(EMAILWIRE.COM, April 04, 2007 ) Livonia, MI -- Since taking over the helm as Michigan Boxing Commissioner a year and a half ago, Al Low says his focus has been on continuing to improve the state of Michigan boxing.

And with Teddy Atlas and the Friday Night Fights crew returning to Detroit tomorrow night, after previously vowing not to return until improvements were made, the signs are there that it’s working. “We’ve worked hand in hand with a lot of respected folks like Teddy Atlas. At one point, Teddy said he’d never come back. I’ve spoken to him an awful lot and he’s recognized the difference and he thinks that we’re moving in all the right directions.”

Once a focal point for big-time boxing, Michigan’s reputation had slowly declined because of a mix of factors including bad judging, fighters not being paid and a lack of updated legislation. The need for change reached a boiling point in July 2004 at the L.C. Walker Arena in Muskegon, when, with the ESPN cameras rolling, Michigan-based boxer Courtney Burton was awarded a split decision over Emanuel Augustus that touched off a firestorm of controversy. In addition to Atlas vowing not to return, some of the Board of Control’s senior people threatened to resign while a tidal wave of protest letters poured in from around the world.

Then-Chairman Brad Wright began a full-scale campaign for change that included the passage of updated legislation, oversight of officials, and seminars with respected members in pertinent fields. “What we’re doing is an extension of the things he was working on. I was on the commission and Brad and I and a couple other gentleman outside the commission put up the money to bring in several speakers, and we did testing that has actually affected who was able to judge here and who wasn’t. Ones that we thought weren’t quite up to par; we had them start going to fights and scoring on an apprentice basis. We worked hard on the new legislation signed by our governor, which incorporated a lot of things having to do with judging and how you qualify and safety and making sure the fighters got paid and making sure there was proper insurance.”

Continuing with what Wright started, Low says that over time, things have begun to turn around. “We’re working our asses off, sometimes using our own money. Another thing we’re doing is we sent out letters recently, requesting that our promoters oversee what their matchmakers are doing. We just don’t want any more non-competitive fights. We’re trying to get every angle of this. We’re still not there, but we’re working hard to get there. We’re trying to set up a monitor position for someone to come to all the fights and take notes and oversee all the judging and then meet with the judges after the fight that same night; meet with the doctors, judges, referees and everything. Not to criticize, but to go over everything and look at where we‘re falling short and to get more uniformity.”

With new rules, new quality standards and the positive forward momentum of change, Low says he’s happy with the way the situation has improved. “All those are important and I think we’re on the right track, but it’s taking time. It’s important because one of my main goals is to have some big fights here in Michigan. One of the things we have to do is get over the old stigma and we’re working very hard to do it.”

This article form FightNews.com by Andre Courtemanche

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