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PRINCIPALS Integrity is a rare commodity in boxing, and it has taken a number of years to develop valued relationships with honest individuals who have been highly successful in amateur and professional boxing. As a board, we are fortunate to count them as our friends and be able to draw upon their experience. John W. Black Chairman john@ringstars.com John graduated with a BBA in Accounting from the University of Oklahoma. He attended Golden Gate University School of Law for three years,  specializing in taxation while working full-time in San Francisco for Coopers and Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), an international CPA firm, and for the I.R.S. He has 11 years of professional business experience in public and private accounting and taxation with PricewaterhouseCoopers, as an Internal Revenue Agent in San Francisco working complex corporate cases in a Super Group, and as CFO and Treasurer of Berkeley Scientific Laboratories, Inc., a manufacturer of computer systems for hematology and chemistry labs in hospitals and at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD.Throughout his life, John has had a passion for boxing. He started boxing intermittently at age 13. As a freshman at the University of Oklahoma he almost lost his arm in an oil rig accident, ending a mediocre boxing career. The following year, he was asked to train an intramural boxing team and discovered that he had a natural gift for coaching. His team reached the finals and competed successfully against a team with more natural talent which was coached by a national champion. John realized that good boxers don't necessarily make good coaches and that boxing and teaching boxing are entirely different skills. This early success as a coach inspired him to become an even more avid student of boxing. In the 1970's, John's reputation as a successful amateur coach preceded him to Stanford Research Institute (SRI). SRI had received a request for a quotation to develop boxing impact devices from the Department of the Army Medical Corp representing the Army boxing team. He was engaged as their boxing consultant in the design of prototypes using accelerometers and strain gauges. His experience as a trainer since then has led him to better designs for tools for boxing coaches serving a variety of purposes. He recently received United States Patent 7,128,692 on methods for measuring and improving punching power. As a student of the psychology of sports performance, John graduated from the Pierre Clement School of Hypnosis in San Francisco. He later collaborated with Dr. John and Laura Grinder, specialists in enhancing performance using neurolinguistic programming techniques. He participated in a project with the president of the California Biofeedback Society in Sonoma, California, evaluating the effects on athletic performance using visualization techniques at different brain wave patterns. While coaching in amateur clubs in northern California over the years, John trained his son, Michael, who won gold medals in the Junior Olympics when he was 8, 9, 10, and 11 years old. He continued winning state and regional tournaments. When he was 14, he won a silver medal at the National Jr. Olympic Championships and a gold medal at the National Jr. Olympic Sports Festival. When he was 15, he won a gold medal at the New England Jr. Olympic Championships. At age 16, he won a gold medal at the Western U.S. Amateur Boxing Championships, and at 17, a gold medal at the U.S. National Jr. Amateur Boxing Championships at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. He won a bronze medal in the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials and a silver medal in the 1988 Western Olympic Trials. Michael received his J.D. from the Loyola University School of Law, New Orleans, in May, 1999, and is currently practicing law. John has always had a great affinity for boxing and a desire to learn as much as he could about the sport. He has always been the only boxing coach at sports medicine conventions he has attended for coaches and trainers from a broad range of sports. He has watched and modeled the most successful amateur and professional trainers from boxing and outside of boxing, incorporating the best of their techniques into his own system, adding and changing according to latest test results in human performance studies. All great systems include drills which develop neuromuscular patterns of good form and simulate the work-rest patterns of the event and develop power (mass times acceleration). The training should also include methods for establishing baselines and measuring improvement in reaction time, the timing and gradient of acceleration (power curves), conditioning, recovery rate, leverage, and diet supplementation to maximize intensity and training effect. To stay abreast of recent developments, John conducts regular literature searches and collects research papers on specific topics from sports medicine conventions. He uses techniques which are uncommon in boxing for improving power-to-weight ratios, the timing and gradient of acceleration curves (explosiveness), endurance and recovery rates. John and his wife Joanne have been married for 44 years. In addition to their son, Michael, they have two daughters who are also attorneys. After Rachel graduated from Cornell Law School in May, 1999, she clerked for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. She currently practices law. After Shana graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in May, 2000, she began a law practice. The Inception of FightersOnline, Inc. A few years ago, the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino engaged John to train a 6' 5", 285 pound heavyweight they had under contract. John began planning his career by carefully selecting and arranging a small database of possible opponents. He quickly discovered how difficult and time consuming it was collecting, studying and comparing the records of opponent's opponents (and their opponents). It was also often difficult to acquire tapes of recent fights of prospective opponents. Tapes enable a trainer to analyze styles and pick the right fights without having to trust the integrity or judgment of a promoter or his matchmaker's evaluation of the opponent. Observing the development of wireless, broadband, and Internet technology, John saw the potential and opportunity to greatly simplify the entire boxing business and level the playing field for fighters and promoters. He envisioned and designed new online features and marketplaces which will transform and make more efficient every aspect of the business of boxing and greatly increase the boxers' revenue. He has filed four patent applications, two of which have issued. The patent claims embrace easy-to-use online models which are highly functional and will reform the current unfair, corrupt ranking, matchmaking and marketing models. Current models are imposed upon fighters through promoters' contracts and the sanctioning organizations. Needed transparency in certain features will reduce inequities. John sees his primary job as Founder and Chairman is to develop a vision for the future, point in the general direction that he wishes the Company to go to achieve that vision, to delegate the details to very skilled officers with the same passion and commitment, and then review what they produce. He is enthusiastic about communicating his vision to fighters, those who assist them in developing their careers, boxing writers, fans, and the sports business community in general. John has been blessed with the guidance and encouragement of experienced computer engineers with a grasp on the status, pace, and potential of Internet technology in his strategic planning of economically feasible goals for fighters and the business of boxing. FightersOnline, Inc. is in its startup phase and has attracted the interest of those who would like to become part of a highly skilled management team. Its website can only be accessed by executing a non-disclosure and non-competition agreement and receiving a used name and password. See the footnote on the homepage. Michael B. Black, J.D. Latin America and Caribbean mike@ringstars.com Michael is fluent in Spanish and has remarkable academic achievements for a skilled boxing trainer with a strong background in boxing. He received his J.D. from the Loyola University School of Law, New Orleans, in May, 1999, with an emphasis in corporate finance, taxation, and International Trade and Commerce Law. Because of his fluency in Spanish, he served as a summer Law Clerk for the State Supreme Court in Cuernavaca, State of Morelos, Mexico. He received an Honors Scholarship (Dean's List) during his undergraduate work at UNLV in accounting, economics and finance. At UNLV, he was a part-time instructor and tutor in cost accounting and financial accounting. Because of his strong affinity for the Spanish language and Mexico, he became active in UNLV's International Business Program and Foreign Language Study in Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende. After becoming fluent in Spanish, he served a semester as an English Instructor at the International Language School in Queretaro, Mexico. While in law school at Loyola in New Orleans, Michael gained experience part-time and during the summers as a staff accountant with Deloitte & Touche and Michael Rice and Associates and has served as a Law Clerk for Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar. During his amateur boxing career, Michael had 108 fights, winning 101 of them. While at UNLV, Michael was a part-time boxing trainer at Ringstars Boxing Gym, Las Vegas, Nevada. His achievements in boxing and law and accounting make him uniquely qualified to make a major contribution to FightersOnline. Michael and his wife Sandra met while he was a student in the foreign studies program in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Sandra graduated from Loyola University in December, 2000, majoring in Accounting and French and has also worked for Deloitte & Touche. Michael is currently practicing law. Joe Clough International Consultant joe@ringstars.com It is important that we receive experienced evaluation at the outset from more than one gifted and outstanding coach. Our staff will draw on the additional judgment of Joe Clough. Joe has been training boxers for over 25 years and has accumulated an unequaled number of awards. He has extraordinary experience and ability as a teacher. His numerous awards include being named the National AAU Amateur Coach of the Year in 1972, 1976, and 1977. As a U.S.A. Olympic National Coach, he took U.S. teams to Poland, 1976, South America, 1978, Spartakiade Games in the Soviet Union, 1979, Cuba, 1979 and 1982, Poland, 1979, East Germany, 1980 and 1983, North American Championships, 1981, World Cup, Canada, 1981, Pan American Games, 1983, and Germany, 1992. He was head coach for the Muhammad Ali Boxing Club, Santa Monica, California, in 1979-80. This was the most prestigious coaching position in amateur boxing in the U.S. during this period. Scholarships were awarded to several national champions and top boxers in the country. Joe has also conducted coaching clinics in Gabon, Africa, 1980, Barbados, 1983, Philippines, 1985, Bhutan and Cambodia, 1997, and Burma, 1998. He was the Olympic Boxing Coach for Thailand in 1984, the coach of the Philippines National Team at the Asian Games in 1986, National Coach for Napal in 1987, Olympic Training Camp Director in Thailand, 1988, Thailand National Coach, 1993, and the Malaysian National Coach in 1995-96. After employment as the National Boxing Coach in Malaysia, 1995-1996 and Thailand, 1996-1997, he conducting coaching clinics in Bhutan and Cambodia in 1997, and Burma in 1998. Joe has been highly successful as a coach, and his record speaks for itself. His experience as a trainer and judgment of natural talent spans over thirty years. Ringstars will draw on his judgment in selecting our heavyweights and his consulting assistance in our training. Brad Rothermel, Ph.D. Consultant - U.S. brad@ringstars.com Brad brings a rare combination  of high achievement in practice and theory in sports. He has competed in a number of sports and has achieved a high level academically in the theory of sports practice, performance, and management. He is a great resource for any coach.
He has, in addition to a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Illinois, honorary Ph.D.'s in Athletic Administration and Athletic Management. Brad has over 30 years experience in recruiting and athletic program development, physical performance research, fiscal management, and athletic administration. He became the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics in 1981 at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, serving nine years. He developed a financially successful athletic department with very strong athletic programs. Brad, a member of Who’s Who in America, has many recruiting contacts nationwide for great heavyweight athletes who are not drafted. As UNLV Athletic Director, he also gained substantial experience in national network sports television programming and contract negotiations. Brad recently was the president and general manager of a new Las Vegas professional basketball franchise. As a member of our Board of Directors and our recruiting consultant, he has considerable expertise and value to us. Brad also keeps us abreast of current developments in human performance labs which relate to boxing. Brad and his wife Suzanne, an elementary school teacher, have been married 40 years and have two daughters, Beth and Christine. Beth is a legal assistant, and Christine received her M.D. in February, 2000, and practices pediatric medicine in Las Vegas. |
FightersOnline, Inc. Las Vegas, NV
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