Dear Members

            The next meeting is Wednesday May 9th at 700pm at FrankÕs Sunny Italy, 2491 Delaware Ave. (Corner of Tacoma) Buffalo NY. The telephone no. is (716)876-5449.

 

Members present at AprilÕs meeting

Jerry Collins   Tom Stenhouse           Joe Cardina     Charles Ferraro           Ed Butera

John Tedesco    Dick Wipperman      Paul Wielopolski         John McCarthy

John Rovnak   Bo Bilicki       Jim Len           Eric Marlinski             Jim Brown

Lee Batchelor    Vince Cala     Bob Caico       Jack Green

           

            Ladies and gentlemen, the first order of business is to officially relay to you the six boxing legends elected this year to be inducted in to The Ring 44 Hall of Fame.

On Friday August 3rd 2007 at our 11th Annual Hall of Fame Banquet at SalvatoreÕs Italian Gardens, the following men will be inducted.

 

Joey De John             Light Heavyweight     1944-1955

Bert Finch                   Manager                     covered fifty four years.

Brian Laspada             Cruiserweight               1993-2002

Steve Halaiko              Welterweight               1929-1942

Jake Schiffer                 Lightweight                1911-1921

Paul Wielopolski         Boxer/Coach                 total years to be announced

 

            Those winners that are still with us are Paul Wielopolski and Brian Laspada. Joey De John is still with us but is not healthy enough to travel. Congratulations to the winners and their families. Furthermore we are still in the process of getting their notification to them. If anyone has any information or pictures involving these athletes and leaders that you are willing to share please contact me at (716) 856-9365 or Jim Brown at (716) 773-5591.

            The next tremendously important phase to the dinner that needs to be addressed is the election of the ÒPerson of the YearÓ. This is also a very honorable complement to our affair. This award was designed and put in place to recognize those loyal members of the boxing community who are great contributors and representatives of our sport; but are not yet recognized at the competitive levels of actual Hall Of Fame membership. The nominees for this award are:        

1)    Bo Bilicki- Boxing collector and Enthusiast

2)    Dennis DiPaolo- Represents boxing to the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame

3)    Don Patterson-Amateur Boxing Trainer and Promoter.

The following is a brief synopsis of each candidate.

 

            I wish to reiterate to you that full Bios will be presented to the body at the next meeting however if a paid member wants to vote via the phone or wants more clarification of the information please feel free to call me or Jim Brown. We hope to complete the election by our May meeting.

 

Bo Bilicki.    Anyone who has attended the Ring 44 Annual dinner and noticed the boxing art work at the entrance or who attends the local shows and sees those same posters on display are witnessing BoÕs work.     Being the collector that he is; Mr Bilicki maintains a very current video library of current boxers to be used for reference to the boxing community. He started collecting in the mid eightyÕs and provides much international computer savvy and connections which include England and Germany to the advantage of the local boxing community as well as Ring 44.Also uses his library to warm the hearts of the boxers and their families and provides various forms of generosity via mementos he secures in his travels.

 

Dennis DiPaolo.     Dennis is the proud son of Ilio DiPaolo and continues the family legacy. He is a participant in a host of worthy causes and where there are none he creates them. In the early days of Ring 44Õs resurgence he helped our staff with transporting and setting up a mini Boxing Museum display case that we used to tote around to various festivals and boxing shows and it drew a great interest to the boxing public. He has also spearheaded successful efforts in enlightening the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame to the importance of BoxingÕs History in Buffalo. Due to his recent efforts Phil and Joe Muscato will successfully be enshrined in 2007.

 

Don Patterson       Don negotiated and effected the return of the prestigious Golden Glove Boxing tournament to Buffalo after an absence of thirty five years. He hosts an annual ÒNickel City Boxing TournamentÓ which has reached super high competitive levels. Those of you with computer accessibility go to www.diaab.com  and you will see the extent of Mr. PattersonÕs commitment to boxing. His team of amateur boxers is being mentored by Don and is receiving tutoring and social guidance where needed. They are also involving their team in human activities in community service. There are amateur national champs in his group as well as highly ranked contenders. They are also high school and college students and well rounded young athletes.

Another reason that this is exciting to me is that it provides yet another opportunity to showcase the class of the members of Ring 44. Good Luck to the Nominees!!!!

            Get ready for upcoming events.

MESI TAKES ON THE ÒCAJUN CONNECTIONÓ PEDRO

            On June 2nd, Baby Joe Mesi (35-0, 28 KOs) enters the ring at the ÔAuberge du Lac Hotel and Casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana where heÕll Battle 6Õ7Ó, 240lb. Rafael Pedro (20-5, 14KOs). The 10round scheduled main event is for the WBC U.S. Heavyweight Championship.

ÒLETÕS GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!Ó

Yes Michael Buffer will be on hand to handle the Ring announcing responsibilities of the return to the ring of former 2-time world champion Hasim Rahman (41-6-2) in a 10 rounder against Taurus Sykes (25-3-1). The co-feature will have a 12-round NABF lightweight championship with Kid Diamond (24-1-1) taking on Jose Leonardo Cruz (11-2-2). Resnick Productions in association with Top Rank Boxing will present ÒWar at the Armory llÓ on Thursday June 14th at the restored armory in Rochester NY.

            Jimmy RalstonÕs return to the boxing scene and hosting an event was a smashing success. On Sat. April 27th an exciting schedule of boxers was enjoyed by a standing room only crowd at the Leonard Post on Walden Ave. in Cheektowaga.. It is always a great time and a lot of fun at these shows. The fans were great and you can see that many of the young boxers are getting a following and enjoying their recognition.

            As always, thank you so much for your involvement and fraternization. We have a great group. Remember you can vote via phone if you choose to. The numbers are posted. Looking forward to seeing you all soon and ÔKeep PunchinÓ

 

                                                                                                Sincerely yours

 

 

                                                                                                    Jack Green

                                                                                                    President