(FEB 21) To Managers of Professional Female Boxers---
I have filed a complaint with the WIBA in relation to the World Title Bout between Hollie Dunaway and Melissa Shaffer that took place this week, Thursday the 16th.  My first complaint is that this bout was held in violation of two basic WIBA rules.

These rules are listed under the section on the WIBA website titled:

10 BASIC RULES TO BE ENFORCED AT ALL WIBA CHAMPIONSHIP CONTESTS

Rule # Three is listed as: A WIBA representative must be present at the weigh in and at the fight.

The WIBA did not follow its own rule Number three.

The WIBA was completely absent. Neither the President nor any WIBA representative was available at the weigh in or the fight.

I expected to see someone from the WIBA and I assumed that the WIBA would want to make sure and enforce rule number ten, which is listed under:(Ten Basic Rules To Be Enforced at all WIBA Championship Contests: and reads “Each fighter is required to take a urinalysis following a TITLE BOUT”).

This particular bout involved a competitor who had been found in violation of rules banning the use of anabolic steroids before in a previous Title fight and had admitted to such.

But the WIBA was not there and was in violation of its own rule (rule # three) and did not show up.

Since the WIBA was not there I went to the Missouri State Representative and made him aware of our situation. He was sympathetic but immediately told me that he did not come prepared to enforce WIBA rules because no one told him there was going to be a WIBA Title Fight and that NO, there would be no testing.

I’m sure that if the Missouri State official would have known there was to be a WIBA Title Fight, he would have been prepared and would have enforced WIBA rules. But because the WIBA wasn’t there and was in violation of its own rule (Rule # Three) he did not.

In response to my complaint the WIBA simply stated that they had to be somewhere else at another bout and that state of Missouri was responsible for enforcing the WIBA rules.

In summary my complaint is that the WIBA does not follow its own most Basic Rules and doesn’t enforce them either.

Neither I nor my team has ever been to a world title fight where (and we’ve been to many) the sanctioning organization was not present. I believe this is detrimental to the sport of women’s boxing and is unprofessional behavior on the part of the WIBA.

Let Managers and Boxers be put on alert that in the future it may actually be necessary to confirm that the sanctioning organization of a World Title Fight will be present at the event to enforce its own rules.

Mark Messer
Manager of Melissa Shaffer
And Owner of Ring Sports United

WBAN contacted Ryan Wissow of the WIBA in regards to these concerns, and he told WBAN that he (Ryan) tried to make it to the KC show, after the Trinidad event which was scheduled for that same night was cancelled at the last minute, and that he was not able to get to KC, so he had Arnie Rosenthal, who is totally neutral and has no interest in either Dunaway or Shaffer, act as the WIBA supervisor. Ryan told WBAN that he did not care if Rosenthal was the promoter, because he had no financial interest in either fighter.   In regards to the post urinalysis test, Ryan told WBAN, "for the record, Dunaway tested positive when she fought for the WIBF title in Germany, it was not a WIBA affair, and i'm not about to criticize the Missouri commission if fighters didn't get a piss test."