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Final Tribute to Rod MaHaffey

(AUG 13) WBAN would like to make a final tribute to Rod MaHaffey, who passed away after a long-term illness,  in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Rod Mahaffey, was born October 30, 1933 in Milton, Pennsylvania.  He moved to Penns Grove, New Jersey and graduated in 1951 from Penns Grove High School.

Rod served in the U.S Army and after his discharge he worked for the Dupont Company and B.F Goodrich.

He enjoyed going to race tracks and casinos and was actively involved in Parents Without Partners [ PWP ] and was a founder of the chapter in Wilmington, DE. He was an avid chess player and participated in many national and international tournaments.

He was the editor of a female boxing magazine called "LadyBoxer", and was one of the most astute authorities in female boxing. His passion for female boxing led him to Las Vegas, Nevada where he resided until his death on May 24th, 2005.

Rod is survived by his son Rod Mahaffey II and his wife Paula, three grandchildren [ Rod, Joe and Amber Mahaffey] and two great-grand children [Jordan and Emma Mahaffey]. All the above are from Earlville, Maryland where a memorial service was held on June 6th, 2005.

Photos taken of Rod, was taken in Kinder, Louisiana, in 1999, where he was involved in an all-women's boxing card for the IFBA. (Photos: by Sue Fox)

        

         
 

 
 
     
     

 

     
     
     
   
 

Other Tributes:

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We are still deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend Rod. He was one of our best friends in and outside boxing. We met him in 1998 when we came over to the USA. After a while he became my agent and a very good and trustworthy friend to both of us. He did teach us a lot about his game. In fact he did teach us a lot about a lot of things in life as he was an extremely intelligent and well-read person. And you couldn't think of a more knowledgeable person in women's boxing at that time. (besides Jimmy Finn)

After we left the US we stayed in contact with him as much as possible. He even visited us once in Holland. It was a blast. A few years ago Rod got sick and relocated so the contact faded. Through a mutual friend, Mike Stewards manager Keith Stoffer, we heard he was in the hospital. We called him in the hospital after he had an operation. We could hear he was not doing well, but he was still trying to be positive as always.

Early June Keith called us with shocking news&..He told us Rod passed away the end of May. He spoke to Rod right before that and Rod told him he had a happy life and no regrets. He knew the end was near and told Keith to pass his best wishes on to us. He was very sick and didn't want anybody to visit him.

Without Rod I could have never became a 4-time world champion. We are thankful for that and we are very happy to have known him. We'll miss him dearly.  Marischa & Marcel

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Longjab talks about Mahaffey:

I met Rod Mahaffey in Atlantic City, when we both were sitting at a table, in front of the International Theatre, in The Tropicana Resort and Casino, while we were waiting for the gates to open for the first all-women boxing card, ‘Ladies Night Out’, to get underway. While we were waiting, low and behold, Lucia Rijker showed up to do color and commentary with Atlantic City sportscaster Lucy Jones. That is when I first met Rijker.

 Getting back to Rod, I thought he was a very personable individual. He started talking to me from the very start and we just hit it off and carried on a conversation, as if we knew one another forever.

Now, let me tell you about that night, when we both met. Rod Mahaffey had quite a story to write, since this was the first of a series of all-women boxing cards and this premiere was loaded with names that you will recognize.

Kathy Collins and Andrea DeShong was the main event.

By the time this card took place, Christy Martin had already fought Deirdre Gogarty on the under card of the fiasco Tyson-Bruno pay per view, and Gogarty was on this card, fighting in her proper weight division, which was featherweight, against Beverly Symanski.

Gogarty injured herself, unfortunately, separating her shoulder during the fight and actually lost by unanimous decision to Symanski. As she was leaving the theatre to head to a nearby hospital, I remember telling Gogarty that I actually thought she beat Martin, even though she was about 20 pounds lighter. She simply said, “Thank you”, as she headed up the stairs and out of the theatre.

Jane Couch fought Dora Webber on this card for what I believe was the IWBF welterweight belt, which Webber won by, perhaps, a ‘hometown’ decision, since she was from nearby Patterson, New Jersey. When I got Couch’s autograph, I overheard her saying that she thought she got, “Ripped” off in the decision.

On this night, I also met a very cordial lady boxer and a pioneer of the sport, named Theresa ‘Zif” Arnold, who came all the way from Boise, Idaho to fight Eva ‘Black Magic’ Young. I came up to Arnold in the back of the theatre, at a concession stand, asking her for an autograph. Even though she just lost, by a heartbreaking TKO, when the referee stopped the fight, maybe prematurely, Arnold smiled and gushed, saying, “Ahh, thank you. That’s very sweet of you to ask”. I’m not sure if I said this in return for her graciousness; but, by chance, if you read this, Theresa, it takes one to know one and you must know them all.

I’m not certain, but I think this also was the card where Annisa Zamarron and Jill ‘Zion Lion’ Matthews had their first of two epic fights for the IWBF flyweight belt, being that the first one ended in a draw.

 Of course, the main event, Kathy Collins versus Andrea DeShong was for the IWBF junior welterweight belt, actually, a rematch of when Collins beat DeShong, when they fought in the first ever women’s match at Madison Square Garden, televised on USA’s Tuesday Night Fights, in which Christy Martin attended, providing color and commentary, during a Q&A session with announcers Sean O’Grady and Al Albert.

 If it weren’t for Diane Fischer of Dee-Lee Promotions, in conjunction with Frankie ‘G’ and Dennis Diaz of the IWBF and WIBF sanctioning bodies, this card, as well as the others that followed, would have never happened.  LongJab
 

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