Promoters don’t pay sanctioning fees: Kurtz

WINDHOEK, 07 JUN  – Namibia Professional Boxing and Wrestling Control Board member Ronald Kurtz said the boxing board is being pushed by promoters to relax rules ahead of boxing bonanzas.
He said this during a media conference held in the capital on Wednesday.
Kurtz’s comments come after a number of boxing stables in the country failed to pay sanctioning and appearance fees for boxers during boxing bonanzas held over the past year.
“Based on our rules as a board, the promoters are supposed to pay their sanctioning fees 14 days before the event but this does not happen and in most cases, we receive some of that money only a day before or sometimes on fight night,” he said.
He added that promoters give the board no choice in cancelling their events as they promote their fights before even being sanctioned.
“As a boxing board we only ask six per cent of the overall purse as our sanctioning fee, but most promoters fail to pay this amount. We cannot stop the fight because the promoters have done all their promotions and boxing fans have already bought their tickets and (are) ready for the event.”
Kurtz stated that going forward, the board will be strict on their rules and will not allow any event to be hosted if the sanctioning fees have not been paid.
“It’s really unprofessional to have events hosted and promoters not paying their athletes. Our sanctioning fees are not even that much as we only ask six per cent, which is a reduced amount from the 10 per cent that was set up before,” said Kurtz.
He also said that one of those fights being promoted without being sanctioned include the upcoming Harry Simon and Vikapita Meroro fight which is slated for 30 June 2018.
“The nation is ready to see these two boxers in the ring but we have not yet sanctioned that fight. There are a lot of things we are looking at besides the money when it comes to sanctioning that event.
“If they fail to meet some of the requirements, that fight might not even take place,” Kurtz said, without elaborating.
(NAMPA)