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kenyan_cheena · 12-03-2008, 08:44 PM

The New York Age

SUNDAY, 14 MAY, 2006

IBL TO RE-INTRODUCE
15-ROUND WORLD TITLE BOUTS

Story by James Reynolds

The International Boxing League staged a lavish dinner and presentation last night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, during which the entrants for its upcoming tournaments were revealed. The event was hosted by the organisation's president and MGM owner James Molk and attended by every member of the IBL staff, numerous sporting and entertainment personalities, media and close to a hundred of the boxers who will be competing in the league. The evening featured fantastic live performances both together and separately from R'n'B diva Beyonce and pop music legend Prince aswell as a side splitting stand-up routine to start the night from comedian Chris Rock.

While the public is now aware of exactly who will be taking part in the IBL's tournaments one of the big surprises came when Molk stated that the league plans to re-introduce something that's been missing from boxing for seventeen years: 15-round world title fights. The International Boxing Federation were the last of the big sanctioning bodies to stage them back in 1989 but Molk announced that every single IBL world title fight will be held over fifteen rounds. He acknowledged that the issue would be a contentious one but stated that every fighter had been made aware of the league's intentions before signing a contract and none of them had voiced objections.

"There's never been a greater spectacle in sport than a fifteen-round World Championship fight," Molk said passionately. "I often think back fondly on some of the classic title fights I witnessed growing up and it excites me to think that our organisation will be returning the sport to those great days."

The IBL used a lottery draw much like in football's World Cup to determine the schedule for the tournaments. The opening round of bouts are set to take place over five weeks starting on Monday the 5th of June with the welterweight division's Inter-Continental Championship tournament kicking things off. The league has done a remarkable job of signing some of boxing's most talented fighters with no less than twenty champions from the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO named as entrants in the tournaments. Molk was joined on stage by several of them including heavyweights Ken Norton and Terone Haynes while the draw was held. It goes without saying that the evening was a spectacular success, one that will only increase the pressure that the sport's other governing bodies have been feeling ever since Molk introduced the IBL to the world back in January...

12-03-2008, 08:44 PM	#70
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	*The New York Age* SUNDAY, 14 MAY, 2006 IBL TO RE-INTRODUCE 15-ROUND WORLD TITLE BOUTS Story by James Reynolds The International Boxing League staged a lavish dinner and presentation last night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, during which the entrants for its upcoming tournaments were revealed. The event was hosted by the organisation's president and MGM owner James Molk and attended by every member of the IBL staff, numerous sporting and entertainment personalities, media and close to a hundred of the boxers who will be competing in the league. The evening featured fantastic live performances both together and separately from R'n'B diva Beyonce and pop music legend Prince aswell as a side splitting stand-up routine to start the night from comedian Chris Rock. While the public is now aware of exactly who will be taking part in the IBL's tournaments one of the big surprises came when Molk stated that the league plans to re-introduce something that's been missing from boxing for seventeen years: 15-round world title fights. The International Boxing Federation were the last of the big sanctioning bodies to stage them back in 1989 but Molk announced that every single IBL world title fight will be held over fifteen rounds. He acknowledged that the issue would be a contentious one but stated that every fighter had been made aware of the league's intentions before signing a contract and none of them had voiced objections. "There's never been a greater spectacle in sport than a fifteen-round World Championship fight," Molk said passionately. "I often think back fondly on some of the classic title fights I witnessed growing up and it excites me to think that our organisation will be returning the sport to those great days." The IBL used a lottery draw much like in football's World Cup to determine the schedule for the tournaments. The opening round of bouts are set to take place over five weeks starting on Monday the 5th of June with the welterweight division's Inter-Continental Championship tournament kicking things off. The league has done a remarkable job of signing some of boxing's most talented fighters with no less than twenty champions from the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO named as entrants in the tournaments. Molk was joined on stage by several of them including heavyweights Ken Norton and Terone Haynes while the draw was held. It goes without saying that the evening was a spectacular success, one that will only increase the pressure that the sport's other governing bodies have been feeling ever since Molk introduced the IBL to the world back in January...