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WELCOME TO THE RETIRED BOXERS FOUNDATION |
ABOUT US
Alex “The Bronx Bomber” Ramos
Founder
& President
RETIRED
BOXERS FOUNDATION, INC.
Alex "The Bronx Bomber" Ramos is
a retired professional boxer with over 30 years in the sport. He
conceived the idea of the Retired Boxers Foundation when he was working
on a project for Sharon Stone's foundation, Planet Hope, to help
homeless mothers with children. He thought if programs like Planet
Hope could raise money to help homeless mothers, why couldn't he start a
foundation to help retired professional boxers.
He started working on the foundation in 1995, initiating the organization in
1998 and incorporating as an IRS 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation in 2000.
For the first five years, the foundation was endowed by highly acclaimed writer
and director, Ron Shelton (White Men Can't Jump, Tin Cup, Play it to the Bone,
etc.). Ron donated $10,000 a year to cover the operating expenses, which
until that time had been covered by Alex and Jacquie Richardson, the Executive
Director of the Retired Boxers Foundation. Even now, no one is paid a
salary by the Retired Boxers Foundation. All of the money received
by the RBF is used for the retired boxers.
We are thrilled with the people that have joined our foundation as an
Honorary Board Member or member of our Medical Advisory Board.
Personal Photo Collection,
Alex "The Bronx Bomber" Ramos:
RBF'S
NEWEST MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL ADVISORY BOARD:
DR. SKEETER MC CLURE
Dr. McClure was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, a city
regarded by at least 17 people as the PARIS of the Buckeye State. After a
fun-filled stint in the U.S. Army, in 1963, Wil moved to the brighter lights
of Detroit, Michigan.
Wil received a B.Ed. In English from the University of Toledo in 1961.
Later, he earned an M.Ed. and, in 1973, a PhD in Counseling Psychology from
Wayne State University in Detroit. Whereupon he immediately had the word
"Dr." stenciled on every article of clothing he owned.
A nationally-known consultant, Dr. McClure is president of his management
training, consulting and executive coaching firm. For over 24 years, he has
successfully delivered training in Listening Skills, Leadership,
Communication Skills, Team-Building, Stress Management, and Cultural
Diversity to companies and other organizations across the country. Among
his clients have been the National Basketball Association, Liberty Mutual
Insurance, the United States Navy, Arkwright Insurance, City of Boston, and
the Towns of Brookline, Fall River, among others. In addition, he consults
with police departments. For eight years, until 1980, he was an Associate
Professor of Counselor Education at Northeastern University in Boston, MA.
He has a private practice; individual, couples, families, and group therapy.
Dr. McClure has spoken at over a thousand meetings and conferences,
including NYNEX, the Exchange Club, The University of Illinois, Advanced
Financial Services, colleges, among others. He has been featured in stories
in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Parade Magazine,
The London Times, Detroit News and Free Press, Boston Globe, and Boston
Herald, among others. A Guest on countless radio and TV shows, he's
appeared on the ABC Evening News. In 2001, he was selected to review the
book, The Psychology of Executive Coaching, Brunner-Routledge publishers.
Dr. McClure's recognitions include being selected a Boston Black Achiever in
1978, profiled in Who's Who in the East, was named Outstanding Alumnus for
1992 by the University of Toledo, was Chairman of the board of the Central
YMCA in Boston. In 1994, Governor William Weld appointed him to the
Massachusetts Boxing Commission and, in 1995, named him Chairman. He has
received many citations and honors including Wilbert "Skeeter" McClure Day
in Boston, MA.
In addition, as "Skeeter" McClure, he compiled the best amateur boxing
record in the world as the only boxer to win EVERY national and
international championship of importance, back-to-back, without defeat, in a
three-year period. Despite frequently being scared to death, "Skeeter" was
a 2-times National Golden Gloves Champion, 2-times National AAU Champion, a
Pan American Games Champion, and in 1960, he capped off his brilliant career
by winning a Gold Medal in the Rome Olympics! (His teammate, Muhammad Ali,
was green with envy.) Finally, in the one hundred years of the modern
Olympic Games, "Skeeter" McClure is the only Olympic Games Boxing Gold
Medalist to earn a PhD,
RETIRED BOXERS FOUNDATION ADDS TWO MORE REPRESENTATIVES
The Retired Boxers Foundation is
please to announce the addition to two more representatives for the
organization:
 RICK
RAMOS, a one time amateur, fighting out of the Old Neighborhood Italian
American Club, making him one of the first Latin’s to be accepted to the
“members only club!” Ramos made his mark in 2005, starting a management company
working with the likes of Jimmy Sandoval (14-1, 12 KO’s) and Trinidad Garcia.
Ramos is also know for being part of the financial community—stock market. The
stock of Rick Ramos himself, would rise when he convinced the Chicago Board of
Options Exchange to let two time world champion, Fernando Vargas, ring the
“opening bell,” thus becoming the FIRST time a celebrity athlete (and Latino)
to do so. Rick Ramos is VERY involved with boxing in his home town of Chicago
and is opening a boxing gym along with Sam Colonna…The Chicago Boxing Club.
Ramos says if you are in Chicago, stop by and say HELLO!
http://www.myspace.com/rickramosboxing
DAVID SCHNEIDER, I was
born and raised in Catskill, New York until the age of 9. My mother and I then
moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where a few years later I met, who I now consider
my father, Mr. Janks Morton. Mr Morton is most famous for training Sugar Ray
Leonard, but has trained many more world champions other than Sugar Ray. It
was at that time I got my first exposure to the world of boxing. I was also was
lucky enough to live next door to Alex Ramos (RBF President). who was training
with Mr. Morton at the time. From that moment on, I was in love with the sport
of boxing. Over the last 25 years, I have attended countless bouts all over the
United States. I have met so may wonderful fighters, trainers, and
executives from the WBC to the NABF. I have been blessed with such a wonderful
life, I felt it was time for me to give something back to the sport that has had
such an impact on my life. When I saw the dedication, time, and hard work Alex
has put into The RBF, I knew I had to help.
As the New Director for
the Arizona Chapter, I will be committed to helping any retired boxer who is
in need of assistance. Together, I firmly believe we can touch so many lives in
a wide variety of ways. I look forward to meeting and working with everyone!
Our Newest Representative from Philly:
Gumersindo Vidot Jr, Married for 25
years to a beautiful, and wonderful women Martha Vidot who Is my friend, advisor, and the mother of my three loving children. I am
also blessed with two grandchildren from heaven
I was Born June 24, 1952 in Bayamon Puerto Rico to Gumersindo Vidot SR and Carmen Marrero Vidot. In 1953 my parents migrated to the mainland with intentions of a better
life. And ended up where most Puerto Rican
end up at. Spanish Harlem. At the age of seven I began to shine peoples shoes in the corner of 103rd
street were I made some chump change, now, but $5.00 a day at that time for a seven year
old was mucho. After becoming a victim of a knife point robbery and feared it would
happen again I joined the Junior Dragons and became the youngest warlord of the Junior
Dragons. Street fighting was popular, and I became very good at it . Fighting only bigger kids, and gaining an
impressive record, and reputation. My parents were concerned about me and moved to the South Bronx for a better
life. But that move was like jumping out of the frying pan, and into the oven.
The only difference was that the gangs had different names, and the
apartments were bigger. After I settled in my new hood I realized that
drugs, sex violence, racism, corrupt cops were here to stay and that
this was going to be my life unless I made a difference.
To young for the army, but not to fight, I decided to join PAL and other
boxing clubs. In one of the clubs. Apollo Boxing Club I had the opportunity to get a
boxing lesson from Alex Ramos who left an impression on me so deep that I knew our lives
will cross again. Although My passion for being a fighter was not as great as the passion to
be a cop I continue with boxing, it was a way out of the Ghetto life or at least a
distraction from it.
I was not like my boys, although I was know for being tough and smart, I
didn't enjoy the life that the ghetto had planned for me, I had big dreams, strong will but little tools to make things happen. I
always was taught that when things get really bad, count on God… I did, and my Lord
responded by placing good people in my life that were full of compassion, patience, and
love. and the only thing God ask in return was for me to do the same for others.
I have a mission from God and I have promise my lord that I will do the
best I can To follow his direction. I am a Free Mason, and also belong to the Lu Lu Shiners of Honorable men,
a member of The Police and Fire for Handicap children, member of PRAB (Police Radio
Advisory Board) I am the President and CEO of Vidgam Police Products Inc based in
Philadelphia. And Currently manufacturing a line of clothing for police, and athletes.
I am a former contract Lt.. for G.S.A in PA. were I supervised 200 armed
officers in Federal buildings. A former Armored Car driver, contract Police investigator, EMT, Notary
Public, Pa Certified Agent, OC, and expandable baton instructor, citizen safety awareness instructor,
School Police officer, Security Site coordinator, and consultant, Private Investigator, and a few
other things.
“A mind is a terrible thing to
waste”
“It’s not yours until you give it away”
“It’s better to light a candle then to curse the dark”
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing”.
We Welcome Vidot to the Retired Boxers
Foundation. Vidot is a good man with a huge heart and we look
forward to his new product line: Funk Free Wear...especially his
sportswear. The RBF will receive a small donation from each item
sold. Visit his sites at:
http://www.funkfreewear.com/
http://www.phillyspyshop.com/
http://www.phillyspyshop.com/AlexRamosTheBronxBomber.htm
Kerry Daigle Appointed to the Honorary Board
Of Directors for the Retired Boxers Foundation
Kerry Daigle has
been a friend of the boxing community and a long time mentor to RBF Founder,
Alex Ramos
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2005
 [Simi
Valley, CA]
Alex “The Bronx Bomber” Ramos, Founder and President of the Retired Boxers
Foundation, announced today that the Retired Boxers Foundation
has appointed it’s newest Honorary Board Member,
Kerry Daigle, a proud Cajun from
Opelousas, Louisiana—and a successful entrepreneur since 1965. He hosts a weekly
radio show “Keep Punching with Kerry Daigle”, writes books, keeps a hectic
speaking schedule and is a frequent guest on radio and television. He is also
an international distributor with a neutriceutical company that operates in
several countries around the world" found on
www.kerrydaigle.com <http://www.kerrydaigle.com>
.
Kerry Daigle has been a mentor and advisor to
Alex Ramos and the Retired Boxers Foundation for many years. “Kerry Daigle has
been a successful business man and I respect his compassion for the sport of
boxing and most importantly, his respect for the boxers. We are looking forward
to learning from him,” said Ramos. The Honorary Board of the Retired Boxers
Foundation also includes:
Daigle’s website is
www.keeppunching.com. Kerry’s
radio show
“Keep Punching With Kerry Daigle” offers motivation and
inspiration to a global audience that listens to archived shows at
this website, www.keeppunching.com, 24 hours a day,
7 days a week.
Kerry’s tremendous knack
for finding and developing talent extends beyond his core business and into his
love affair with the sport of boxing. Kerry finds, coaches and develops
promising young fighters, helping them to excel and rise through the
professional ranks and into the big leagues. He uses this special gift in all
areas of his life, as a mentor and teacher at home, in his businesses and other
personal pursuits.
AVI LEVY
RBF Attorney and Advisor
Avi Levy is an attorney based in Montreal Canada. He
has been a great friend of the Retired Boxers Foundation, as well as a personal
mentor and friend of the RBF Founder and President, Alex "The Bronx Bomber"
Ramos. Avi is married, with two adorable little girls and one lovely wife!
HONORARY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
 RON
SHELTON & LOLITA DAVIDOVICH
Ron Shelton became our first Honorary Board Member and his wife, Lolita
Davidovich, shortly thereafter. Ron is an acclaimed writer and director of
such films as: White Men Can't Jump, Tin Cup, Play it to the Bone, and
Blaze, which starred his wife Lolita along with Paul Newman.
The Retired Boxers Foundation exists today because of Ron's generosity.
Shortly before the release of the boxing movie, Play it to the Bone, RBF
Executive Director Jacquie Richardson wrote a proposal to Ron asking him to
consider a way to link the premiere of Play it to the Bone with an event for the
Retired Boxers Foundation. The star studded premiere was at the El
Capitan Theater in Hollywood. Unbeknownst to Alex, Ron Shelton had made
arrangements for Jacquie to bring Alex to the premiere so that he could present
a check for $50,000 to the Retired Boxers Foundation. The check would come
to represent five years of basic operating costs. While Jacquie new of
Ron's plan, Alex Ramos did not. Read the following press release to learn
more:
Retired Boxers Foundation Receives $50,000 Donation
Press Release January 14, 2000
Retired Boxers Foundation Receives $50,000 Donation "Play it to the Bone"
Director Ron Shelton, Shanghai’d Films
SIMI VALLEY, CA] At Hollywood’s El Capitan Theater premier of the new boxing
film, Play it to the Bone starring Antonio Banderas, Woody Harrelson, Lolita
Davidovich and Lucy Liu, the movie’s Director, Ron Shelton, announced that
Shanghai’d Films was donating $50,000 to the Retired Boxers Foundation. Just
before the opening of the film, Director Ron Shelton introduced current boxing
world champions, Fernando Vargas, Angel Manfredy, Johnny Tapia, Danny Romero and
others, as well as past champions, Mando Ramos, Sugar Ray Leonard, Art Aragon -
the original "Golden Boy", saving 1984 USBA Middleweight Champion, Alex Ramos,
for last. "Unlike normal Hollywood premieres, this one combined the traditional
Hollywood opening along with the introduction of the warriors from the sport of
boxing, making it a truly unique event," said Ron Shelton. "It is truly
gratifying to make this donation to help the Retired Boxers Foundation in their
efforts to assist these great athletes, " he continued. "Hopefully, our donation
will inspire others to help retired professional fighters, in the only sport for
which there are no real pensions or retirement plans." Shelton is a great fan of
the sport of boxing and has directed several sports related movies including
Bull Durham, White Men Can’t Jump and Field of Dreams. Shelton’s announcement
was a total surprise for Alex Ramos and overwhelmed the fighter, who was visibly
stunned by the generosity of Shelton and Shanghai’d films.
Alex Ramos, known as the "Bronx Bomber" in a career that spanned twenty-two
years and over 300 amateur and professional bouts, is the founder of the Retired
Boxers Foundation, whose mission is to assist fighters in their transition from
their professional boxing, to a dignified retirement. Ramos said,
"Unfortunately, too many fighters retire from their glorious days in the ring,
to a humiliating retirement suffering from alcoholism, substance abuse, rage
disorders, homelessness and even dementia pugilistica (the medical term for
punch drunk)." Ramos knows first hand, how perilous retirement from the sport
can be, finding himself on the wrong side of the law and "in the darkness" of
alcoholism and homelessness. In fact, he believes that God saved him so that he
could do something about what many others have said for more than fifty years,
including Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis, both of whom died penniless, buried by the
State.
Ramos founded the Retired Boxers Foundation in 1995, incorporating as a
nonprofit organization in 1995. For the past three years, he has worked seven
days a week without a penny of compensation, to get the word out about the
condition of many retired professional boxers. His vision is to make the RBF
"The Undisputed Champion for Dignity" and prides himself on the fact that the
RBF is an organization of "fighters helping fighters." In 1998, Ramos met grant
writer and fund developer, Jacquie Richardson, who has donated office space and
her skills to get the Retired Boxers Foundation up and running. Richardson met
Ramos at an opening of a boxing gym for which she had written a grant to get
kids off the street and into gyms. "Over the past year and one-half, I have
found no mission more compelling than that of the Retired Boxers Foundation. I
donate my time and energy to the RBF and Alex Ramos because it is such an
honorable cause for which there is little support." Both Ramos and Richardson
promote the RBF, seizing every opportunity to educate the public on the
condition of retired professional fighters, but also to help them "one-by one"
as Richardson says. "We take Dignity Packs to the fighters who are homeless,
including the very basics of 'dignity', including sox, underwear, sweat suit,
toiletries, shoes or whatever they need," Said Ramos. Until this donation, the
Retired Boxers Foundation has existed on less than $5,000 a year in donations,
with all of the expenses and services provided by what Richardson and Ramos are
able to earn and from fans who send $5 and $10 checks. The largest donation
received by the RBF was a $1,000 donation from Dr. Van Buren Lemons, a cranial
trauma specialist from Sacramento. "Ron Shelton’s donation will allow us to
serve far more fighters, and ultimately, will be the catalyst for setting up a
network of supportive services for fighters," Said Richardson on behalf of the
RBF.
 JAMES CARVILLE
While most of you know James Carville as an author, host of CNN's Crossfire
and of course, as a political consultant to President Bill Clinton, most of you
do not know that James is a huge fan of boxing. He believes in our mission
and is a huge asset to the RBF. Following is the first Crossfire
transcript occuring after James was named to our Honorary Board:
 In
the Crossfire: on King sounds off on boxing
King: "If you cast your bread upon the water and you have faith, you'll get
back cash. If you don't have faith, you'll get soggy bread."
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Boxing promoter Don King has represented boxing
legends including Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.
Known for his flamboyant style and showmanship, King stepped into the
"Crossfire" ring Thursday with hosts James Carville and Tucker Carlson to
discuss Tyson, Tonya Harding and the state of boxing today.
CARLSON: Now tell me, James and I were just talking that we both like
boxing.
First of all, every one is down on Mike Tyson, you maybe more than most even.
Why? And second, what happened to Mike Tyson who had so much problems?
KING: Well, first of all, let me correct you. I'm not down on Mike
Tyson. I think that Mike Tyson is down on himself. ... He chooses a path that's
the wrong path to take.
But I think that he's a great fighter and a great human being. I love the guy
and I'm sorry to see him go into such a state by listening to others.
CARLSON: Really. Well, we have this quote from the Daily Record from
June 5. Here's what you said about Mike Tyson. Doesn't sound like something
you'd say about someone you love.
"Mike Tyson could be a poster boy for the Ku Klux Klan. He's the embodiment,
he personifies so that he can be [in an] ad for them to say, `See that I told
you,' and everyone laughs like it's funny."
That's pretty rough.
KING: Well, that's pretty true. You must understand that Mike Tyson
embodies what the Klan was trying to [say about African- Americans] -- that we
are lazy and lethargic. That we can't rise to the occasion, and we all lie,
cheat and steal. This is the stereotyped image that they had of
African-Americans throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. And it lingers
on today from the scars of slavery.
And when he acts that way -- where he would insult women, bite off ears, do
things that they said all along -- then ... it looks like what they're saying
has some credibility. He could have been the poster boy for the Ku Klux Klan.
CARVILLE: You know I'm a fight fan. I'm two things -- I'm a Roman
Catholic and I'm a fight fan. And the day we get rid of Cardinal Law and Mike
Tyson the better it's going to be for my church and my sport. So...
KING: Here, here.
CARVILLE: We're talking about several things. Colonel Bob Sheridan,
who is the famous great boxing announcer, told me one of the things that people
don't know, that you're a mathematical genius.
KING: Well, he's very kind. But you know that he worked with Colonel
Sheridan. You know I had that distinct honor and privilege. ...
CARVILLE: But how fast can you calculate numbers? I'm told that you're
the best there is. Is that true?
KING: Well, he's being very kind.
CARVILLE: Other people have told me that.
KING: He's being very kind. You know, I try to do the best I can with
what I have to work with. ...
CARVILLE: I serve on the board of the Retired Boxers Association with
Alex Ramos and we love boxing. But we know it causes severe damage to people.
You know that and I know that. The retired boxers have a tough go.
Would you be willing to lead [something where] all the boxing promoters take
a small percentage of the gross and put it aside to help these retired fighters
who have severe neurological problems? A lot of them of them are lovely people
but uneducated. Is there something that you and I and other people can do to
help these old fighters that have been forgotten by everybody?
KING: Well, I certainly would be an advocate of that, but I'd like to
also say I'd like to be an advocate for helping all of the underprivileged: the
poor, the downtrodden and denied. It don't have to be boxers. It's those in this
country that are suffering.
Now in addition to that, let us help the aging. Let us help the homeless. Let
us help the jobless. Let us help them all. So those of us who are fortunate
enough, let us contribute and work for those who are less fortunate.
CARLSON: Outstanding. I'm just personally interested. How much do you
think you've made over the years promoting fighting?
KING: Oh, I don't know. You know, if you can count your money, you ain't got none.
And so you don't put it in money. You understand what I mean? You put in
terms of what good have you done.
CARLSON: That's interesting.
KING: ... and what you've done in America.
If you cast your bread upon the water and you have faith, you'll get back
cash. If you don't have faith, you'll get soggy bread.
CARLSON: OK, thank you, reverend. Well, tell me this, you essentially
implied that Mike Tyson has become a freak show, biting people's ears and stuff.
For a freak show, you really can't beat Tonya Harding as a boxer.
Do you think that's good for the sport?
KING: Well, I didn't say those words. Now you have a very
sophisticated knack of taking semantics and taking them over the cliff, so to
speak.
CARLSON: Well, I appreciate that.
KING: Well, you know I applaud you for that. I think Tonya Harding is
a wonderful American. I mean, she went astray but wouldn't the Lord Jesus say if
one sheep is astray from the flock, would [he] not bring it back into the fold?
CARLSON: Bring it back into the ring.
KING: To the flock, you know what I mean.
CARLSON: Should she be in the ring?
KING: Listen, ladies are boxing and they're doing very well at it. So
you've got a lot of ladies that are really terrific. And you can't discriminate
against the ladies. They've got a right -- that's what freedom is. Freedom is
choice. And to have the choice to do whatever you want to do and you respect
that right.
CARVILLE: Pound for pound, who is the best fighter in the world today?
KING: Roy Jones. Roy Jones is what I call a superman. He is so
superior to all of his colleagues and in his weight category, that when people
begin to think that he was a coward and that he would fight nobody ... he
represented us [the United States] in Korea in the Olympics.
 BILL
FARLEY
Bill Farley, Vice President, Marketing Events, Playboy Enterprises, Inc.
Bill Farley has been a long time fan of boxing, and the Playboy Mansion
has been the site of many a gathering to watch and to televise the fights.
Bo Derek, another one of the Retired Boxers Foundation Honorary Board Members,
remembers her mother dropping her off at the Mansion to watch the boxing
matches with the rich and famous.
Bill Farley’s father boxed in the service, and later wrote frequently
about the sport for several New York City newspapers. Bill himself
boxed in college as a part of an athletic career that included football,
track and field and record-setting performances as a competitive swimmer.
Bill Farley grew up in New York and attended schools in New York City and Connecticut before entering Cornell University, from
which he received his bachelor’s degree in English and Economics. After working as a newspaper reporter and a radio personality
in New York, Farley was hired by the ABC Television Network as a writer and spent four years working for ABC Sports, during which
time he worked closely with Howard Cosell and many professional boxers, including Muhammad Ali.
He moved to Los Angeles for ABC in the mid-70s, leaving the company to form his own marketing firm. He returned to ABC in 1984
to serve as Manager of Information for the International Broadcast Center of the Summer Olympic Games.
In 1985, Farley was hired as a communications executive by Playboy Enterprises, Inc. He now serves as Vice President, Marketing
Events for this global corporation. Under his leadership, the Playboy Mansion has been the site for three annual ESPN 2 Televised
fight cards.
In addition to his work at Playboy, Farley heads his own editorial services company in the San Fernando Valley, Night Writer. He was
a candidate for United States Representative for California’s 26th Congressional District in 2000.
 COLONEL
BOB SHERIDAN
Col.
Bob Sheridan is an International celebrity having broadcast over 10,000 fights
on radio and television, with over 725 world title fights in a career spanning
parts of five decades from the late 1960’s to the new millennium. Some of his
accomplishments include:
§
Anchored the world feed of the first live heavyweight
championship telecast—Foreman vs. Ali in the 1974 in the historic “Rumble in the
Jungle”—in Zaire, Africa. This fight was telecast to an audience exceeding 1
billion people!
He
also commentated the first heavyweight fight out of the Philippines—“The Thrilla
in Manila” featuring Ali vs. Frazier in 1975—Ring Magazine’s “Fight of the
Year.”
Anchored the first live heavyweight title fight out of Japan, which was the
upset of the century: Tyson vs. Douglas.
Commentated the first live telecast our of China on Showtime in 2000, which
showcased Laila Ali’s first televised fight (arranged by RBF Founder, Alex
Ramos), followed by Andrew Golota in the main event.
Anchored the world feed of a fight with the largest live crowd in the history of
boxing (135,000 live gate!!!), featuring Julio Caesar Chavez vs. Greg Haugen at
Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
Colonel
Bob Sheridan is an award winning broadcaster/commentator respected by the
biggest names in boxing. He has been the witness to boxing history –from the
ordinary to the extraordinary—and has shared what he has seen with millions of
people around the world. According to his fans, Sheridan is candid yet
respectful of the sport and the athletes who have paved the way for his position
as International Commentator Extraordinaire. Boxing fans are sure to know his
voice, if not his face, because he is also the man who does the voice-overs for
hundreds of the ESPN Classics. No one could ever doubt Sheridan’s dedication
to the sport and to his position as international commentator. Experiencing a
third heart attack and angioplasty, Sheridan checked himself out of the
hospital, convincing his cardiologist Dr. Ram Singh to administer fluids and
monitor his blood pressure while he commentated the Evander Holyfield, Mike
Tyson rematch, Sheridan never skipped another beat (no pun intended) and
returned to the hospital after the fight for his second angioplasty
procedure.
The
Retired Boxers Foundation executives and supporters are huge fans of Colonel Bob
Sheridan because he “walks the talk” of helping the organization to help the
fighters. The Retired Boxers Foundation was successful in recruiting Col. Bob
Sheridan to their Board of Directors in 2001, followed by two recruits,
political consultant, James Carville and
respected real estate developer from New England, Gary
Litchfield. Sheridan never misses a chance to say good things about Alex
Ramos and what he is doing through the Retired Boxers Foundation. “I can
always count on Bob Sheridan. His word is for real and THAT is really something
in this sport,” said Ramos. The Retired Boxers Foundation considers Col. Bob
Sheridan one of the “Undisputed Champions for Dignity. Sheridan was
inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004.
IRISH
MICKY WARD
Irish" Micky Ward Joins RBF Board of Directors
"Irish" Micky Ward Receives First Retired Boxers Foundation "Undisputed
Champions for Dignity" Belt
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 7, 2003
[Simi Valley, CA] The Retired Boxers Foundation announced today that
"Irish" Micky Ward has been appointed to the Retired Boxers Foundation Honorary
Board of Directors as of December 1, 2003. According to RBF Founder and
President, Alex "The Bronx Bomber" Ramos, "Micky Ward retired with dignity after
a career that spanned nearly 20 years. He represents everything we want the
sport of boxing to be: A sport where world class athletes compete with the best
in their class, give the fans what they really want to see, and retire when they
want to." Ward said he is looking forward to being a representative of all the
fighters who have retired from the sport of boxing and his goal is to make sure
that those who follow him are allowed the same dignity in retirement that he has
claimed.
Alex Ramos has known Micky Ward from their amateur days, with Ramos being
from New York and Ward from the Boston area. Amateur boxing in the North East
has lead to more world-class boxing champions than any other region of the
United States, with fierce competition between fighters from New York and New
Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston and the Washington, D.C. and Maryland areas. While
Ramos and Ward were from different weight classes, they still followed the
careers of their friends from the amateur days. When "Irish" Micky Ward
announced his retirement from boxing in the summer of 2003, Alex Ramos wanted to
include Ward in some way as a part of his Retired Boxers Foundation. The mission
of the RBF is to assist retired professional boxers in the transition from their
glorious days in the ring to a dignified retirement. The two of them talked on
the telephone and in September, RBF Board Member, Gary Litchfield, organized a
tribute to Micky Ward at his Billerica, Massachusetts restaurant, the Emerald
Rose.
WARD RECEIVES FIRST RBF “UNDISPUTED CHAMPIONS FOR DIGNITY” BELT
As soon as the date was set for the event in Billerica, Alex Ramos contacted
designer and owner of
Silver Star Championship Belts, Armeni H. Akopian, and asked him to create a
championship belt engraved with the words, "Undisputed Champion for Dignity" and
"Irish" Micky Ward, to be presented to the retiring pugilist at the event. "The
belt that Armeni created was awesome," said Ramos.
The RBF belt was presented to Ward at a fundraiser hosted by Board Member,
Gary Litchfield, at the Emerald Rose Restaurant in Billerica, MA, on September
27, 2003. This event was sponsored in part by Everlast along with several Boston
area businesses. Ben Doherty, former Massachusetts State Boxing Commissioner was
the master of ceremonies. Former Massachusetts Sate Boxing Commission Chair and
1960 Olympic Gold Medallist, Skeeter McClure, also attended. Also on hand to
honor Ward, along with Alex "The Bronx Bomber" Ramos, 1984 USBA Middleweight
Champion, were recent WBA Welterweight Champion, Jose Rivera, former heavyweight
contenders, Jim McNally and Peter McNeely and former welterweight champion, Tony
DiMarco.
"Irish" Micky Ward was the inspiration for the event and for the award,
according to Alex Ramos, RBF Founder and President. RBF Board Member, Gary
Litchfield is an avid boxing fan and like everyone in the Boston area, a huge
fan of Micky Ward. Ward is from Lowell, Massachusetts, and started boxing at the
age of 7. He retired with a record of 38 wins (27 knockouts) and 13 losses.
Ward’s most memorable fights will go down in history as the "wars" with Arturo
Gatti. In three fights against Gatti, the fight in May 2002 was named "2002
Fight of the Year" by Ring Magazine.
The RBF intends to continue to work with Silver Star Championship Belts and
will continue to present the "Undisputed Champion for Dignity" belt to
professional fighters who represent the best of the sport of boxing.
Silverstar's owner, Armeni Akopian has designed and manufactured world-class
championship belts, including belts for the IBF, WBO, IFBA and the WBF. He has
also created belts for Everlast, the World Kickboxing Federation and USA Boxing.
For more information about the Retired Boxers Foundation, visit their website
at
www.retiredboxers.org, or call Alex Ramos at (805) 583-5890.
MEDICAL ADVISORY BOARD
* NEW MEDICAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
BETH ADAMS, M.Ed LRC -
NEUROTRAUMA REHABILITATION SPECIALIST
 Beth
A. Adams M.Ed LRC is a nationally recognized Neurotrauma Rehabilitation
Specialist in the Boston area who provides specialized and
individualized rehabilitation services to those who have sustained a
concussion or traumatic brain injury.
Services offered in her
practice are neurocognitive testing, cognitive rehabilitation, case
management and resource identification, vocational rehabilitation,
second impact syndrome awareness, return to play assistance, prevention,
advocacy, life care planning assistance, outreach and overall concussion
and brain injury education. |
| She has been in the brain injury field
for over twenty years serving a multitude of clientele including
children, adolescents, adults and athletes of all levels (Youth Sports,
High School, NCAA, Professional Boxing, Professional Wrestling, NFL and
NHL). Their injuries range from sports concussions and second impact
syndrome to car accidents and slip and falls. In addition to the
treatment of these injuries she also advocates for prevention and safety
both on the playing field as well as on the road.
Beth A. Adams is on the Board of Directors for the Brain
Injury Association of Massachusetts and on the Medical Advisory
Committee for the Retired Boxers Foundation. She is also the
Neurocognitive Assessment Specialist at the Brigham and Women
Neurological Sports Injury Center. She is in private practice in Salem,
Massachusetts and can be reached at (978) 741-0100.
http://www.concussionrehab.com/
 |
Raymond
Monsell. MB. BCh. Dip. Sports Med.
D.O.B. 25/4/61 (or
4/25/61!!!!)
Born in Dublin, Ireland.
Trained as a doctor in
the University of Wales College of Medicine, In Cardiff Wales, Qualified in
1984, 20 years ago !!
Worked for 8 years as a
hospital physician, then went into general practice.
Obtained a Diploma in
Sports medicine from the University of Wales in 2001.
Currently studying for my
Masters Degree (MSc) in Sports medicine, preparing a thesis on “ Brain injury in
Boxing”
I have been at ringside
with the amateurs fro 19 years, the professionals for 15 years, and the karate
for 14 years, officiating at numerous world title fights.
I was medical officer
with the British Boxing Board of Control from 1990 to 2002, and am currently
medical officer with the Welsh Amateur Boxing association, British Boxers
association, and Welsh Kyokoshinkai karate organization. I am a member of the
World boxing council and American Association of Ringside Physicians.
My Main interests are
ringside safety, and the care of the seriously injured boxer, as well as the
chronic long-term effects of professional boxing.
I have presented papers to the World boxing
council and the AAPRP on the Welsh Area protocol for the management of the
seriously injured boxer.
PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY RBF MEDICAL
ADVISORY BOARD
Dr. Joseph Sale
Founder and Director
Optimum Performance, Inc.
Dr. Sale is the Founder and Director of Optimum
Performance, Inc., a Human Performance and Consulting Company. His work is the
result of years of ongoing research dedicated to optimum human performance and
fulfilled human potential.
He is a board certified nutrition specialist, certified strength and
conditioning specialist, performance consultant, and a professional member of
the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Dr. Sale has successfully
consulted with thousands of clients over the past 15 years.
His expertise lies in the areas of nutrition, nutritional
supplementation, strength and conditioning, functional biomechanics, human
anatomy, injury prevention and human performance as well as sales and human
dynamics skills. Additionally he has been asked to speak at seminars and
conferences on topics ranging from “Personal Development” to “Corporate
Wellness.” As an accomplished public speaker, Dr. Sale has marketed, organized
and conducted personal development training programs throughout the
United States
speaking and consulting to Companies such as:
IBM AT&T
Century
21
New York Life
AG
Edwards Sears
Browning
Ferris IDS Financial Services
Early in his professional
development he was associated with one of the nation’s most well-known sales and
personal development experts where he built the foundations of sales skills and
learned the importance of continuing personal development. Competing as an
amateur boxer for many years, he participated in both the Golden Gloves and
USA
– Amateur Boxing Federation Tournaments. He has been a consultant to
professional and amateur boxers, Division I College Football, as well as Olympic
athletes. Remaining involved with boxing, Dr. Sale is currently a member of the
Medical Advisory Board for the Retired Boxers Foundation.
Dr. Sale earned his B.S.
degree from Arizona
State
University. His passion to acquire a deeper
understanding of health and human performance and to continue his own personal
development quest motivated him to earn his Doctoral degree in Naturopathic
Medicine from the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health
Sciences, one of the nation’s premier complimentary and alternative medical
programs.
Refining his experiential and intellectual
knowledge base over the years and gathering practical information from many
disciplines, Dr. Sale provides results oriented training, educational, speaking,
and consulting services.
DR. VAN BUREN LEMONS
Lord of the ring
Neurosurgeon VanBuren Lemons knows that boxers risk brain
injury. And he's right in their corner.
Dr. VanBuren Lemons
examines Mariano Guevara, who had broken his
neck, at this office. Interpreter Nato
Fabian, right, helps facilitate the
examination.
Sacramento
Bee/Renée C. Byer
By Cynthia Hubert -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Friday, February 28, 2003
VanBuren Lemons dances across the ring, Nikes bouncing, fists
punching the air, biceps rippling, breaths escaping in measured
puffs.
Framed posters of the greats surround him. Ali. Frazier. Tyson.
On the CD player, the band Afro Rican fortifies him with a hip-hop
tune.
Lemons is focused, his eyes narrowing to slits. Jab, jab. Circle
right, circle left. Sweat is erupting above his upper lip, and his
face is turning crimson. For a couple of hours this afternoon,
Lemons is a boxer.
But the doctor in him is always within beeping distance. At any
moment, while Lemons is practicing the art of bashing an opponent's
head and torso for sport, he could get paged to the trauma center to
repair an injured brain or spine.
Lemons is a neurosurgeon. He is a boxing fan and a student of its
devastating injuries. He makes no apologies for the apparent
contradiction.
"Around here, we call him 'The Professor,' because he thinks a
lot," says a smiling Angelo Nunez, a retired professional fighter
who oversees the doctor's workouts at a local gym. "But when he has
a really, really good day, we call him 'The Mauler.' "
Lennox Lewis has been through Lemons' Sacramento office. So have
Tony Lopez and many more of the world's most celebrated boxers.
Lemons knows them all, and understands them better than most.
At age 42, he is one of the nation's top medical experts in brain
injuries in athletes, particularly amateur and professional
fighters. As a physician and researcher, he has seen the disabling
effects of too many strategic blows to the head.
Yet Lemons, an athlete in his own right, admires the "beauty" of
boxing, a sport that the American Medical Association has said is
unreasonably dangerous and should be banned. He watches it in person
and on television whenever he can and practices it five days a week.
"It's an interesting paradox, isn't it?" Lemons asks, leaning
against his desk in an office stacked with medical texts and adorned
with an autographed mural of Muhammad Ali, whose devastating
neurological problems he believes were caused, or at least
aggravated, by boxing.
"But I find myself in the right place on this issue. Boxing in
general is not to be condemned. It carries a risk and has an injury
pattern that we need to understand. Participation in athletics has
many benefits, and I have no trouble defending boxing or any of the
other sports that can result in head injury."
In fact, boxing is less lethal than many other sporting
activities, according to numbers compiled by Lemons and others.
Horse racing, hang gliding and football, among others, cause many
more fatal injuries than boxing, the statistics show. But boxing, by
subjecting fighters to repeated head punches, is believed to cause
brain damage that has gone largely undocumented until recently.
A study last year by researchers at the University of
Pennsylvania concludes that boxers, soccer players and hockey
players may be at higher risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia
than other people. An estimated 17 percent of former professional
boxers have a form of advanced Parkinson's disease, commonly called
"punch-drunk syndrome," that Lemons and others believe is the result
of multiple brain concussions. Former 49ers quarterback Steve Young
retired from football in part because of concerns about the
condition, and Ali is believed by many to be a victim of it.
Because of such risks, the AMA opposes all forms of boxing and
recommends that it be banned from Olympic competition. Likewise, the
American Academy of Pediatrics has called for a ban, encouraging
young athletes to participate in sports "in which intentional head
injury is not the primary objective."
Lemons, who earned his medical degree and graduated summa cum
laude from the University of California, Davis, contends that the
AMA and academy have "little understanding of boxing" or other
contact sports.
He emphasizes the discipline, strength, agility and confidence
that sports like boxing can instill in young people. "Sports is a
dedication to excellence," he says. "Excelling in sports offers the
encouragement many of us need to do well in other aspects of our
lives."
But he has to concede that if his son, Robbie, 10, wanted to box
competitively, he would think twice about allowing him to do so.
"I might have problems in that area," he says, adding that his
wife, Laura Anderson, also a neurosurgeon, would likely object. "I
know that amateur boxing is safe, but I'm not the only one in the
family making these decisions."
Robbie does play basketball, baseball and soccer, and his dad
coaches youth sports and helps sponsor athletic programs and other
programs for needy youngsters.
While most of his medical practice revolves around treating
people with problems such as brain aneurysms and head injuries from
car accidents, Lemons counts himself lucky to be able to combine his
interest in medicine with his lifelong love of sports.
"It's a hobby, really, a passion of mine," explains the doctor, a
fit, strapping man with a soft-spoken yet confident demeanor
befitting his Eagle Scout background. Lemons, a Sacramento native,
owns a black belt in karate and lettered in football and wrestling
at Pomona College in Claremont. His Carmichael home, which is
equipped with a gym where he practices the martial arts, is filled
with signed gloves and other boxing memorabilia.
"I have always had a big attraction to boxing as a fan, but it
has dangers, which are brain trauma," he says matter-of-factly.
"From that point of view, it's very interesting to me. Football
players, soccer players, lots of other athletes suffer these
injuries. But boxing is the prototypical sport for head injury."
The doctor spends much of his spare time researching the
physiology of head trauma in athletes, contemplating its
consequences and searching for ways it might be avoided. He keeps
logs, writes papers and holds seminars on the subject. He sits
ringside at bouts in California and Nevada and has the authority to
halt fights for medical reasons.
As to boxing's risks, Lemons draws a sharp line between the
amateur version of the sport, in which bouts are shorter, more
evenly matched and have stricter safety rules, and professional
fighting.
"For a lot of reasons, pro boxers do not back out of fights,"
says Lemons, who presides over as many as 20 bouts a year for the
California and Nevada state athletic commissions. "There is so much
at stake. There is a lot of money involved, a lot of pressure to
keep going. It's a completely different animal than amateur boxing."
And it can have far more devastating results.
Consider Ali, the former heavyweight champ who in his prime could
"float like a butterfly and sting like a bee" but now is
neurologically damaged and has trouble walking and speaking. Or
consider former middleweight champion Alex "The Bronx Bomber" Ramos,
who says that he, too, is disabled by tremors, balance problems and
other struggles that he believes are the result of more than 300
career fights.
"Boxing did a lot of good things for me," says Ramos, who five
years ago started the Retired Boxers Foundation to support fellow
fighters. "I got to travel the world. I'm gonna die a fighter. I
would never do anything to hurt the sport. We just have to make sure
it's as safe as possible."
He credits Lemons with helping to make that happen.
Among other things, Lemons helped influence passage of a
California law mandating that ambulances and emergency medical
technicians be present at sanctioned boxing matches. He volunteers
his time to teach coaches and trainers about brain trauma, how to
recognize it and when to allow an injured athlete to return to
action. Boxers praise him for his studies of their injuries and his
efforts to help them understand what their careers might have done
to their brains.
"He was the first one to really talk to these guys, and treat
them like people and not lab specimens," says Jacquie Richardson,
executive director of Ramos' foundation, which provides medical
referrals, rehabilitation and other services to aging boxers. "He is
making a difference in their lives."
Rob Lynch, executive officer for the California State Athletic
Commission, says the doctor's skills are "very special," and his
medical interventions during bouts may have saved lives and
prevented disabilities.
"He sits within blood and spit range of these boxers in the ring,
and he can look in someone's eyes and immediately tell if something
serious is going on," Lynch says.
That "something" usually means a concussion.
"We used to think that concussion was a minor injury," the doctor
says. "Now we know it is not. It's a complicated topic. We do know
that no two concussions are alike, and the consequences can be very
different as well."
The word originates from a Latin verb, concutere, that means "to
shake violently." When the brain is shaken inside the skull, Lemons
explains, nerves and blood vessels can stretch or break. Depending
upon where those nerves and vessels are located and the severity of
damage, the result can be amnesia, brief loss of consciousness, coma
or death. Just last month, an Indonesian boxer died from head
injuries after his opponent knocked him out.
Doctors have only recently begun to understand that concussions,
especially two or more within a short time period, can have lifelong
consequences, even for athletes who seem at first to have recovered.
Lemons calls Ali the "poster child" for this "chronic traumatic
brain injury," which sometimes is mistaken for Alzheimer's or
Parkinson's disease.
"These symptoms may not surface until years after retirement, and
they are progressive," Lemons says. The brain damage, he adds, may
contribute not only to physical disability but to mental and
emotional problems.
It does not have to be that way, Lemons insists. He believes
athletes can avoid these consequences by staying out of the ring or
off the field until they recover fully from concussions.
"This is a diagnosis that any trained coach should be able to
make, and we should always err on the side of caution," he says.
"All of us who have watched or played or studied these sports know
their dangers. We can't prevent all injuries. But the least we can
do is be cautious."
Lemons himself is a relentless boxer, Nunez says, though his
training regimen is highly unlikely to result in a blow that could
cause serious injury.
"He goes at it," observes Nunez, watching the doctor rage against
a punching bag and then hold his own in a sparring session with
heavyweight boxer Hildo Silva. "He approaches it like a
professional. He gives it everything he's got."
The doctor, whose hobbies include international travel and
reading philosophy, approaches life in general the same way.
"This sport is hard, harder than most people would imagine," he
says, reluctantly pausing from his routine, his shirt soaked with
perspiration. "This sport will humble anyone. It's a challenge.
That's one of the reasons I love it."
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Dr. VanBuren Lemons shadowboxes
while awaiting a sparring partner during his regular
workout at Prime Time Boxing in Sacramento. The
neurosurgeon says boxing is less dangerous than some
other sports, but acknowledges that it "carries a risk
and has an injury pattern that we need to understand."
Sacramento Bee/Renée C. Byer
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Dr. VanBuren Lemons embraces
boxing with the same passion as his practice, where he
is an expert in brain injuries in athletes. He is
equally at home in the boxing gym or in his office.
Sacramento Bee/Renée C. Byer
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The
Retired Boxers Foundation was started by Alex "The Bronx Bomber" Ramos in 1998.
