear. There will be no changes to the equipment for the female boxers and the non-elite male age groups.

? Scoring will go to a 10 point must system -- there will not be a "punch count" scoring system

? The number and duration of rounds will stay the same

USA Boxing did not make the new rules. Countries throughout the world are asking for these changes. They want to restore Boxing to what they see as the "Golden Age." They do not see it as a safety issue because of the changes in the engineering of boxing gloves. As a member of the Community of Boxing Nations, we must decide how to implement these changes.

We want your input. Everything below is part of the discussion on how to address the removal of headgear for the Elite Men's Division internationally. Please send your thoughts to the USA Boxing Office to Lynette Smith, USA Boxing Membership Director, at lsmith@usaboxing.org [2].

To me, no American Boxer should be forced to compete without headgear if they do not wish to do so. What protection does headgear offer the elite male boxer? It decreases cuts. To box without headgear, coaches will have to teach athletes to keep their heads and hands up, and learn the proper technique of getting into a clinch without butting heads. This equipment change will impact how our athletes train and they will need to train to prepare for this change in our sport.

1. ADVANTAGES OF HEADGEAR:

a. Fewer cuts

b. Athletes are accustomed to competing with head gear

c. Removal of headgear may cause some ELITE Male Athletes or Groups to drop out of Boxing

2. ADVANTAGES OF ?NO HEADGEAR?

a. Concussion: Studies have shown that headgear caused twice as many concussions as competing without headgear as concluded in a study of over 15,000 Boxer Rounds. Less than ? as many concussions resulted when headgear was not used in Elite Males.

b. The Kazakhstan National Championships were conducted without headgear. THERE WERE 169 BOUTS WITH ONLY ONE CONCUSSION, and with no loss of consciousness. This is lower than we have been seeing in the United States and International Tournaments with headgear.

c. Only Athletes who compete without headgear will be allowed to compete internationally and qualify for the USA Boxing National Team.

We want your input. We need the best policy to deal with the new Headgear rule. Below is my suggested solution:

? Let's set up two tournaments at the National Championships for Elite Men (19-40 years old) in two categories

o #1 ? ONE RING FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO WEAR HEADGEAR

? Winning Athletes will be USA Boxing Senior National Champions

o #2 ? ONE RING FOR THE ELITE ATHLETES WHO THINK THEY CAN WIN INTERNATIONAL MEDALS AND WANT TO WIN OLYMPIC GOLD

? Winning Athletes will be USA Boxing Elite National Champions

? Our training efforts will be focused on these athletes, providing them with international experience, and working with them and their coaches so they can represent their country and win medals for the United States!

? We can concentrate on helping those Athletes who want to become "American Heroes" like Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Roy Jones, De la Hoya, Ward, etc. to fulfill their dreams. As history shows, those who win an Olympic medal are richly rewarded for the sacrifices they make early in their career.

Two National Championships is one solution that would force no one to box without Headgear and allow the few top Athletes to receive special training and compete for the United States in World and Olympic Competition.

USA Boxing is a family. We must approach issues like this together. We look forward to your feedback in regards to these rule changes.

Awaiting your responses,

Charles

I'm all for it.

[Romulus9]

Excited about the changes, mainly the age group changes.

That means one of my amateurs can keep competing for a while longer and that will make him very, VERY happy! Great stuff.

[Spyder]

Gandalf might be psyched to read this too.

[and the NEW]

Romulus9 Wrote:Excited about the changes, mainly the age group changes.

That means one of my amateurs can keep competing for a while longer and that will make him very, VERY happy! Great stuff.

He could have competed in Masters after 34.

I believe this is excellent though. I don't use headgear for sparring. It impairs my peripheral vision to some extent and I'd rather take the risk with cuts than be hit more to the head.

I also think its excellent you can compete in the Elite category until your 40. There are plenty of mid-30 guys who can still mix it up with they kids. They should not be forced to fight in some 'masters' competition.

[Spyder]

and the NEW Wrote:

Romulus9 Wrote:Excited about the changes, mainly the age group changes.

That means one of my amateurs can keep competing for a while longer and that will make him very, VERY happy! Great stuff.

He could have competed in Masters after 34.

I believe this is excellent though. I don't use headgear for sparring. It impairs my peripheral vision to some extent and I'd rather take the risk with cuts than be hit more to the head.

I also think its excellent you can compete in the Elite category until your 40. There are plenty of mid-30 guys who can still mix it up with they kids. They should not be forced to fight in some 'masters' competition.

I still think about competing again, so that gives me more time too. It's almost not fair to the kids to make them fight men though. I know that there are some tough kids out there, but they are nothing compared to a world hardened man.

[Romulus9]

and the NEW Wrote:

Romulus9 Wrote:Excited about the changes, mainly the age group changes.

That means one of my amateurs can keep competing for a while longer and that will make him very, VERY happy! Great stuff.

He could have competed in Masters after 34.

I believe this is excellent though. I don't use headgear for sparring. It impairs my peripheral vision to some extent and I'd rather take the risk with cuts than be hit more to the head.

I also think its excellent you can compete in the Elite category until your 40. There are plenty of mid-30 guys who can still mix it up with they kids. They should not be forced to fight in some 'masters' competition.

That's the plan anyway, but finding Master class opponents here in West Virginia is scarce. THRILLED about the new rules.

Spyder Wrote:

and the NEW Wrote:

Romulus9 Wrote:Excited about the changes, mainly the age group changes.

That means one of my amateurs can keep competing for a while longer and that will make him very, VERY happy! Great stuff.

He could have competed in Masters after 34.

I believe this is excellent though. I don't use headgear for sparring. It impairs my peripheral vision to some extent and I'd rather take the risk with cuts than be hit more to the head.

I also think its excellent you can compete in the Elite category until your 40. There are plenty of mid-30 guys who can still mix it up with they kids. They should not be forced to fight in some 'masters' competition.

I still think about competing again, so that gives me more time too. It's almost not fair to the kids to make them fight men though. I know that there are some tough kids out there, but they are nothing compared to a world hardened man.

DO IT! Especially with the new age rules. Here's the deal. You and King Eugene come to West Virginia for an event, I'll make sure you are both matched and you've already got a corner team waiting. Video can be uploaded for everyone on BU.

See? I'm not in sales, I'm in solutions.

[Spyder]

Romulus9 Wrote:

and the NEW Wrote:

Romulus9 Wrote:Excited about the changes, mainly the age group changes.

That means one of my amateurs can keep competing for a while longer and that will make him very, VERY happy! Great stuff.

He could have competed in Masters after 34.

I believe this is excellent though. I don't use headgear for sparring. It impairs my peripheral vision to some extent and I'd rather take the risk with cuts than be hit more to the head.

I also think its excellent you can compete in the Elite category until your 40. There are plenty of mid-30 guys who can still mix it up with they kids. They should not be forced to fight in some 'masters' competition.

That's the plan anyway, but finding Master class opponents here in West Virginia is scarce. THRILLED about the new rules.

Spyder Wrote:

and the NEW Wrote:

Romulus9 Wrote:Excited about the changes, mainly the age group changes.

That means one of my amateurs can keep competing for a while longer and that will make him very, VERY happy! Great stuff.

He could have competed in Masters after 34.

I believe this is excellent though. I don't use headgear for sparring. It impairs my peripheral vision to some extent and I'd rather take the risk with cuts than be hit more to the head.

I also think its excellent you can compete in the Elite category until your 40. There are plenty of mid-30 guys who can still mix it up with they kids. They should not be forced to fight in some 'masters' competition.

I still think about competing again, so that gives me more time too. It's almost not fair to the kids to make them fight men though. I know that there are some tough kids out there, but they are nothing compared to a world hardened man.

DO IT! Especially with the new age rules. Here's the deal. You and King Eugene come to West Virginia for an event, I'll make sure you are both matched and you've already got a corner team waiting. Video can be uploaded for everyone on BU.

See? I'm not in sales, I'm in solutions.

I think that it'd be hilarious fighting in my first show without a gym. I'd just show up by myself, and have nobody in my corner. The other dude would be like, "what the fuck is going on with this guy?" I'd be like Tong Po from Kickboxer. lol

Although, I know enough people so I could always find someone. We'll see. If I ever get around to doing some roadwork again, then I might just take a trip up to WV...

[Romulus9]

Spyder Wrote:

Romulus9 Wrote:

and the NEW Wrote:

Romulus9 Wrote:Excited about the changes, mainly the age group changes.

That means one of my amateurs can keep competing for a while longer and that will make him very, VERY happy! Great stuff.

He could have competed in Masters after 34.

I believe this is excellent though. I don't use headgear for sparring. It impairs my peripheral vision to some extent and I'd rather take the risk with cuts than be hit more to the head.

I also think its excellent you can compete in the Elite category until your 40. There are plenty of mid-30 guys who can still mix it up with they kids. They should not be forced to fight in some 'masters' competition.

That's the plan anyway, but finding Master class opponents here in West Virginia is scarce. THRILLED about the new rules.

Spyder Wrote:

and the NEW Wrote:

Romulus9 Wrote:Excited about the changes, mainly the age group changes.

That means one of my amateurs can keep competing for a while longer and that will make him very, VERY happy! Great stuff.

He could have competed in Masters after 34.

I believe this is excellent though. I don't use headgear for sparring. It impairs my peripheral vision to some extent and I'd rather take the risk with cuts than be hit more to the head.

I also think its excellent you can compete in the Elite category until your 40. There are plenty of mid-30 guys who can still mix it up with they kids. They should not be forced to fight in some 'masters' competition.

I still think about competing again, so that gives me more time too. It's almost not fair to the kids to make them fight men though. I know that there are some tough kids out there, but they are nothing compared to a world hardened man.

DO IT! Especially with the new age rules. Here's the deal. You and King Eugene come to West Virginia for an event, I'll make sure you are both matched and you've already got a corner team waiting. Video can be uploaded for everyone on BU.

See? I'm not in sales, I'm in solutions.

I think that it'd be hilarious fighting in my first show without a gym. I'd just show up by myself, and have nobody in my corner. The other dude would be like, "what the fuck is going on with this guy?" I'd be like Tong Po from Kickboxer. lol

Although, I know enough people so I could always find someone. We'll see. If I ever get around to doing some roadwork again, then I might just take a trip up to WV...

Are you kidding? The corner team is already assembled.

The WV Amateur State Championships are March 1-2. One of the gyms at which I'm a trainer has 20 fighters competing this year. Believe me, you'll be covered!

But we'll all stay back... and just let you intimidate people walking around by yourself, walking to the ring by yourself... then we'll just show up at the end of the first round...

[Spyder]

Nice! I'll need a couple of cans of Valvoline to down before the fight too...you know, as an homage to Over the Top.

[Romulus9]

Spyder Wrote:Nice! I'll need a couple of cans of Valvoline to down before the fight too...you know, as an homage to Over the Top.

I should be able to work that into the budget.