Boxrec.com
Encyclopedia
BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website
dedicated to keep updated records of professional boxers
, both male and female. It also maintains a mediawiki
-based encyclopaedia of boxing: BoxRec Wiki.
The objective of the site is to document every professional boxer and boxing match from the instigation of the Queensberry Rules
up to the present times. BoxRec publishes ratings for all active boxers and all time ratings.
. Sheppard had never attended a boxing bout until 1995 when he attended a "Prince" Naseem Hamed
fight with Hamed's older brothers Riath and Nabeel. Sheppard had considered boxing to be a "barbaric and degrading" spectacle, stating "I sat there watching people punch each other in the head, wondering why they were doing it.....I was sprayed with blood, getting more and more miserable." However, Sheppard later explained, "[D]uring Naseem's fight, something clicked in my head. The subtlety of what he was doing, the genius of it all, became obvious to me. It wasn't a disgusting spectacle anymore. It was art, and I found myself cheering."
Following Hamed's split with Frank Warren
, Sheppard went to work for Hamed at "Prince Promotions" in 2000. Sheppard then began to compile record of active British boxers in an attempt to aid matchmaking of boxers and then decided to create a website which would store the records of all boxers. The site has grown so much that Sheppard has gone full-time since 2005. As of December 2008, on a typical day 50,000 visitors could view 700,000 pages with the record of 1,300,000 bouts in its database encompassing 17,000 active and 345,000 non-active fighters.
(ABC). The ABC held interviews with both Fight Fax and BoxRec at their 2005 convention. Each applicant made a submission and presentation to the ABC panel which included state commissioners and attorneys. The panel then voted unanimously in favour to award Fight Fax the position. The ABC later revealed that they had undertaken tests to measure the accuracy of the records of the websites and the Fight Fax records were shown to be 100% accurate with BoxRec's was found "to be substantially lower".
Boxing promoter J. Russell Peltz
stated "very few things in life are one hundred percent. But I've come across some glaring errors at BoxRec, mostly in the historical records." ESPN
's Dan Rafael noted that "so many people have a hand in BoxRec that the records aren't always accurate. Ricardo Mayorga
's record has been wrong for years. There's a mistake on Derrick Gainer
's record too."
stated that "anyone in boxing who says he doesn't use BoxRec is either a complete imbecile or lying" and Bruce Trampler, the matchmaker for Top Rank
, said that "short of actually being at a fight, they're the best source of information out there."
Boxing journalist Thomas Hauser
also asked the chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission
Ron Scott Stevens what his thoughts were and Stevens was quoted as saying "Fight Fax is the mandated record-keeper for athletic commissions in the United States. But BoxRec does more than supplement Fight Fax. In many respects, it surpasses Fight Fax."
David Haye
, when commenting on what was his only professional loss at the time, stated
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
dedicated to keep updated records of professional boxers
Professional Boxing
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...
, both male and female. It also maintains a mediawiki
MediaWiki
MediaWiki is a popular free web-based wiki software application. Developed by the Wikimedia Foundation, it is used to run all of its projects, including Wikipedia, Wiktionary and Wikinews. Numerous other wikis around the world also use it to power their websites...
-based encyclopaedia of boxing: BoxRec Wiki.
The objective of the site is to document every professional boxer and boxing match from the instigation of the Queensberry Rules
Marquess of Queensberry rules
The Marquess of Queensberry rules is a code of generally accepted rules in the sport of boxing. They were named so because John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry publicly endorsed the code, although they were written by a sportsman named John Graham Chambers. The code of rules on which modern...
up to the present times. BoxRec publishes ratings for all active boxers and all time ratings.
Foundation
The site was founded by John Sheppard, a Yorkshireman and former systems analyst for the National Coal BoardNational Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
. Sheppard had never attended a boxing bout until 1995 when he attended a "Prince" Naseem Hamed
Naseem Hamed
Naseem Hamed is an English former professional boxer.He is the former WBO, WBC, IBF, & Lineal featherweight champion, and European bantamweight champion....
fight with Hamed's older brothers Riath and Nabeel. Sheppard had considered boxing to be a "barbaric and degrading" spectacle, stating "I sat there watching people punch each other in the head, wondering why they were doing it.....I was sprayed with blood, getting more and more miserable." However, Sheppard later explained, "[D]uring Naseem's fight, something clicked in my head. The subtlety of what he was doing, the genius of it all, became obvious to me. It wasn't a disgusting spectacle anymore. It was art, and I found myself cheering."
Following Hamed's split with Frank Warren
Frank Warren (promoter)
Frank Darren Warren is an English boxing manager and promoter.-Early life and early career:The son of a bookmaker, Warren trained as a solicitor's clerk with J Tickle & Co on Southampton Row in London....
, Sheppard went to work for Hamed at "Prince Promotions" in 2000. Sheppard then began to compile record of active British boxers in an attempt to aid matchmaking of boxers and then decided to create a website which would store the records of all boxers. The site has grown so much that Sheppard has gone full-time since 2005. As of December 2008, on a typical day 50,000 visitors could view 700,000 pages with the record of 1,300,000 bouts in its database encompassing 17,000 active and 345,000 non-active fighters.
Organization
The website is updated by volunteer editors from many countries around the world. Each editor is assigned a country or in some instances, regions within countries and they maintain the records for boxers in that country or region. BoxRec also rates each active fighter by weight division using a computerised points-based system.Inaccurate records of boxers
BoxRec has been criticized for not keeping correct records for boxers, especially historic fighters. In 2005, BoxRec applied to become recognized as the official record keepers for the Association of Boxing CommissionsAssociation of Boxing Commissions
The Association of Boxing Commissions is a North American not for profit professional boxing and Mixed Martial Arts organization that provides a framework for undertaking boxing and MMA bouts and record keeping...
(ABC). The ABC held interviews with both Fight Fax and BoxRec at their 2005 convention. Each applicant made a submission and presentation to the ABC panel which included state commissioners and attorneys. The panel then voted unanimously in favour to award Fight Fax the position. The ABC later revealed that they had undertaken tests to measure the accuracy of the records of the websites and the Fight Fax records were shown to be 100% accurate with BoxRec's was found "to be substantially lower".
Boxing promoter J. Russell Peltz
J. Russell Peltz
J Russell Peltz is an American boxing promoter. A member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame, Peltz is best known for his fight promotions at the Spectrum, the Blue Horizon, and currently at Bally's Atlantic City.- Early life :Peltz became a boxing fan at age...
stated "very few things in life are one hundred percent. But I've come across some glaring errors at BoxRec, mostly in the historical records." ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's Dan Rafael noted that "so many people have a hand in BoxRec that the records aren't always accurate. Ricardo Mayorga
Ricardo Mayorga
Ricardo Mayorga , is a Nicaraguan professional boxer. He is the former WBA/WBC Welterweight champion and the former WBC light middleweight champion. He holds a record of 29-8 with 23 knockouts and 1 draw 1 no contest. He was featured for the first time on the cover of Ring Magazine on the December...
's record has been wrong for years. There's a mistake on Derrick Gainer
Derrick Gainer
Derrick "Smoke" Gainer is a US born boxer who started out in the featherweight division and now fights in the lightweight division. In 2000, he defeated Freddie Norwood to win the World Boxing Association featherweight title and after four defenses lost to Juan Manuel Márquez, who became super...
's record too."
Plaudits from boxing personalities
When asked how important BoxRec was to him, boxing promoter Lou DiBellaLou DiBella
Louis John DiBella, Jr. is a boxing promoter and television/film producer. He is Founder and CEO of DiBella Entertainment based in New York City...
stated that "anyone in boxing who says he doesn't use BoxRec is either a complete imbecile or lying" and Bruce Trampler, the matchmaker for Top Rank
Top Rank
Top Rank may refer to:*Top Rank, Las Vegas based boxing promotion company formed in 1973* Top Rank Records, 1950s subsidiary record label of the Rank Organisation, British company which ran from 1937 to 1996...
, said that "short of actually being at a fight, they're the best source of information out there."
Boxing journalist Thomas Hauser
Thomas Hauser
Thomas Hauser is an American author.He made his debut as a writer in 1978 with The Execution of Charles Horman; An American Sacrifice. Horman's wife, Joyce and father, Ed Horman cooperated with Hauser on the book describing both the fate of Charles and his family's quest to uncover the truth in...
also asked the chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission
New York State Athletic Commission
The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, professional wrestlers, seconds, ring officials,...
Ron Scott Stevens what his thoughts were and Stevens was quoted as saying "Fight Fax is the mandated record-keeper for athletic commissions in the United States. But BoxRec does more than supplement Fight Fax. In many respects, it surpasses Fight Fax."
David Haye
David Haye
David Deron Haye is a retired English professional boxer,Haye is the former WBA heavyweight champion. He is also the former unified world cruiserweight champion, holding the WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring cruiserweight titles, and also the former European cruiserweight champion.- Amateur :Haye...
, when commenting on what was his only professional loss at the time, stated
I'd love to get revenge over Carl ThompsonCarl Thompson (boxer)Carl Adrian Thompson is a retired British boxer and the former WBO, European, & British cruiserweight champion.- Professional boxing career :...
, I know I have improved and made the adjustments required, but still I take a look at my record at BoxRec and I see this red blob there, that one loss there really does stick out at me.