Saturday, during the 98th Convention of the World Boxing Association (WBA) being held in Fuzhou, China, the day was full of enriching activities and talks mainly aimed at judges and referees who took place in several forums divided into two shifts.
The technical staff faces more complicated challenges today and for that reason a long day’s work was necessary to address current issues that force them to implement new measures and refresh others. In addition, there were also talks aimed at doctors and others involved in the sport.
The first activity of the day was to expose the new app created by the WBA to rate the fighting. Although it has an approach that can serve judges, it can be publicly used for any boxing fan as explained by specialist Gilberto Echeverria. In the app you can rate different matches of the WBA and have control to assess your consistency and improve day by day.
Subsequently, Raul Caiz Jr. made a presentation near the cuts and injuries. It was based on different examples of cuts in different areas and, together with the forum attendees, discussed each case and whether or not the fighting had to be stopped. The talk was oriented, of course, to preserve the health of boxing and act in the best way to protect the fighters.
The day also featured a talk about the recent deaths in boxing. Situations that have occurred in recent months were evaluated and a plan to mitigate the risks was presented with a strict job of the judges in terms of information about the fighters before the fight, in order to act in the best way based on the circumstances of each one.
The medical talks also played an important role in the day. The communication that the referees must have with the medical staff and when they should intervene to evaluate the boxers was discussed. There was also talk about rehydration and the ideal way to achieve weight for combatants. An emotional video of the Hall of Fame and member of the WBA, Guy Joseph Jutras.
President Gilberto Jesús Mendoza also took part in the meeting to comment on the work of the judges, the medical staff, and to highlight the values and work ethic of the organization to make boxing a better sport each day.
On the afternoon, José Roberto Torres talked about ethical aspects of the work of judges and referees, proceeded to show hypothetical round situations for those present to give their opinion on how to evaluate them, and reminded the different rules procedures.
The WBA has a great commitment to preserve the wellbeing of the fighters, to impart justice at all levels of boxing and to show the transparency it always has. The working day on Saturday laid the foundations for the organization’s progress in several aspects.
