General secretary Leroy Brown: Born for boxing

The Jamaica Boxing Board, in partnership with Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum, will confer on the board’s general secretary Leroy Brown an honorary award, in recognition of his contributions to the sport, at the fourth staging of the Wray & Nephew Fight Nights series at Breezy Castle Sports Centre tonight.

Despite not being a boxer himself, Brown was born for boxing. He has served the sport in every area possible, both in Jamaica and around the world, since 1966 when he first became a member of the board.

Brown’s love for the sport began to develop when, as a writer for The Gleaner, he covered football, cricket and boxing. His presence at, and coverage of, the sport led Ivan Levy to urge him to join the association and, just one year after joining in 1967, he took up an administrative position as secretary.

And so began a love affair with the sport for Brown that has never stopped and never waned.

Brown has held several positions on the board, including second vice-president, first vice-president and president. But his longest-tenured position has been general secretary, a post he has held from 2004 until now.

BIGGEST FIGHT

He has served on the administrative side and technical side of fight promotion, with his first big fight being the Sunshine Showdown at the National Stadium in Kingston.

Probably the biggest fight ever held in Jamaica on January 22, 1973, Joe Frazier was dethroned by George Foreman in what was then described as the knockout of the year. Foreman knocked him down six times in two rounds before the referee stopped the fight.

Other major fights which Brown worked on were the title defence of Nicholas Walters and Simon Brown’s title defence against George Barker where he debuted as a professional judge for the July 16, 1988 fight. Brown knocked out Barker in three rounds.

Brown became an international AIBA judge at the Pan Am Games in Cali Colombia in 1971 and has judged all over the world internationally.

His accolades as a judge include the Central American and Caribbean Games, the Commonwealth Games, the World Championships and the Olympic Games in Moscow, in 1980, and Los Angeles, in 1984, which he describes as “terrific experiences”.

Boxing legends Sugar Ray Leonard and Evander Holyfield fought at those games.

Brown further cemented his place in history as a judge of the first-world title fight held in South Africa at the end of apartheid between Arturo Gatti and Tracy Harris Patterson.

He has progressed from being a judge to an international technical official, to becoming a member of the Referee and Judges Commission in 2019, which puts him in charge of referees and judges worldwide, a major accolade for Brown.

Enamoured by the sport, Brown is unable to say which area of boxing has been the most satisfying for him.

PASSION FOR WRITING

“Writing is high on the list, because of my passion for writing which led to reporting on several top fights worldwide. But it’s hard to say which area I prefer, so I wouldn’t choose any one because I get a particular experience. It is integrated and widespread and I enjoy all of them because I get to serve the sport in so many ways,” he said.

“When you work with a young boxer and see him progress and know you contributed to it, that makes it worthwhile,” he continued.

“Talent, temperament and discipline are required to make it as a boxer. Discipline is the most important, to work hard to do what is right and to avoid doing what is wrong, all of these are necessary,” he noted.

Now a judge of the Wray & Nephew Fight Night series, Brown praised the brand for their support of the sport over the years, which has spanned decades.

“One of the biggest supporters of boxing has really been Wray and Nephew. They did The Contender, which gave us eight years of really good boxing, crowd appeal, and talent. But, even before that, they used to help us quite a bit with sponsorship. The Fight Night Series is a good follow-up to The Contender. It’s a totally different package and it is a very good mix of amateurs and pros.”

Brown will be acknowledged for his contribution to the sport of boxing, alongside veteran boxing coach Lindel ‘Suga’ Wallace.