The boxing boondoggle

Referees, doctors hip deep in conflicting interests

Don’t worry. One of these days, the sweet science may actually have uniform national standards and a federal commission watching out for its fighters. It’s just taking awhile for Sen. John McCain to push his boxing reform bill.

What we’re looking at now is a hellhole of exploitation and white-collar dealing. Yes, "barbaric" and "corrupt" are two words long associated with boxing. But today could also argue that no other sport is as rife with conflicts of interest -- and we’re not just honing in on a juicy target like master promoter/pitchman Don King.

No, we’re talking conflicts, if only in appearance, like the dual role of Laurence Cole -- a veteran boxing referee and a Dallas-based insurance agent who sells policies for professional fight cards. The issue surfaced in July when Cole initially sold the policy for the Vernon Forrest-Shane Mosley WBC welterweight title fight, while he was already assigned to ref the bout.

One might assume that judges and referees shouldn’t have a financial stake in a fight they’re working -- even if it's just a $200 commission on the sale of an insurance policy. Cole argues defiantly that he’s not conflicted, and we’ll weigh both sides here in a bit.

But what also troubles folks in the sport is the conflicting role that some ringside doctors find themselves in. It is said to be extremely common for doctors to treat fighters in their offices, to run lab tests, EKGs and the like -- establishing this doctor-patient relationship -- and then work ringside for a particular boxer’s fight. Very few states, if any, have specific guidelines regarding such a practice.

“We don’t have guidelines, but we ask doctors if they’re treating a fighter,’’ says Greg Sirb, the Pennsylvania boxing commissioner. “Obviously a doctor can do something to [determine] the outcome of a fight, if he wanted to.’’

OK, it’s tough picturing a medical doctor fixing a fight. Far more likely is the situation of a doctor treating a boxer for an injury that might prevent his fighting -- and because of the doctor-patient relationship being unable to bring it forward to the commission.

“A ringside physician shouldn’t receive compensation for taking care of a boxer other than what he receives from the commission at ringside,’’ says Dr. Flip Homansky, former chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission and a longtime ringside physician. “And I don’t believe that a ringside physician should develop a doctor-patient relationship with a boxer outside of the boxing venue.

“You have situations in which ringside physicians have been caring for orthopedic injuries and injecting joints, and then sitting ringside and determining when a fight should be stopped.’’ Or you have the still developing case of Dr. Paul Wallace, a veteran ringside physician in California, where officials have been alerted to allegations of over-billing for treatment of fighters. This comes three years after California officials banned the state’s top ringside doctor, Robert Karns, for altering mandatory hepatitis blood tests before two bouts.

Joe Gagliardi, president and owner of a San Jose, Calif., insurance agency, says a representative of his company alerted the state this summer to alleged over-billing by Wallace. Most of the claims involved stitching fighters’ cuts, and often included an office visit.

“Stitching might normally be $400-$500 and we were seeing charges for $1,500,’’ Gagliardi says. “You start totaling that up against 20-30 cases and it is a real serious deal.’’

Dr. Wallace acknowledges a complaint from a promoter about a bill to repair a fighter, but was surprised to learn of the insurance company’s complaint. He claims to submit bills for about one-tenth of the lacerations he sees a year, saying, “When I repair a laceration it is a bad one.’’

As for the $1,500 figure cited by Gagliardi, Dr. Wallace says it would be dwarfed by what a hospital emergency room would bill to treat a fighter. And in his case, he often routinely sees the fighter for a follow-up visit or to remove the sutures.

Wallace says California ringside physicians pursue a more hands-on treatment of fighters than most other states, citing the distance of some venues from a major hospital, the number of uninsured fighters -- including many who come across the border from Mexico. “Quality of care for the fighter is an issue,’’ he argues.

Rob Lynch, head of the California Athletic Commission, acknowledges being aware of the over-billing complaint against Dr. Wallace, while also suggesting it is outside his authority. “That is something the insurance company has to address,’’ he says. “I’m not sure that is our responsibility, how much [ringside physicians] charge.’’

OK, but you’d like to think that state commissions, and if we’re fortunate enough to see a federal oversight body, would be driven by ethical standards -- something as basic as insuring that physicians don’t engage in a professional relationship with fighters outside the ring.

And if a Laurence Cole wants to sell upwards of 60 insurance policies a month to promoters and such, fine. It’s understandably tough finding someone to write the coverage. But again, at least for appearance's sake, Mr. Cole shouldn’t be selling it for the fight cards he’s working as a referee.

But this is boxing, right? His father, Dickie Cole, who now oversees the sport in Texas, had his shares of apparent conflicts when he was running the family business and writing insurance for promoters. While this was going on, he was variously a top official or ratings chairman of either the NABF or WBC.

The problem for the younger Cole comes with his reputation as a cautious referee, someone more likely to stop a fight early. He obviously cares about fighters and that’s not a bad thing. He gets unfairly sullied, however, when critics suggest he stops fights prematurely so insurance claims don’t have to be paid -- money that doesn’t come out of his company’s pocket, anyway.

“Why people are picking on me is ludicrous,’’ Cole says. “There are so many other problems with the sport.’’

Well, that’s true. Unfortunately, the sport doesn’t yet have a body strong enough to deal with the sordid messes.

Mike Fish is a senior writer for CNNSI.com.

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