Beltway Boxing 2005 -- Year in Review!

When I started the Boxing Along the Beltway blog in July, one of my initial posts indicated that this area was in a “transitional state.” We didn’t have any world champions and we had no real quality world title contenders. This area was in search of the next wave of prospects. I think we found that next wave.

The emergence of boxers like Tony Cygan, Henry Buchanan, Cory Cummings, Ishmail Arvin, Anthony and Lamont Peterson and many others, has set this area up to really do some major growing in 2006.

The number of viable contenders did grow throughout the year. Cummings is ranked in the top 15 by the WBO at light heavyweight. Lamont “Bay” Pearson put himself in the IBF world rankings by winning the USBA Super Featherweight title. Jimmy Lange has put himself in position to be the first from “The Contender” to win a regional title.

The Beltway itself rose in stature this year with 21 boxing cards in the area, including one of the most talked about cards of the year, The Kevin McBride-Mike Tyson card at MCI Center on June 11. This was also the year that Virginia got back in the mix, thanks to Keystone Boxing, who gave us a solid card and a great new venue to watch boxing in.

There were also so many people behind the scenes that deserve recognition for their work in 2005. Let me take a moment to mention just a few.

The Maryland State Athletic Commission. This sanctioning body did an outstanding job in 2005, overseeing 17 of the 21 cards along the Beltway. Commission Chair David Norman, Executive Director Patrick Pannella and their staff of commissioners, referees, judges and physicians deserve incredible praise for their work throughout the year.

Jake Smith and Josh Hall. Promoter and former Maryland State Light Heavyweight champion Jake “The Snake” Smith has been the promoting leader along the Beltway this year. Baltimore Pro Boxing was the leader this year, not only for putting on quality cards, but also for being responsible for the bulk of the new quality talent seen in the area.

But a promoter is only as good as the matchmaker and Smith has an area legend in Josh Hall. I know Hall doesn’t look for a lot of accolades, but guys like him are and have been the backbone of this area. Josh Hall has done just about everything you can in this area and he deserves more credit than he gets.

Chris Middendorf. There is no better matchmaker around than Chris Middendorf. Period. Middendorf has helped a number of promotions flourish in the area. As the matchmaker for Ballroom Boxing, he took that promotion in a new direction, bringing in quality out of town talent to face our local prospects. Names like Mike Arnaoutis, Ian Gardner, Chazz Witherspoon, Marteze Logan and the Dirrell Brothers made their early ventures into pro boxing by testing their wares in the Ballroom. Now they are making waves throughout the sport. Middendorf has also been involved in most of the shows throughout the Beltway including BXF and Keystone Boxing and they have all benefited because of his dedication and hard work.

Stephanie Papa. This lady needs to be credited for one of the hardest jobs in this boxing community; getting information about boxing to the mainstream media. No one knows better than I do how hard that is. Papa does this with class and intelligence. This lady burst on the scene and started helping with the public relations for a number of promoters. She has done an outstanding job and is a pleasure to work with.

Lem Satterfield. Let me credit one of my media brethren. The Baltimore Sun as well as the Beltway Boxing scene is very fortunate to have Satterfield on their staff. He has benefited from an editor that loves boxing. Because of this, Satterfield has been able to take the ball and run as far as he can with it. Satterfield is the ONLY member of the mainstream media that is a regular attendant to Beltway Boxing cards. That speaks volumes for him and his paper. He is a first-class individual.

“Priceless” Steve Price, Julian Burgower and John Buhl. This one is personal. I get a lot of credit for my work in covering Boxing along the Beltway. I don’t always do it alone, though. I work with three guys whose enthusiasm and love for this sport is incredible. Price and Burgower have been my writing partners for almost three years and it has been great sharing ideas with them. The work we did in covering the Tyson-McBride card was a highlight of my career. I will put that coverage against anybody else’s coverage of that event in the country. Other media outlets around the country turned to us for insight on that card.

Buhl is the newest member of the team and he has already distinguished himself with his writing. He is indeed an asset will make our coverage that much better. My thanks to all of you.

My thanks go out to you, the readers, as well. I am pleasantly surprised that so many people have read this blog. It is a labor of love and I thank everyone involved with the Beltway Boxing community for their support. I am truly looking forward to a great 2006.

As I said a while back, we will hit the ground running next year. After the holidays, I will be back with a preview of what I know and hope will happen in the coming year.

I hope every one of you has a safe, happy and prosperous holiday season!