Ex-Fighter Feels Sport Needs Feds

The author, Rowdy Welch, a Spokane native, fought professionally in the 1980s and 1990s, mostly in Sacramento, Calif., and Reno, Nev.

I’m writing regarding Dave Kindred’s article in the (May 31) sports section (“Boxing legalized barbarism”). I feel he made some good points and I also agree with him that the government must get involved. But in order for this sport to stay legal, the government would have to elect someone who knows the ins and outs of the promoters’ sick ways.

First of all, there’s no way in hell Jimmy Garcia should have been in the same ring with someone like Gabe Ruelas. (Editor’s note: Garcia died last month from injuries suffered while fighting Ruelas.)

Here’s how it works: It’s like a chess match. The promoter and the matchmaker pick out five possible future opponents for their champion or contender, whatever the case may be. Then they start putting those five fighters on their shows to introduce those fighters to the public. Then the matchmaker digs up some washed-up somebody to fight his five pretenders. Sometimes the pretender wins, sometimes he loses.

But the promoter doesn’t care anyway, because the one that wins starts getting a lot of media attention, and the ones that lose are looking for some other promoter to promote him. While the winner gets cared for by the media about how he’s going to be the champ, all along the promoter knows the kid doesn’t stand a chance in hell of winning the title.

Then, during the ratings period, the promoter talks with these slimy ratings committees about getting this pretender a top-10 rating so the public will buy the promoter’s fight card. And also so the state’s athletic commission will approve it.

So then the pretender gets all the snot kicked out of him and is in terrible condition with the feeling he’s been living a lie, and his confidence goes to an all-time low, where he then feels someone played a terrible joke on him.

And there’s the other side of it, where the fighter is clinging on for life with a swollen brain and slips off into a coma. These types of acts are horrible, not only to family and friends, but to a sport I dearly loved.

I know that in most cases with fighters, they’re some of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. They’re real people - they may have grown up in not such good conditions, and so they tried to change their situation sometime, the only way they know.

But for me, I’m one of the lucky ones. If you don’t know, I had more than 400 fights, amateur and professional, against some of the best fighters in the world.

And I feel at least I got out with most of my screws intact. But for those brave young warriors that didn’t - Jimmy Garcia, Gerald McClellan, Kid Akeem Anifowoshes, Fernie Morales - I won’t forget.

I’ll always remember.