World Series of Boxing hosts teleconference, Tuesday, Nov. 16
Rau'shee "Baby Pit" Warren, a member of the L.A. Matadors, is a two-time Olympian for the USA. Photo/L.A. Matadors
On Tuesday, the World Series of Boxing (WSB) Americas, along with its four franchise organizations, will conduct a media teleconference at 10 a.m. Pacific in anticipation of the kickoff of the WSB’s inaugural season. The call will feature four boxers representing the WSB Americas’ franchises along with Eric Parthen, their Managing Director.
Created by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) under the leadership of its President, Dr. C. K. Wu, the World Series of Boxing is a groundbreaking tournament designed to reshape the world of international boxing at both the Olympic-style and professional levels. The property is owned by AIBA in partnership with IMG a sports marketing company.
WSB Americas is comprised of four franchise locations Miami, Florida, Memphis, Tenn., Los Angeles, CA, and Mexico City. The regular season of the WSB Americas begins this coming Friday, Nov. 19 in Mexico City at Centro Banamex. During the season, each team will play each of the other teams four times (twice home and twice away). The top team from each conference, plus the best second-place team worldwide, will then enter the playoffs during April 2011. The team and individual championships will take place in May 2011 in Macau, China.
On their website they promise the participants, even though they’re receiving a paycheck, will retain their Olympic eligibility and the winners automatically go to the 2012 Olympics in London. That claim seems a bit outlandish since there are a host of boxers that won’t be involved in this tournament and yet are more talented.
Participating on Tuesday’s call will be Los Angles Matadors’s Rau’shee Warren, a bantamweight from Cincinnati, Ohio, Memphis Force’s lightweight Raynell Williams from Cleveland, Ohio, Miami Gallos’s light heavyweight Kenny Egan from Clondalkin, Ireland, and Mexico City Guerreros’s heavyweight Damian Sealy from St. Michael, Barbados.
What’s most interesting about this new venture is the promise to pay the boxers for their participation and yet protect their amateur status. If you want to listen in or take part in the teleconference all you need to do is call (800) 311-9410 and use the verbal passcode: WSB.
Just as in Showtime’s Super Six Middleweight Competition, there will be injuries and boxers will be unable to compete. At the outset, it appears they have signed only a limited amount of competitors and who is to say these gentleman are the best.
Brief bios of the teleconference participants:
Kenneth “Kenny” Egan is a 2008 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time medalist at the European Championships having won gold in 2008 along with bronze medals in 2006 and 2010. He’s earned nine Irish titles including seven light heavyweight belts.
Damian Sealy was a quarterfinalist at the 2009 AIBA President’s Cup and the 2008 Americas Olympic qualifier and was a participant at the 2007 World Championships in Chicago.
Raynell Williams is a 2008 Olympian from Cleveland, Ohio, who lost in the second round in Beijing to France’s Khedafi Djelkhir. He also represented the U.S. at the 2007 World Championships in Chicago where he advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to the eventual world champion Albert Selimov of Russia.
In Rau’shee Warren’s first Olympic Games, he lost in the opening round to the eventual light flyweight bronze medalist Zou Shiming of China. With his Olympic aspirations unfulfilled, he decided against turning pro and immediately committed himself to another four years. In 2008, at Beijing, Warren became the first U.S. boxer since Davey Lee Armstrong in 1972 and 1976 to compete in back-to-back Olympic Games. However, his dream of winning an Olympic gold fell short, when he lost in the first round to Korea’s Lee Ok-Sung. Warren’s a two-time World Championships medalist having won a world title in 2007 in Chicago while earning a bronze medal in 2005.
Before becoming the Managing Director of the World Series of Boxing Americas, Eric Parthen was the Director of the National Governing Body Development for the U. S. Olympic Committee, USOC. Prior to that he held numerous positions at the USOC including the Executive Director of USA Boxing. Under his leadership, USA Boxing won two medals at the 2004 Olympic Games including the first gold medal since 1996. In addition, he stabilized operations and significantly increased revenue by engaging new partners during his nearly three year term.
