AIR DATE:
EPISODE: Episode 12
Boxers preparing for the Olympics include those in the Philippines is in the news on this episode, and is the news that gyms in the UK are opening. Join us on our on-going exploration of the Olympics to be held in Tokyo 2021, featuring Christian from the Friday Night Panel, and the route to the ring. Watch TalkinFight weekdays at 12, 4, 7, and 8:30pm EST on YouTube or LIVE at talkinfight.com/live @Olympic @IOC Media @torchrelay @AIBA
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#boxer #boxing #boxingtalkshow
Transcribed:
Hello boxing fans around the world welcome once again to another episode of talk and fight in this case we’re talking specifically about the olympics to be happening in july and, more specifically, boxing so uh.
I read some articles that were pretty disappointing on the weekend.
With respect to what the japanese officials might be thinking with respect to possibly canceling the olympics, did you find out any more information on this uh? Specifically? No, i mean on that particular front.
As you know, we reported the other day that they are still talking both the vaccine minister, as well as the prime minister and everyone else are saying that.
Yes, we may still have to make that decision to cancel the olympic games.
The very next day uh, the head of the uh, the head of the ioc as well as the head of the japanese tokyo 2020 uh committee, came out and said: no, we are absolutely going forward with the games.
Absolutely there’s.
Nothing has changed on that front.
So this is kind of a situation of the right, doesn’t know what the left’s doing so to speak, but at the same time, they’re going to start floating this idea early just in case it does come down to it so that they can say, hey.
We’Ve been telling you this for a month now, even as they say no we’re going forward we’re going forward we’re going forward, they can plant this in the back your mind.
So when it, if it does happen, i can say: hey guys, we’ve been telling you.
This is going to happen for months now, yeah.
So there’s really no news to uh report on that particular front, so we’re gon na hope things just continue to keep plugging away on that.
As far as that goes yeah, we have seen the beginnings of the fallout, though from the cancellation of the americas tournament.
Unfortunately, one of our own someone that we’ve uh talked about on the show here before is in a bit of a rough spot as a result of that cancellation.
So i thought we’d take a little bit of a look at that today.
Canadian boxer, mandy bujold has hit another huge roadblock in the tokyo 2020 qualifying uh, and this one may be insurmountable after a competitive year that was wiped out by covet 19.
The 11 time national flyweight champion from kitchener ontario uh had hoped to fight her way into an olympic birth at the america’s olympic qualifier scheduled in buenos aires next month, but in my rising cases of the global pandemic in argentina.
The event was cancelled on thursday.
Now we covered that last thursday, bujold tweeted, to say that i’m heartbroken would be an understatement, so she recently sat down with uh with a report from tsm and they went through uh a few things uh a few things there.
So this this is going to be peppered with a few quotes from man.
Just give you an idea what’s going on here, so the 49 quota spot slated to be awarded at the event will now be allocated via the ioc boxing task force.
Ranking bujold doesn’t currently have the ranking because she took she took time off to give birth.
Her daughter, kate, was born in the summer of 2018 and then the pandemic wiped out last season’s schedule.
Now she did have three top podium finishes since her return from childbirth, but none of them were at events that contributed towards the selection rankings.
So, according to bujold, she says there were literally three events in the last 16 years that i didn’t attend and of course those are those three events are being considered for ranking points but yeah.
The two-time pan-american games champion wasn’t seated for the olympic qualifier, but she says that she was confident that she would be able to fight her way to a top four and then qualify herself.
Now.
She says, though, stating that now they’re taking away the only opportunity that i have to actually be able to prove that hey, i’m still here, i didn’t go anywhere.
That’S the most frustrating part is not being able to actually prove and show all the work that you’ve been putting in all the training camps, all the money all the time.
It’S just unreal.
The continental qualifies, as we know, were originally scrapped.
Last march, due to the uh pandemic, now bujold would have been the first female boxer for canada to box at consecutive olympics and now, as some of you guys, are going to remember, an illness derailed her dreams in 2016 at the rio games just hours before her Quarter final loss to china’s red and cancan, she was ill in hospital and on an iv drip so uh.
She ended up having to settle for fifth place in that tournament and bujold’s, now wondering about the fairness of an olympics.
That we’ll see some talk at some top athletes unable to qualify, and i think she’s thinking a little bit along your lines here, graham because this is parroting some of the stuff that i’ve heard you mentioned once or twice here, and she says i understand that the Organizing committee and everybody they’re all trying to deal with this as it’s happening.
So it’s not like i’m trying to put blame on anyone adding, but if you’re trying to create an olympics and the olympics is supposed to be the best of the best athletes and now we’re in a situation – and we know that it’s not just us.
I think that sorry, i think it is not just us there are 35 sports still looking to qualify you’re, not necessarily going to get the best of the best people you’re going to get the people who kind of happen to fall within the new criteria.
So bujold hadn’t been monitoring the cove at 19 cases in argentina or at home because, according to her, it just causes her to stress and worry saying she’s just trying to stay focused on what she’s doing in maintaining her home gym saying.
That’S basically all she’s done throughout this entire pandemic.
As we know, both argentina and ontario are reeling in the pandemic’s third wave.
After recording more than 52 000 new cases combined on tuesday and wednesday, argentina has announced that it was closing schools and uh implementing a new curfew in an effort to flatten its steep spike.
Boujoul says i feel like even the uncertainty of the i’m sorry, i feel like even the uncertainty of the olympics.
How are they even going to be able to go and put this all together? I don’t know in my mind, i guess you just have to keep fighting you got to keep pushing and while there’s an olympics to push for, i still know that, in the back of my mind, there’s a chance that the olympics will still get called off.
Now.
Cancellation of the qualifier affects the entire canadian boxing team.
Uh bujo believes that just two women so far, tamara theobald and miriam da silva are ranked high enough to earn quota spots under the new criteria now bujold.
It should be noted here that brutal has spoken to a lawyer who believes that she may have a discrimination case based on her maternity absence, and she is hoping that boxing canada, as well as the canadian olympic committee, are willing to go to bat for in perhaps Persuading the ioc into rethinking its ranking criteria now when asked boxing, canada did not respond for a request for a comment, though.
Unfortunately, it’s been a rough year for canadian boxers uh.
That goes beyond the absence of just uh.
This part of of competition back in february bujold, as well as 18 of her teammates, were all forced into isolation after the national team, training in montreal was cut short due to a po due to positive covet 19 tests.
So that’s the first of the fallout gram that we’re seeing from this uh cancelled.
Well, it’s the first of all we’re seeing here at home.
I should say based on this new uh qualification criteria for the americas, so carl’s turning in here, yeah well, while you’re reading that uh, which is too bad because uh i follow mandy’s instagram posts, uh and i can’t but like what she posts is actually her training Schedule and her regimen and i can’t believe, a how cr creative it is, but how intense it is.
So this woman is going hard day after day, uh practicing uh to be as best as she can possibly be in order to compete at the highest of high levels when it comes to life.
So i’m blown away by this.
This is uh.
You know there must be a ton of other athletes in the same scenario, i think well, it’s putting her in the same kind of boat as some of her younger uh competitors as well.
Who, although you know they may be absolutely in a position where they would qualify via tournament? They don’t have those rankings stacked up over since 2017.
, but in her case it’s matt leave uh, but in other people’s cases just they were.
They were competing as a youth.
At the time, so they just they don’t have that those rankings backing them up and is it fair? No, absolutely not.
Will we see boxing canada get involved over a single boxer trying to qualify for the olympics under this new criteria? I think it’s unlikely.
Unfortunately, i don’t see them going to bat, and i don’t see anything really changing on this and all you’re going to hear from the ioc side of things is guys we’re doing everything we can we’re just trying to get this thing off the ground and we’re just Trying to get it going so are they going to be reviewing case by case? I hope so, but i’m not optimistic, i would interject no.
They don’t have to do case by case they can simply say, there’s an amendment to our policy and or procedures with respect to women who may have taken off the time from maternity leave, for example, and and just take back uh that period of time when they Were eligible uh to compete, and if they were eligible a year ago, then they should be able eligible today.
That’S how i feel common sense would dictate that, but of course, uh being involved in huge organizations such as olympic organizing committee yeah.
Maybe it’s not that straightforward for them, but i mean if i was a woman and i had taken time off to have a baby, i’m sure there’s plenty of women who would agree with me and say yeah absolutely.
This should be a absolute clear-cut case where all women, if they’ve taken off maternity time, should be allowed to compete in the olympics if they once qualified at an international ranking level yeah without that or so you’re, suggesting that they take that they take.
That chunk of time that they were absent and they simply take that and look at the rankings from prior to 2017.
so make their rankings go back to 2016 is what you’re saying well in a nutshell, let’s just say: let’s just say, the gold medal winner of The 2016 olympics in any event for some peculiar reason, was disqualified due to covid because they were either taking time off for maternity or simply could not compete in any sanctioned qualifying event because of code again, then.
Yes, i would take that uh time period away.
It disappears and if they qualify never still eligible and they still want to compete and and therefore are deemed as a top-ranked, boxer or athlete they should be allowed to compete.
Yes, that’s what i’m saying well, i think you should put that in an open letter and send it off to bucks in canada, the ioc and uh and the boxing task force and we’ll see what we can’t get some uh we’ll go, throw it up on change.
org, We’Ll get some signatures behind us, uh yeah right now.
I don’t think i’m that much of an influencer um, but that’s my opinion, uh and i’m pretty sure a kajillion women around the world would agree with me, if not men but uh, i’m pretty sure.
I’M right! Uh, you know, i think it’s unfair uh, that a covet has intervened in a lot of people’s lives.
That’D be complete waste of time, yep uh, but anyway, the point of the matter is uh women.
If they’ve taken time off due to maternity or any athlete who’s been impacted negatively by covet, should have their ranking reinstated uh due to what was brother, where they were positioned prior to covet breaking out simple solution.
Again, i don’t think it’s that simple, just based on the fact that well you’re away, no nobody else’s rankings have frozen.
Everybody else is still moving up and down those rankings.
The whole time that you’re away so it’s hard to say that you’re just gon na okay.
Well, i was ranked fifth, let’s say in the world: i just take a step out and they should just reinsert me back in my previous ranking.
When i come back, that’s i mean there’s just too many moving parts to do something to do it that way.
Okay, let’s take another support: uh, i’m the governing body of hockey, canada and i want to field the best hockey competitors on my hockey team.
It’S a subjective opinion i’m going to invite 30 people based on not their rankings, but do i believe to be the best of the best.
Surely uh boxing canada can take a look at who is currently the best boxers that canada can supply to the olympics and and choose based on a valid opinion? Well yeah, but the problem is: is canada we as a country as any national olympic committee, aren’t guaranteed any spots at the olympics, so yeah we can say we’re putting our best people forward, but those people still have to qualify.
You know canada isn’t given you know, we get x amount of boxes we get to send to the olympics.
So here are our best we might get.
We might try our best.
I don’t get zero boxes at the olympics.
Okay, but in the absence of qualifying events, surely there must be another solution.
All i’m saying is is if canada was entitled to send four boxers.
I don’t know, i don’t know what the normal is, but uh there must be some kind of averaging normal number.
Well, that’s like that’s.
My point is that there is no.
There is no entitled to send anything.
There’S 49 places for all of north and south america and central america combined.
They might all go to south americans might all go to north america, it’s okay! So all i’m saying is: is in the absence of uh some kind of ranking system based on a qualifying event.
Surely common sense would dictate they can average this out and say, based on who you’ve previously supplied to the olympics? Your current population base your current weight in terms of boxing stature, someone like mandy, who is a top-ranked professional, uh, amateur uh in in in women’s boxing.
She should be entitled to go in my humble people.
I do i i do hope they find a way to get her there.
I just i’m not holding out on hope on this.
One is all i say right i mean i would love to see to see mandy box at tokyo, but i i just don’t see it happening because i think there’s too many moving parts for them to try to implement something.
The way that you’re saying that it should go forward and it’s just not the way that they allocate because no country is, is guaranteed if we start looking at just the size of the country.
How many boxers can you feel things like that? Looking at population density and other other things to try to determine how many spots each country should get as opposed to the quotas for the americas, then all of a sudden, you see a country like cuba, for example, that traditionally does very well at the uh.
In boxing international boxing events has a very small population, though so maybe they’re only allowed to send one box or now based on this.
This thing that you’re proposing here as opposed to the us, because they have hundreds of millions of people who might be able to field 20 boxers now yeah.
So i think so again it doesn’t there’s a lot of moving parts, and i know that – and you know mandy boujole made a great point.
You know these people are trying to put this together in real time.
As you know, the government of our because it wasn’t the ioc, you said no, i don’t think we’re going to do this.
It was the government of argentina that said this can’t go on.
We can’t support these athletes coming in.
So that’s why this was that’s.
Why this has been canceled? The ioc has said it’s too close to that tournament to in to be able to for us to either reschedule it or simply relocate it.
So and that’s why we’re moving on to this new system and we’re still hoping that the european qualifier is going to go ahead for is going to go forward, but given if the ioc had their way, these guys would still be fighting in buenos aires.
In a couple of weeks time, so it’s all about moving parts because it’s it’s, it’s not one.
Centralized group of people making a decision.
We have a centralized group of people reacting to outside influences what we’ve got and they can only do with you know they can only do what what they’re allowed to do.
So, at the end of the day, the government of argentina says nope, that’s all they can do and again i and i know florida would be happy to take all that one on orlando would be happy not only for the lives, i’m sure they would take the Qualifier, too, but with less than four weeks to go before the actual tournament too many moving parts to move that many remember it was like 400 people or something like that or no sorry, it was 1400 people.
Uh is once we got everything involved with not just the fighters, but also judges, referees officials, volunteers, who are helping actually create that event.
There was a lot of people there involved.
It can’t be that hard.
I mean those 1400 people seriously.
Those 1400 people wouldn’t care.
Whether they’re taking a flight to buenos aires or orlando, quite frankly, you know orlando – is more than capable of accepting 400 people.
That’S a that’s a few plane loads in any given day, uh that arrive in any given hour uh for those 1400 people to go visit disney world.
So the 1400 people have already had their roles assigned to them.
They already know what their job is, so, whether they’re hopping on the plane upon series or orlando would not make a difference so to say.
There’S moving parts you have moving parts but to say that their roles would change.
No, they wouldn’t would they care, whether or not but you’re going to take people from all over the globe and get every one of them a us visa now, with less than four weeks trick here.
That’S that those are the type of moving parts that i’m talking about.
It’S not whether or not so and so sitting ringside to judge this belt or not, and it’s not a it’s things like how do you get that many people us visas for you? For you or me, no problem, we would say it’s an open border, no visas required.
Oh you know just it’s.
It’S free free access to get down to an event like that.
But if you’re coming – let’s say you’re boxing for venezuela – let’s say you, let’s say you’re boxing, let’s see, let’s say you’re boxing right, so you’re a cuban boxer.
So sorry, the reason i was laughing is because that last comment uh.
No, the reason orlando came up is because the mayor of orlando months ago offered up orlando to host the actual olympics uh when japan was fluctuating uh quite a few months ago.
So we we joked about it, and so we continue to joke about it.
But it is uh not necessarily a serious option, but i’m debating the point i mean the christians point about visas.
Could we not have it in a sovereign state where the sovereign state says? First of all, 1400 people is not a hill of beans.
We’Ve got major hotels who can easily accept that number of people uh and, quite frankly, there are some states right now accepting tourism uh as a bona fide way of generating revenue for their sovereign state.
So can they accept 1400 olympic officials and athletes absolutely, and would those people do the exact same thing in x number of boxing rings? Yes, they would would it matter to them whether it’s buenos aires or xyz sovereign state.
The answer is no wouldn’t matter to them.
At all, so, is there a solution sure there is uh: are they being gon na implement that solution within within four weeks? Okay, the event is no longer being held in buenos aires, uh, it’s being held in the cayman islands, okay book, your ticket, okay tickets.
What’S so hard about that again, it’s moving parts, it’s logistics at this part and that’s what the and that’s what they said from from day one on this, and but you know to your point there are there are things that are happening in the world uh right Now, let’s, let’s, let’s move on from this one, just just a little bit, because my phone, my phone’s, going my phone’s going crazy right now go ahead, which means you’re, upsetting people um! That’S why i would turn mine into airplane mode.
Before we start talking keeps just keeps us good, uh, eddie, hearn, eddie, hearn, joshua, fury fight they’re, this close to making an actual announcement, and carl just brought this up a moment ago that if it goes ahead that uh fury may not have his corner man with Him who might be at the olympics? Why? Because this fight is now due to take place theoretically on the 24th of july, which is the first day of olympic competition, so eddie and the owners not bringing this up at all, is because eddie hearn has come out and said that he believes that the joshua Fury fight is a bigger event than the olympic games, not just boxing at the olympic.
He believes that people that globally, that one fight is bigger than the olympic games all together.
So that’s why he has no problem with it being scheduled at the same time as the olympics figures that still make a ton on pay-per-view figures.
The broadcast money is still going to be there now.
What he’s not saying is that, because he’s just he’s posturing, what he’s not saying is: oh yeah, i mean it’s also going to take place in uh, saudi arabia and it’ll be the middle of the night uh during it for tokyo.
So there will be no olympic games going on at the time.
He’S not saying any of he’s just saying.
No, absolutely we’re bigger than the olympics.
Uh people are gon na walk people are gon na watch uh.
The olympics are gon na watch us because there’s no olympics on for them to watch, because it’s going to be like four in the morning cause.
I think the idea is to have the fight scheduled for uh prime time uh, either middle of the afternoon gmt or uh or prime time whatever.
Whatever it is, they end up actually doing it, but saudi it’ll be middle of the afternoon for a gmt.
I’D have to guess just based on prime time there so not entirely sure how that’s gon na look but uh eddie hearn seems to think that that’s what we’re all gon na be doing is watching uh joshua fury as opposed to the olympics, as opposed to them.
Just not being on, but i’m just happy to hear that a hopefully we’re two events that i’m looking forward to and i’m hoping both of them go forward and, as usual, we’re waiting on an announcement on both of them.
Every day to your earlier point in moving along from there, though, there are things that are happening in the world: okay, the aiba world men’s and women’s youth championships are actually currently being held.
The 52 nation international tournament is actually the first may, and this is why this is important.
It’S the first major competition under the new aida president umar kremlev, who was elected as the leader of the embattled federation, just back in december of 2020 and additionally uh olympic champion estevan kovacs, uh recently stepped in as secretary general on march 22nd.
You guys will know this, because we’ve covered this on the show.
Now this is, as the aiba tries to stabilize its government under a close watch of the ioc which suspended the federation back in may of 2019.
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Again, you guys all know this.
The two week, youth championships, formally called the cadet world championships and were first contested in 1979, are being staged in poland for the first time and the event is being held at the hala legionov sports complex with more than 400 boxers entering the ring and with medals.
At stake in equal 10 weight divisions for both men and women, so that’s another actual.
A good point.
That’S uh coming up here is that they’ve actually expanded the women’s weight classes to match the number of men’s weight classes in this as well.
So we’re seeing it happening at the youth level now so, hopefully we’re going to see these expanded weight classes.
It’S going to move up through the uh amateur ranks until we start seeing them at the olympic level as well.
Now kremlov opened the event at a grand ceremony without spectators and with limited guests due to covet 19 safety measures, like everywhere else in the aiba’s bid to ensure integrity and refereeing and judging while being more transparent.
It’S formalized belt review procedure introduced at the senior level in 2019 and live public scoring are being implemented for the first time at a major youth event.
Now this is important.
I want to just get in a little bit into the details of what that is just because this is going to be the same type of scoring you’re going to be seeing.
You still you’ll not be seeing at all aipa events as well as getting into uh olympic of the scoring as well so regarding the live.
Scoring procedures scores from each round by each judge will be publicly displayed after the first two rounds.
Additionally, at the end of round three, the final scores will be publicly displayed after the official announcement of results in terms of the belt review process, the team manager or head coach of the losing boxer was going to have 15 minutes after the decision is announced in Order to submit their protest and then complete the paperwork forward over the next 30 minutes.
With five judges per match, the decision any decision – that’s either scored five nil or four one.
Those aren’t going to be reviewable, as the only possible option would still be a split decision of 3-2 uh.
That’S that’s explained by an aipa statement, so it’s either.
It already has to be a split decision in order for you to be able to actually challenge this, because otherwise you can challenge.
There’S gon na be no difference anyway, if technically, if the technical delegate determines that consulting about review jury after consulting me at brett virginia, let’s try that in english, if the technical delegate determines after consulting the belt review, jury that the protest should be allowed to proceed, The belt will be reviewed at that time by the jury, the observer, the referee evaluator and the judge evaluator evaluator, the the jury’s decision must be unanimous and that decision will be final.
So the new secretary general kovacs said that he’s looking forward to uh cooperation with kremlov to get the aiba ship back on course, stating aiba is undergoing a period of global reforms.
All of them are necessary for boxing to develop as a sport loved by millions of people around the globe, so that our athletes and coaches show the best results in international competitions at all levels.
I see the new aida leadership as headed in the right direction and is committed to working with a full dedication to support and reinforce this course of positive change.
Now, in december, positive uh, prior to winning the aiba presidency, kremlev told uh around the rings, which is a great website.
If you’re looking for information on boxing to general boxing news, the biggest challenge for aiba is to compete all tasks to bring the aia iaba back to the olympic family in time for paris 2024.
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So to your point, graham, and the reason why this is is major tournaments are still happening so why you know big one to happen, actually, no, nobody, joking! This is popped in and i had no we’re joking about uh orlando.
Just now, shreveport shreveport just had the u.
s nationals, they just just finished hosting a large large-scale boxing event and would probably be in a position to do that again.
Moving parts us visas are not exactly uh easy to come by, depending on where it is you’re.
Coming from, but it just popped by shreveport would be a perfect place to move that too, but large-scale events are still happening around the world.
Boxing is still happening around the world, but you know dealing with a bit of disappointment today on an olympic level for some of our local athletes.
Graham, yes, we are indeed that’s too bad um.
I see my core is chiming in on this one as well.
Um knuckle up um all right.
Well, i guess that’s it.
Then.
We’Ve covered everything newsworthy with respect to the olympics, from canada to shreveport, to eddie hearn, all all matters wembley, another location, okay! Well, you know, and carl over at last bell boxing is suggesting wembley for another location.
It’S already been moved once from the copper box uh the european championship, and you guys couldn’t reschedule the european championships or for london at the copper box and now have to be held in paris.
So i don’t see the america’s qualifier happening in europe to begin with, but especially not in a city that couldn’t even get the other qualifier off the ground.
So forgive my skepticism on wembley for that one shreveport that’d be my thought just because they just came off the back of the u.
s nationals, all right all right.
Thanks very much christian appreciate it uh.
It’S been a great discussion and a lot of input from viewers around the world which we’ve taken into consideration and tried to interject into this conversation, one of our more lively ones of recent uh months uh.
Hopefully, this will continue, hopefully we’ll open up some eyes.
Hopefully we’ll generate some letters and emails and corresponds to those governing bodies who do have options.
I believe um, especially when mandy boujoul would be, in fact an olympic medal contender, as are many of the fighters from around the world, including some from england uh.
But having said that, uh is that everything then today that’s what we’ve got on for today and as the uh as anything unfolds with the mandy boujole story.
If we find out uh if there’s any success to her legal challenge or if fox in canada does issue a statement addressing this fact uh what’s going on here, i will definitely let you guys know all right thanks very much christian appreciate thanks very much good viewership For all those great comments, um remember like share subscribe, hit that notification bell and we’ll see you tomorrow.
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