Bryant Pappas interviews with Real Combat Media about the glove scandal.

Bryant Pappas interviews with Real Combat Media about the glove scandal.

Bryant Pappas Calls Daxx Allegations True

 

By Robert Brizel, Real Combat Media Correspondent

 

New York, NY (February 12, 2013)–In a new exclusive interview with Real Combat Media, professional middleweight boxer Bryant Pappas spoke out on the glove controversy brewing regarding his May 2012 bout with Josh Williams, when middleweight prospect Thomas LaManna worked the corner as a second for Williams in the opposing corner. Pappas voiced his views about what transpired in the ring on Saturday night, May 12, 2012, his support for the online reports of boxing writer Daxx Khan, who supports his allegations about the misconduct of New York State Athletic Commission officials, and his online petition on Facebook for Governor Cuomo against the NYSAC.
LaManna then replied to Real Combat Media a second time in response to the new Bryant Pappas allegations. The quintessential question still remains after interviewing Thomas LaManna, then Bryant Pappas, then Thomas LaManna again. Who was the person who brought the set of Fuel Diablo gloves used in the boxing card at Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, on May 12, 2012.

 

Bryant Pappas versus Josh Williams Complete May 2012 fight on YouTube

 

Bryant Pappas: “There is no list of approved boxing gloves in New York State. The New York State Inspector General went to the New York State Athletic Commission on my behalf in the past several months, and was told (by someone there) that really is no approved list of commission approved regulation boxing gloves.”

 

Real Combat Media: “Bryant Pappas, do you think you won the Williams fight?”
Bryant Pappas: “The fight was a close fight. Do I agree with two of the judges who gave the bout 5 rounds to 1 for Williams on their scorecards?  (Frank Lombardi and Don Trella) No I don’t. That’s ridiculous!”
 
Real Combat Media: “What do you think of referee Ricky Gonzalez?”
Bryant Pappas: “The referee was alright. I had no problems with him.”
Real Combat Media: “Talk about the so-called low blow. Did Williams cheat?”
Bryant Pappas: “A knockdown I scored in the fourth round from a clean body shot was ruled a low by referee Gonzalez. Williams held his crotch (and acted the part). He did this in his fight with Tommy Rainone. No points were taken away.”
Real Combat Media: “Please identify the principals in your corner during the Williams fight.”
Bryant Pappas: “Three people worked my corner that night. First was my trainer, featherweight fighter Pascal Rouse. Tom O’Neill, my physical therapist and physical conditioning specialist was the second. The third man was Jim Murray, my cut man. A couple of years ago, I had surgery on my back. In 2011 I had microdiscectomy surgery, which occurs when you have a herniated disc in your back, and they remove a piece of disc that’s pressing on the nerve, so you will have no pain in the legs or the nerves in the lower back. Tom O’Neill does physical conditioning with me, core stuff.”
Real Combat Media: “Are you still a police officer?”
Bryant Pappas: “I am a Yonkers police lieutenant.”
Real Combat Media: “Do you want a rematch with Josh Williams?”
Bryant Pappas: “Not in New York. Possibly in New Jersey. My boxing license is still good in new York. Nobody has told I cannot fight in New York. I intend to renew my boxing license in New York State this September. I can fight anywhere, Arkansas, Florida, wherever. In a rematch with Josh Williams, my conditions are I want to use the same Fuel Fight Gear gloves Josh Williams used against me, and Williams will have to use the same 10 ounce Everlast boxing gloves I used against him. As to whether the Fuel Fight Gear boxing gloves Josh Williams used against me were 10 ounce gloves, I don’t know. Nobody knows.”
Real Combat Media: “Fuel Fight Gear went out of business last year. No such gloves remain in existence. ‘Fuel’ is now a new company called Ediroc Sportswear.”
Bryant Pappas: “Fuel Fight Gear is out of business, and was out of business on May 12, 2012, the Saturday night of my fight with Josh Williams. Josh Williams could not have been sponsored by Fuel Fight Gear because Fuel Fight Gear was already out of business. If he was sponsored by their new name company, Ediroc Sportswear, why didn’t Josh Williams wear Ediroc gloves the night of the fight? The Williams corner was claiming they were sponsored by Fuel Fight Gear, and it didn’t existence, so I didn’t understand it.”
Real Combat Media: “Was your manager, Stacy Goodson of Arkansas, at your fight with Josh Williams? he’s had a great deal to say on your behalf.”
Bryant Pappas: “No. Stacy was in Arkansas taking care of his two autistic children at home as a full-time dad.”
Real Combat Media: “The Daxx Khan article and Jenna Jay interview both make reference to middleweight boxer Thomas ‘Cornflake’ LaManna. How so?”
Bryant Pappas: ” Go online to this reference link on Wikibin which I will give you. wikibin.org/articles/fuel-fight-gear-2.html  which states on June 15, 2011, Thomas LaManna was appointed director of product placement and branding for Real Combat Gear.”
Real Combat Media: “Wikibin is place where internet snapshots of pages past can be supposedly entered. The Wikibin page you refer to has to masthead or organization associated with the l post. It could be a fraudulent post of information mentioning only Thomas LaManna to slander him. Without the original internet page reference one cannot ascertain the original internet page post for sure. The Internet Wayback Machine, which contains pages of websites past, could not verify the Wikibin data you found, based on the contents RCM researched there.”
Bryant Pappas: “Acknowledged, but Thomas LaManna did represent Fuel Fight Gear  for a time, before Fuel Fight Gear became Ediroc Sportswear Company.”
Real Combat Media: “You continued about LaManna in the Jenna Jay interview online at Doghouse Boxing. You stated that the LaManna (connection) made sense, since LaManna worked Williams corner that night, and had fought Williams a year or so prior. You were upset, your injuries being what they were. You went to get treated at a local hospital. Your left eye was swollen badly, and your head and left orbital felt cracked or fractured. You were worried about your vision. You could not breathe out of your nose.”
Real Combat Media: “Brian, Who inspected your gloves in your dressing room before you entered the ring to fight Josh Williams?”
Bryant Pappas: “My gloves were inspected by an inspector Ruggero, who had the same name as one of the judges of the fight.  Whether the two were related, I didn’t ask. My boxing gloves came from the promoter Brian Burke. Ruggero signed off on my hand tape. He checked my boxing gloves and the gloves were wet. We felt the gloves had just been used in the previous bout, by either Natasha Spence or Racquel Bailey.”
Real Combat Media: “Your view of the Daxx Khan articles about your bout.”
Bryant Pappas: “Of course I complained. The day after the fight my face looked like it had been run over like a car, which led to the Daxx Khan investigation into where the Fuel Fight Gloves which Josh Williams used came from later. I wrote a letter to the New York State Athletic Commission about the gloves, and I did request a no-contest result for the Williams bout, among other things.”As far as we knew, the gloves all came from the promoter, and the inspectors were diligent. We all thought they were-and we were wrong.”
Real Combat Media: “Who was the guy named ‘Rich’ who informed on the goings on in the Josh Williams dressing room?”
Bryant Pappas: “Rich did not work in the Williams corner, but was in the dressing room the whole time.”
Real Combat Media: “Did you sustain any serious injuries in the Williams bout?”
Bryant Pappas: “I’m still injured. I have facial injuries which are still being dealt with. My injuries may very well prevent me from fighting again, we’ll find out.”
Real Combat Media: “Have you ever seen Fuel Fight Gear boxing gloves used?”
 
Bryant Pappas: “I’m sure they have been. I (personally) haven’t seen them used, and I have fought in many states and places, and I attend boxing events all over.”
Real Combat Media: “Bryant, are you claiming the Fuel Fight Gear gloves used by Josh Williams were regulation, or are you claiming something else?”
Bryant Pappas: “The Fuel Fight Gear gloves were smaller than they should have been. See for yourself, watch the video of the fight.” (the link is provided above)
Real Combat Media: “Bryant, where are the Fuel Fight Gear boxing gloves used by Josh Williams now?”
Bryant Pappas: “Nobody can find the Fuel Boxing Gear gloves used by Josh Williams. They’re not for sale. They don’t exist. The promoter gets the gloves back, he bought them, he keeps them, he does whatever he wants with them. The gloves magically disappeared. Nobody knows where they are. Promoter Brian Burke doesn’t know where they are. Corner man and middleweight Thomas LaManna doesn’t know where they are. Middleweight boxer Josh Williams doesn’t know where they are. Manager and trainer Brandon Foster doesn’t know where they are. Burke is on record saying he doesn’t know where the Fuel fight Gear gloves came from. I like Brian Burke.  He’s a good man. Burke did not know someone brought unauthorized gloves into the ring. He didn’t know who supplied the Fuel Fight Gear boxing gloves.”
Real Combat Media: “How could a fighter bring in their own regulation boxing gloves and gain commission approval to be able to use them in a pro bout?”
Bryant Pappas: “Suppose I bring in a set of regulation ten ounce boxing gloves colored orange to match my fight trunks. We’ll give these gloves to the promoter, who gives the gloves to the commission. The commission wants a second set of regulation orange gloves matching the other pair. The commission gives the other fighter the option. If he says yes, both fighters can use the new gloves. If the other fighter says no, then the proposed gloves offered cannot be used.”
Reader’s Note: For a story on the more popular types of regulation boxing gloves used, go on the internet to Ralph Longo’s story on the Bleacher Report online at
Real Combat Media: “In fight you were once in a corner that agreed to such a switch. You were with Stacy Goodson working in the corner of Arkansas middleweight Delray Raines at Boardwalk Hall on April 17, 2010, when the corner of his opponent, Ronald Hearns, requested the 10 ounce Everlast Gloves be switched to Reyes boxing gloves, another brand. Your corner agreed to wear the replacement boxing gloves, and Delray got knocked out at 1:47 of the first round. So what’s the bottom line?”
Bryant Pappas: “The bottom line is boxing gloves should be provided by the promoter. The promoter shall supply gloves for each fighter. The gloves shall not weigh more than eight ounces, of which no more than one ounce shall be in the wrist for padding. It becomes ten ounce gloves at 154 pounds and up. Most (boxers) wear ten ounce gloves. That’s my experience based on 13 professional bouts, wearing and training with different types of gloves. The New York State Athletic Commission and the fighter in question, Josh Williams, admitted they did not weigh the Fuel Fight Gear boxing gloves used by Williams. Josh Williams manager, Brandon Foster, is on record as stating nobody (from the New York State Athletic Commission) checked the gloves.”
Real Combat Media: “What information do you have on the events in the dressing room of fighter Josh Williams?”
Bryant Pappas: “NYSAC official Ralph Petrillo looked into the Williams dressing room, saw the gloves on Williams hands, says ‘oh those are Fuel gloves, they are approved (as in an approved brand, but not necessarily that particular glove).”
 
Real Combat Media: “Thomas LaManna said there were three NYSAC commission officials in and out of the dressing room of Josh Williams.”
 
Bryant Pappas: “I’m sure there were other officials in the dressing room, for the preliminary fights, for the fight about to go off, and for the main event (with Patrick Hyland).”
 
Real Combat Media: “What’s your understanding about the hand tape and glove inspection of the Fuel Boxing gloves used by Josh Williams?”
Bryant Pappas: “NYSAC official Ralph Petrillo presumed that another commission inspector had signed off on the hand tape of Josh Williams and had inspected his boxing gloves.”
Real Combat Media: “Who is the other official he presumed did that?”
Bryant Pappas: ” I don’t know. I have no idea. The inspector assigned to the Josh Williams corner before the fight was a guy named Chinchetti. Ralph Petrillo was the director of boxing, he was not assigned to be the commission inspector of Williams. Ralph Petrillo just came to the dressing room to see what was going on. He was summoned there because there was a question as to why this guy was wearing boxing gloves not supplied by the promoter. One of the inspectors in the room, either Felix Figueroa or Chinchetti, told Williams the commission supplied ten ounce Everlast gloves and why aren’t you wearing those gloves? Williams replied I have to wear these Fuel Fight Gear boxing gloves, they (Fuel) are my sponsors.”
Real Combat Media: “Why did not commission official Felix Figueroa bring the gloves in question to Ralph Petrillo?”
Bryant Pappas: “Williams put the gloves on before NYSAC inspector Felix Figueroa left the dressing room, that’s why. Or, I don’t know. I think Chinchetti left to get the ten ounce Everlast gloves, and that’s when Chinchetti went to get Felix Figueroa. Josh Williams put on the Fuel Fight Gear boxing gloves when inspector Chinchetti left, and Felix Figueroa left the room when he went to get Ralph.”
 
Real Combat Media: “You have a petition on Facebook now?”
Bryant Pappas: “I have a petition headed for New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo on my Facebook page accessed through a link by scrolling down on the left and clicking on at Justice For Bryant ‘The Spartan’ Pappas. The petition’s intent is thee people responsible for accountability should be removed, absolutely fired, to make sure the rules are follow, and to make sure NYSAC inspectors are properly trained (from now on).” ” https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForBryantTheSpartanPappas
Real Combat Media: “You wrote an appeal for a No-Contest to the NYSAC.”
Bryant Pappas: “Yes. Ralph Petrillo actually wrote back to me saying no, which is a direct conflict of interest (considering his involvement with the Fuel glove incident). The problem is there’s no mechanism procedure or independent review board of NYSAC members for lodging a complaint, (The lack of such a procedure right now) that’s the problem.”
Real Combat Media: “What’s your solution to reform the NYSAC?”
Bryant Pappas: “My solution is to create a new independent review board of seven boxing writers. A procedure would then be in place to enact changes and make decisions now (in professional boxing rules and regulations in New York State). Right now the NYSAC Is totally out of control 100% (of the time).”
Real Combat Media: “Bryant, have you taken legal action against the NYSAC?”
Bryant Pappas: “There is an attorney now who is giving the NYSAC every opportunity to make things write (regarding my May 2012 bout with Josh Williams and the purported illegal Fuel Fight Gear gloves used by Williams). Pending litigation is an option on the table we have to go forward with to get satisfaction (a declaration of No-Contest in the bout, removal of commission officials, and establishment of an independent NYSAC Board of Inquiry).”
Real Combat Media: What is ‘satisfaction’ in legal terms?”
Bryant Pappas: ” A No-Contest would be part of it. I would want certain individuals at the NYSAC removed. I want to see and independent review board established. I want to see some changes (affecting the NYSAC) enacted.”
Real Combat Media: “As a writer I have always found the NYSAC and the officials that run it of good character, honesty, and integrity. Do you think the NYSAC is picking on you personally, Bryant?”
Bryant Pappas: “My experience is a symptom of a larger problem at the NYSAC. I’m 39 years old. I’m not an 18 year old kid. If problems of this type happened to some 19 or 20 year old kid, he’d take his lumps and keep his month shut. Not me.”
Real Combat Media’s Interview with Thomas and Vinny LaManna is online at
 
The BoxRec professional record of Bryant ‘The Spartan’ Pappas is online at
Jenna Jay’s On The Ropes interview with Bryant Pappas is online at
 
Boxing writer Daxx Khan’s three part story on Bryant Pappas versus Josh Williams can be found online at the Billy C Boxing link below, scroll down.
Fuel Gloves

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