Day 2 of the OMB 35th Annual Convention

Report/Photos by Boxing Bob Newman

The 35th annual convention of the WBO officially got to work with the general assembly meetings inside the Royal Sonesta Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Tuesday morning. After the usual presentations by all delegates present, WBO President Francisco “Paco” Valcárcel introduced Ray Quiñones, from the Sports Authority of the Government of Puerto Rico, on behalf of the Governor of Puerto Rico, who welcomed San Juan to the Convention.

Then the election process took place. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will only be a two-year appointment, as the next cycle will occur in 2024. Because several dozen member countries were not available, a list of representatives was read aloud to determine who would cast their vote. for whom.

The results of the election were as follows:

John Duggan- 1st Vice President Erno Labega- 2nd VP
Genaro Rodriguez- 3rd VP Rolando Marcos- 4th VP

Adolfo Flores- Treasurer
Michael Pernick- International
Commissioner Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel- President

British heavyweight Joe Joyce showed up at the assembly and chose his newest piece: the WBO interim belt, won by eleventh-round knockout over former WBO champion Joseph Parker on September 24 in Manchester, England.

Referee Russell Mora was named WBO Ring Officials Executive to a resounding round of applause. Hours earlier, Mora made the official decision to withdraw from active arbitration. More explained to Fightnews.com: “I knew it was the right time when I refereed Fury-Wilder’s third fight. It was a massive fight and it was my best fight as a referee. I wanted to go out on top. It was God’s will and part of His plan.”

A video of OMB’s efforts in the Puerto Rican community to assist as much as possible with recovery efforts after Hurricane Fiona was shown. Many champions, including Amanda Serrano, were on hand to collaborate.

After a short coffee break, a medical conference was given by Dr. Michael González and Dr. Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, entitled: Nutrition, Supplementation and Boxing: Basic Concepts.
An interesting concept that was raised was that pre-fight diets should be higher in carbohydrates for energy, while post-fight meals should be higher in protein for muscle repair. Recovery includes restoring food, replenishing water, and resting the body. Some recovery procedures include massage, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and infrared sauna.

WBO/WBA/IBF unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk stopped and received the 2022 WBO Fighter of the Year award consisting of a plaque and massive framed paint. He should have fun trying to give that back to Oxnard!

After a lunch break, Thomas Pütz, Tsuyoshi Yasukochi and Sergei Khursanov were formally welcomed as new WBO board members.

Luis Batista Salas delivered the WBO Championship report. There were 16 men’s fights for the WBO world title in 2022 to date. The WBO women’s title fight count in the same period was actually 18. One method used to encourage an increase in WBO title fights is to encourage promoters to join forces in joint promotions.

Leon Panoncillo, Jr. delivered the OMB regional report on WBO Asia Pacific, Youth Asia, Women Asia, WBO International/Women’s International, WBO East, Eastern Youth and WBO Africa. Panoncillo, Jr. reflected on the gradual return to normalcy after the last two years of the COVID-19 effect on boxing around the world. The new paperwork, including promoters’ fees and receipts, will now be available on the OMB website for promoters to download and use.
A total of 69 fights for the WBO regional title raised nearly $250,000 in penalty fees.

The undisputed women’s super middleweight champion, Franchon Crews, arrived directly from the airport and immediately headed to the assembly, her first WBO convention, with great enthusiasm.

Richard De Cuir gave his NABO report, in particular, that California accounted for 20% of NABO title fights in the United States.

With that, the general assembly ended and the delegates rested for the Meet and Greet cocktail night that will take place on the Azucena and Aleli Terraces of the host Royal Sonesta Hotel.

***

The Meet and Greet cocktail was packed with delegates inside and outside, depending on whether or not one fancied hot and humid weather or air conditioning! While a musical duo played classic standards with a bit of tropical flavor, Nonito Donaire and Joe Joyce had fun doing some Caribbean dancing to the delight of the spectators. Salido was present while reigning WBO featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete also made an appearance. The morning will arrive early as the bus that will transport the ring officials to the referee seminar leaves for the gym of Iván Calderón at 7 am and the general assembly reconvenes at 8:30 at the hotel.