UNLV boxing to host collegiate national championships at Cox

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002 | 9:47 a.m.

Bubbling with enthusiasm, the men behind the UNLV club boxing team are poised to see it take the next step in what has been a briskly paced progression. A mere five years into its existence, the team will host the National Collegiate Boxing Association championships April 3-5 at the Cox Pavilion.

Landing the national championships is not only a feather in UNLV's cap, but a sign of growing nationwide respect for a program that has already produced four national champions.

"We've won that respect and earned the right to host this great tournament," said the team's unofficial godfather and media conduit, Paddy Ryan. "Some of the greatest guys in the world are associated with this team."

Among those drawing Ryan's praise is Bruce Kobrin, the team's principal fundraiser, as well as fellow committee members Bob Joslin and Joe Brown.

"The community support we've received has been phenomenal," Kobrin said. "We've had a lot of people bring something to the table and step forward to help this program and keep it going."

The UNLV team -- formally known as the Dr. Elias Ghanem UNLV Boxing Team -- is in the midst of its fourth full season of competing in a sport that is funded solely by outside contributions. In UNLV's case, the school provides no financial backing or scholarships and contributes only in the sense that it allows what was once an on-campus athletic storage room to be used as the team's gym.

"The kids on my team go to school and just happen to box," said Skip Kelp, a former professional fighter who has coached the team since its inception. "Our goal is to provide an outlet for the student who is seeking something physical and competitive to do. And we have a very high graduation rate."

Kelp has approximately 40 student-athletes on his current team, including defending national champion Xenon Mallari. He won last year's national championship at 112 pounds in an event held at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Lyndon Manlapao (119 pounds) and Louis O'Hiaeri (heavyweight) also won individual titles for UNLV last year, as the team finished in third place in the overall standings.

Manny Libatique, a featherweight, won UNLV's first individual national championship, in 1999.

"I would never walk away from this program, no matter what," said Kobrin, underscoring his commitment to the team.

His task is to raise $100,000 annually to support the team, and he said donations both large and small have allowed him to meet that goal. As for the national championships, a 1999 donation from heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis -- via his former promoter, Panos Eliades -- will cover the estimated $23,000 expense of hosting the event.

"Panos and Lennox have had their disputes, but they're both still friends with me," Ryan said. "They were so impressed with the UNLV team and its attempt to make a name for itself that they readily made this donation."

Three years ago, while preparing for a fight here with Evander Holyfield, Lewis visited the UNLV training "bunker" and autographed a wall. Located beyond the right-field fence of Wilson Stadium, the gym is uniquely quaint and functional.

By mandate of the NCBA, collegiate boxers cannot have had more than five amateur fights by the age of 16. Kelp said that if anyone approaches him with more experience than what's allowed, or with a dream of turning pro or even competing in the Olympics, he refers them to the national organization or to one of the professional gyms in town.

As such, he is forever training young men and women who are newcomers to the rigorous sport.

"Most of them are novices, but we do get some kids by word of mouth," he said. "And I would say our team members are more athletic than it seemed like they were a few years ago.

"I've even had some football players approach me just in the last couple of weeks, and coach (John) Robinson seems open to letting them participate in boxing. That's good, because I could use a heavyweight."

Kelp, who was 24-4 as a welterweight in his pro career, also teaches mixed-martial arts but has boxing in his veins. "I think I've become synonymous with the UNLV boxing team," he said. "I fell into the teaching end of boxing and this team is a part of me now."

He said when taking in the national championships, it becomes obvious that a team reflects its coach or its institution. In his case, that means the UNLV fighters "will be relaxed, with an accent on our motto: 'Respect and Represent.' "

At last year's nationals, 22 teams were represented. Competitors advance to the national tournament by being one of two representatives in each of 12 weight classes to emerge from regional competition.

"I think having the tournament on campus at the Cox will be exciting," Kelp said. "It's another way to expand our own program and get the entire community, as well as the student body, more involved."

Tickets for the April event have not yet gone on sale.