The American Association for the Improvement of Boxing (AAIB) held its 29th Annual Boxerama Championship Awards Luncheon on Sunday, February 24th, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in White Plains, New York.
The venerable organization, which was co-founded by Stephen B. Acunto, who still serves as chairman, and the late heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano, has been honoring exemplary people from the boxing, media, academic and military communities since its inception in 1969.
This year’s honorees were:
Will ‘O the Wisp Award: Named after the great champion Willie Pep who many consider the best pure boxer of all time, the award was presented to current IBF junior welterweight champion Paul “Magic Man� Malignaggi.
“I’m a bit of a historian, so this award means a lot to me,� said the Magic Man. “If I can accomplish just a small percentage of what Willie Pep did, I’ll be very happy.�
AAIB Future Champions Awards: Presented to three undefeated fighters: junior middleweight James Moore, 14-0 (10 KOS), who is headlining the “A Fistful of Shamrocks� pre-St. Patrick’s Day show at Madison Square Garden on March 15th; middleweight Andy Lee, 15-0 (12 KOS), a native of County Limerick, Ireland, who fights out of the fabled Kronk Gym in Detroit; and cruiserweight Johnathon Banks, 19-0 (14 KOS), who also fights out of the Kronk.
The night before this event, Banks scored a sensational first-round knockout over former cruiserweight champion Imamu Mayfield at Madison Square Garden on the undercard of the Wladimir Klitschko-Sultan Ibragimov heavyweight unification bout.
AAIB Officials Award: Presented to Ralph Petrillo, longtime member of the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) and current Medical Coordinator for the organization. He was highly praised by NYSAC Dr. William Lathan, whose accolades are shared by all who have had the pleasure of knowing or the privilege of working with Petrillo.
AAIB Media Award: Presented to Sean Sullivan, the editor-in-chief of Boxing Digest magazine. Sullivan had childhood dreams of becoming a boxer, but says he is better suited on the journalistic side of the game.
“To be recognized alongside all of these great fighters is a real honor for me,� said Sullivan. “Thank you very much.�
AAIB Medical Award: Presented to Dr. Joseph E. Herrera, a Board Certified Physician with a specialty in sports medicine and a member of the NYSAC. He currently serves as the Chief Editor of Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine, and is co-writing the second edition of that publication.
AAIB Educators Award: Presented to Anthony Mezzatesta, the athletic director at Westchester Community College which is one of the few colleges in the country with a boxing program. That program was founded and run for many years by Stephen Acunto, the co-founder and current chairman of the AAIB.
AAIB Iraqi Veterans Award: Presented to Sgt. Robert Riti, a highly decorated veteran from Westchester County whose 30 years of military services includes two tours of duty in Iraq.
AAIB Scholarship Award: Presented to student/athlete James Kelly, who is working toward a degree in civil engineering from the University of Delaware. He is an all-around athlete who boxed out of Kenna’s Gym in Peekskill, New York.
Tickets for the pre-St. Patrick’s Day extravaganza, “A Fistful of Shamrocks,� which will also feature live Irish music can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 866-448-7849 or by calling Celtic Gloves at 917-559-8467 or Gleason’s Gym at 718-797-2872.
I think paulie getting an award is great the kid is an amazing fighter and deserves much more than what he is getting in the world of boxing.I dont think he is as recognized as much as he should be for how unbelievably talanted and skilled a fighter that he is. I am hearing that he might be fighting Hatton, that is such a great fight for paulie stylisticly that he should win 8rounds to 4 as long as ricky is not allowed to pull any of his nonsense in the ring like he usually does. Good luck paulie I wish you all the best,you deserve it all.