Wednesday, June 4, 2003 | 10:03 a.m.
Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4084.
Is the Nevada State Athletic Commission open to suggestion?
I suspect it is, even though the board is perfectly able to conduct its affairs without outside interference.
But the commission has found itself in a pickle of late, due to its belief that professional fighters ought to undergo MRI and MRA testing to be licensed here. The NSAC examined the issue last month -- as reported first in the Sun -- and will address it again at its meeting Friday.
Medically, the tests make sense. They establish a baseline for brain and arterial functioning, one that can be measured against tests later in a fighter's career if need be.
But from a financial viewpoint, the tests are creating turmoil. At $425 a pop, they place a hardship on a number of budget-conscious fighters, which, in turn, has the lower-level promoters fuming.
Gary Shaw, for one, has already announced he is canceling his series of cards at the Colorado Belle in Laughlin. He claims the MRI/MRA tests will keep inexperienced fighters from plying their trade in Nevada, and he has been relying on those types of fighters to fill out his cards.
I don't quite buy Shaw's spiel, largely because I think he's using the tests as an excuse to get out of Laughlin cards that aren't generating much money. But that's another subject.
What is pertinent is this: Nevada is apt to mandate MRI/MRA testing; the NSAC's goal of establishing a fund that would cover the costs of the tests is well-meaning yet seemingly unlikely at this time; and the burden of paying for the tests will ultimately fall to the fighters themselves (and not to their promoters).
Shaw, for one, claims this is the beginning of the end for club shows in the state, and, as a scare tactic, it's an effective ploy. These shows may have only limited appeal, but the NSAC sees them as valuable training grounds for fighters, judges and ringside personnel and doesn't want to lose them.
A light bulb went on in my head Tuesday while discussing the subject at the Nevada Partners gym. I have come across the ideal solution, and it's fair, it's equitable, and it addresses not only the financial burden of the tests but an ancillary issue as well.
I say it's time for the commission to establish a minimum purse of $1,000 for any fighter who takes part in a bout in Nevada.
As it is, fighters at the four-round level receive little more than $400 or $500 per fight. Not only is that inadequate in terms of paying for testing that other states do not demand, it's insufficient as a means of making a living.
Twenty or 30 years ago, $400 for a four-round fighter was at least morally acceptable. But it's not today, not when prices across the board have been multiplied many times over and not when men such as Shaw are making a good living at others' expense.
The NSAC prides itself on doing the right thing and here's an opportunity to up its medical standards and correct a glaring oversight at the same time. A few promoters might gripe, but the $1,000 minimum is reasonable and within their budgets -- and can be passed on to the consumer if need be.
If it turns out there are fewer club shows, so be it. But those fighters who are working deserve to be paid.
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