Tuesday, June 03, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

BOXING LOSS: Promoter calls off Laughlin cards

Concerns over MRI-MRA testing proposal prompt cancellations

By KEVIN IOLE
REVIEW-JOURNAL

The state has lost its first shows because of the Nevada Athletic Commission's plan for mandatory MRI-MRA tests for boxers.

Promoter Gary Shaw said Monday that he has canceled four scheduled cards in Laughlin and will no longer stage lower-level shows in Nevada.

The commission is slated to vote at 9 a.m. Friday on the proposal to require a fighter to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging-magnetic resonance angiography test before receiving a license.

The tests will be good for five years, unless the commission finds cause to order another, and will cost at least $425.

Shaw, a former member of the New Jersey Athletic Control Board, said he was doing the shows in Laughlin "pro bono" as a way of giving back to the sport.

Shaw, the promoter of high-profile fighters such as heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and former welterweight champion Shane Mosley, said he has no need to stage the smaller shows that he routinely loses money on.

Shaw, 58, said he doesn't object to the tests, but he wants the commission to pay for them.

"I believe I am the single biggest proponent of making sure we care about the health, safety and welfare of our boxers," Shaw said. "I'm probably the only promoter who uses those words when talking about boxers. But all I said is that this is being done too quickly without looking at the funding.

"It's not going to affect me, because I do the big shows. But this is going to kill the smaller shows. It won't be long before you won't see any club shows in Nevada because of this."

Shaw said he lost between $1,000 and $3,000 per card in Laughlin, using primarily new fighters based in Nevada and neighboring states. He said his motivation was to help the fighters.

"I was willing to take those losses because I saw them as my way of giving back to the sport that has given me a lot," Shaw said. "We gave a lot of kids who nobody has ever heard of, pro-debut kids or kids who were 1-0 or 0-1, the chance to show their wares. The people there loved them, and the fighters were benefiting because of the chance to get experience and prove they could fight."

The commissioners said they understand costs are a concern, but there is little chance of the state, in a budget crisis, agreeing to pay for the tests. Though the commission earns millions from boxing, the money goes to the state's general fund and is not accessible by the commission.

Several commissioners said they are attempting to solicit donations for a fund that would pay for the tests. Commissioner Dr. Flip Homansky said one solution to containing costs would be to schedule fewer bouts per card, a suggestion both Shaw and Jeff Grmoja, director of boxing operations for Guilty Boxing, said is impractical.

Shaw said when he expressed his concerns to commissioners Dr. Tony Alamo and John Bailey at a May 17 show in Reno, Alamo asked Shaw if he felt the tests would be worthwhile if one fighter was saved because of them.

"Anyone who knows me knows how I stick up for and fight for my fighters, but I'm not going there," Shaw said. "I have no problems with the test. All I'm asking is for them to please try to look at the funding problem a little more carefully."