McRae Booted Off April 25 MSG Card -- UPDATE With NYSAC Statement!

A tough break for Laurel, MD heavyweight "The Big Ticket" Dwayne McRae.  McRae was scheduled to battle "Prince" Charles Martin of Carson, CA for Martin's NABO Heavyweight title on Saturday, April 25 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  The bout was slated to be on the undercard of the Wladimir Klitschko-Bryant Jennings world heavyweight title bout.

However, the New York State Athletic Commission did not approve the contest, despite the claims of McRae's promotional company, Mastermind Promotions, of a signed contract of a bout with Martin (20-0-1, 18 KO's).

According to McRae (15-3, eight KO's), the reason the NYSAC did not approve him for the bout is because McRae has never gone 10 rounds in a pro bout, the length the NABO title bout was scheduled for.  McRae has not even been in an eight-round contest.

 McRae's replacement for the bout, Tom Dallas of Kent, England (17-4, 12 KO's), has had two scheduled 10-round contests but has not passed the second round in either contest.  Dallas has also not fought since September of 2013 when he lost via second-round TKO to Ian Lewison in London, England.

After being contacted earlier today, The NYSAC gave BATB the following statement:

"The promoter of the April 25 boxing card (headlined by Klitschko-Jennings) submitted a Before Contest Report  dated March 25 to the New York State Athletic Commission, which proposed as one of the bouts Charles Martin versus Dwayne McRae.  The New York Athletic Commission and its Executive Director, David Berlin, never approved that bout. In an email to the promoter, the Commission communicated the following:

'Martin-McRae is not approved.  Dwayne McRae has never fought more than six rounds and there is nothing to suggest that he is ready for a ten-round bout.  In addition, the level of his opposition in six-rounders has been far beneath the level of Charles Martin.'

The fact is that while McRae carries a record of 15-3, his last five opponents (whom he beat) all had losing records; in fact, the combined records of those five opponents is, according to http://boxrec.com, is 42-96-6.  McRae has never fought more than six rounds and has not beaten an opponent with a winning record since he beat Theron Johnson (3-2) in 2010.  The last opponent with a winning record whom he fought, David Saulsberry in 2011, had at that time a record of 6 wins and 3 losses, and knocked out McRae in the 1st round.  McRae does not appear ready for a 10-round bout with Charles Martin, whose record stands at 20-0-1, with 18 knockouts.  The fight would be a mismatch and is not in the best interest of boxing in New York.

 Although Tom Dallas has been stopped in four of his last six bouts, his record stands at 17-4, with 12 knockouts.  He has had two fights scheduled for ten rounds, meaning that he has trained for the 10-round distance, and has fought eight rounds on one occasion. 

 In terms of making determinations about which bouts to approve, the Commission reviews match-ups on a case-by-case basis and approves or disapproves each proposed bout based on the merits of the proposed match."