One of our writers, Kirk Lang, was honored with the George Smith Contribution to Boxing Award from the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame this past Saturday.
He was one of seven award winners recognized ahead of the inductees. The Contribution to Boxing Award was renamed some years back to honor the late George Smith, who was both a sportswriter and a boxing judge. He was also one of the founding members of the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame.
In addition to Lang, the following were also honored: Kamarre Kemp (The Roland Roy Amateur Boxer of the Year); Chordale Booker (Marlon Starling Boxer of the Year); Marilyn Rosa (Amateur Official of the Year); Phyllis Roy (The William Hutt Official of the Year); Paul Cichon (Brian Clark Trainer of the Year) and Marcky “The Fighter” Foster (The Willie Pep Courage Award). Foster battled Embryonal with Multi-layered Rosettes, a rare, aggressive form of cancer, before passing away on June 22, just before his 5th birthday.
The Professional Boxer of the Year Award was just renamed to honor former welterweight champion Marlon Starling, who presented the award to Booker, and the Trainer of the Year Award was just renamed to honor longtime New Haven-based trainer Brian Clark, who passed away in January. The most famous boxer to come out of Clark’s Ring One gym was former light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson.
“Congratulations to each and every one of you,” said newly elected President Peter Hary Jr.. “Your accomplishments and contributions to boxing have earned you this moment and we’re proud to celebrate you tonight.”
Lang is not only a writer but also contributes to his reporting with photos as well. He was an invited guest of the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Las Vegas this month and had plans to attend. However, upon finding out he would be receiving the Contribution to Boxing Award from the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame – and that the ceremony was taking place on the same day as the women’s Hall event– he had to scrap the Vegas trip.
In front of numerous members of his family, including his daughters Alyssa and Laila, who were stage side helping to capture the moment for him, Lang said, “I really appreciate this award. I want to thank Peter Hary and everybody on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame for all that you do and for honoring me with this award. I’ve been doing this for a while and I appreciate the recognition.”
Looking to keep his speech rather brief, Lang didn’t go into his career highlights. However, he did note that a desire to meet his idol, former three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, influenced his decision to get into boxing journalism. Initially majoring in physical education in college, numerous trips to the International Boxing Hall of Fame induction weekends in Canastota, New York with his dad further cemented his journalistic aspirations.
Lang has covered or interviewed numerous legends of the sport, including Sugar Ray Leonard; George Foreman; Roy Jones Jr.; Joe Frazier; Floyd Mayweather Jr; Bernard Hopkins, Arturo Gatti; Evander Holyfield; Pernell Whitaker; Felix Trinidad; Oscar de la Hoya; Manny Pacquiao; Laila Ali; Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.
A few stand-out moments of Lang’s career include covering the historic all-female card at Madison Square Garden last year, which was headlined by Taylor-Serrano III; covering former heavyweight champion George Foreman’s final fight; being ringside for numerous bouts in Roy Jones’ prime; covering a fight card at a castle in downtown Boston; being asked to be a pallbearer for the 1940s featherweight legend Willie Pep; and providing a few lines to actor James Madio that would be used in Madio’s portrayal of Pep in the movie “The Featherweight.”
After accepting his award and largely staying near the stage to cover the ceremony – taking photos and recording speeches – he was given silent auction items at the end of the evening his family had won for him, including the fight program for “The Thrilla in Manila,” the third fight between Ali and Frazier; a couple of Ring magazines from the 1950s; and a pair of gloves from the Ali Center.
The CTBHOF honor took place inside the Earth Ballroom at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT in front of crowd of nearly 400 attendees. The silent auction raised over $4,000, a record, according to Hary, and the 50/50 raffle netted $1,000. Every dollar raised helps the Hall support the boxing community through its charitable giving program, which allows the organization to support amateur boxing in Connecticut, and to help fighters in need.
In addition to the award recipients, the followed were immortalized with induction Saturday night: 1930s and ‘40s era light heavyweight Melio Bettina; promoter Rich Cappiello; timekeeper Lou Dell; referee Ken Ezzo; former heavyweight contender Fernely Feliz; former USA New England featherweight and super featherweight champion Joey Negron; trainer Luis Rosa Sr.; and New London-based trainer Kent Ward, who established a program for boxers with disabilities, such as Parkinson’s Disease.
