Ojibwe boxer is Influential Woman

She’s a Knockout: Ojibwe Boxer Mary Spencer Is a Leader With InfluenceThe Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) has named 20 women in its Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity list for 2011, and Mary Spencer, Ojibwe, is one of the honorees.

Spencer, of the Cape Croker Ojibwe First Nation in Ontario, is Canada’s powerhouse pugilist. She’s an eight-time national champion, five-time Pan-American Games champion, and three-time world champion—that’s a lot of metal in her trophy collection, with some heavier elements expected to be added soon. Ringside pundits and experts see her medaling, likely taking gold, at the London Olympic Games this summer, when women’s boxing makes it debut.Comment:  For more on Indians and boxing, see Vilche the "Eskimo Warrior" and Yup'ik Kickboxer Champion.

Below:  "Boxer Mary Spencer, Ojibwe, is an eight-time national champion, five-time Pan American Games champion, and three-time world champion."

Preview of Charlie Zone

Charlie Zone

Michael Melski 2011Writer/dramatist/director Mike Melski's second feature film is a gritty urban kidnapping drama with a strong First Nations flavour. Charlie Zone stars Glen Gould as a washed-up Aboriginal boxer reduced to fighting amateur YouTube bouts while holding down a labouring job on the Halifax waterfront. Spotted on the Internet for his still-potent fight prowess, he's hired by a mysterious woman who claims to represent a family that wants its adopted daughter back from a heroin den in the North End (the 'Charlie Zone' of the title). What appears to be a simple crime story darkens and deepens, as the kidnappee (Amanda Crew) has her own hidden agenda. Revealing a side of Halifax not trumpeted in any tourist brochures, Charlie Zone explores life and character well past the edges of acceptable society. With fulsome profanity "along with depictions of violence and explicit drug use" the film is a bracing cinematic experience that broadens the range of Melski's palette beyond his comedic debut Growing Op.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

Vilche the "Eskimo Warrior"

Red Bluff’s female heavy-hitter

Avery Vilche is a small but feisty mixed-martial-arts fighter

By Allie ColoskyThough she’s only 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs only 125 pounds, Avery Vilche walked confidently into the cage, ready to spar with a young man at least 15 pounds heavier than she. Almost immediately, she took charge, throwing him around with more force than anyone would expect from the tiny fighter.

Nicknamed the Eskimo Warrior, the 41-year-old mixed-martial-arts fighter from Red Bluff may not have size in her corner, but she’s never been one to back down from a challenge. After starting as a boxer before women were even allowed to participate in U.S. Amateur Boxing, and earning several commendations including a gold medal in the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics, Vilche continues to overcome obstacles and adversity as she trains for her next fight in North Carolina this Friday (June 17).Comment:  I understand the Yup'ik embrace the word "Eskimo," so they wouldn't consider this nickname a slur.

At least Vilche doesn't come out in a headdress and warpaint yelling war cries. I hope!

For more on mixed-martial artists, see Yup'ik Kickboxer Champion and Chippewa/Blackfeet Fighter on Ultimate Fighter.

Below:  "Avery Vilche is a firecracker in the cage, taking on Alex Fazleev, a student of hers who’s almost half her age, while her trainer, Manuel Whatley, and husband, John, watch." (Allie Colosky)

Yup'ik kickboxer champion

Yup'ik fighter a knockout in Lower 48

By Van WilliamsWith hopes of becoming a more complete fighter, Alaska Native kickboxer Falon Ring entered a pair of major jiu-jitsu tournaments in Texas and New Mexico in an effort to expand his mixed martial arts skills.

He went in to polish his ground game. He left polishing a new championship belt and two gold medals.

The Yup'ik 17-year-old--who won an International Kickboxing Federation bantamweight title last year--added to his collection by winning a lightweight championship belt in Texas and claiming titles in two separate divisions at Southwest Grapplefest IV in New Mexico.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Ojibwe Woman Aims for Olympic Boxing and Comanche Boy vs. Longacre.

Ojibwe woman aims for Olympic boxing

Ojibwe Woman Part of Inaugural Women’s Olympic Boxing

By Sam LaskarisAt any time of the day one might find Mary Spencer shadow-boxing and then pumping her arms in the air. “I do it constantly,” said Spencer, a 26-year-old aboriginal boxer who lives in Tecumseh, a suburb of Windsor, Ontario. “I’m pretending I just won a gold medal.”

By next summer, Spencer, an Ojibwe originally from the Cape Croker First Nation near Wiarton, Ontario may not have to pretend any more, because she is picked to win a medal—possibly even a gold—when women’s boxing makes its Olympic debut at the 2012 London Games. Spencer already has a rather impressive résumé: She has won three world championships and is the defending International Amateur Boxing Association women’s world champion in the 75-kilogram (165 pounds) division. She won a pair of world crowns in the 66-kilogram division, in Russia in 2005 and in China in 2008, but decided to put on some weight when the International Olympic Committee added just three weight classes—51, 60 and 75 kilograms—at the London Olympics.Comment:  For more on the subject, see First Aboriginal Women in Winter Olympics and Navajo Woman Boxer.

Hipp leads All Nations Foundation

Remembering Native American boxer Joe Hipp

By Darren BarcombAlways fighting hard and never forgetting his heritage, Hipp, who is a member of the Blackfoot tribe, has continued to give back to the community since his ring days came to a close. He last fought in August of 2005, battling to a majority decision over Ted Reiter. Now 48 years old, Hipp still works hard to promote boxing and serves as an inspiration to Native Americans throughout the country. The heavy hitting southpaw was known throughout his career as “The Boss,” a nickname that still suits him today, as he is both founder and president of the All Nations Foundation. The non-profit organization strives to create and maintain boxing clubs and after school programs for tribal youth.

According to their website,

“All Nations Foundation is a 501(c) (3) non-profit charitable organization that encourages excellence in sports, academics, health and fitness; preserves our sports heritage and builds pride and positive lifestyles in the spirit of Native American culture.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Hipp in Athletic Hall of Fame and Hipp to Resume Boxing?

Below:  Roy Jones Jr. and Joe Hipp.

Comanche Boy vs. Longacre

An upcoming boxing match, of all things, offers some pointers about Native stereotyping and identity.

Comanche Boy to Longacre:  “You wanted it. Now you’re gonna get it.”

By Coyote Duran“Let’s face it. White people can’t box. Black people box better. Puerto Ricans...even better. It seems the lower you go on the social ladder, the better the boxer. If there’s a Puerto Rican who is a good boxer, there’s a Native American waiting to kick his ass.”

--Chris Rock

Sure, it’s a funny quote but one has to wonder if this is why George Tahdooahnippah, 26-0-1 (20), is still waiting for his shot at a substantial opponent in the middleweight division. Instead, the Native American fighter known as “Comanche Boy” is stuck facing kickboxer Thomas Longacre, who’s making his professional boxing debut, on February 25, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Although Tahdooahnippah is trying to make the best of the situation, it almost seems like he’s taking a detour off the highway he so desperately wants to bury the pedal on. Primarily, that frustration comes from a common perception of fighters in the Heartland, perhaps specifically, fighters he’s had to face thus far.
And:Although the potential storyline was riveting, “Comanche Boy” wasn’t amused. The conflict almost seemed like the script from a “Rocky” sequel.

“This Thomas Longacre, he came out of nowhere. I was doing a radio interview and someone was like, ‘Aw, this is the fight everybody wants to see. ‘Another Native American fighter!’ and I thought it was gonna be this other guy and then they said, ‘And that’s the fight between you and Thomas ‘Thunderkick’ Longacre!’” said Tahdooahnippah. “I was like, ‘Who?!’ (laughs) I said, ‘No disrespect but I never heard of him!’ They said, ‘You never heard of Thomas Longacre?!’ I said, ‘Naw, never!’ They said, ‘Thunderkick’, you never…?’ I said, ‘No! Is he a boxer?’ They said, ‘No, he’s a world champion kickboxer.’ (Imitating a disbelieving sputter) Pffth, there you go, right there! I’m a boxer! So I asked, ‘What tribe is he?’ And then, ‘Oh, I don’t…I don’t know…’ They didn’t even know what tribe he was. So I just blew it off and then, a little bit later, a YouTube video came out, an interview and [Longacre] was talking about how he could beat me and blah, blah, blah. You know, I just blew it off. It was nothing because he does nothing for my boxing career. He’s 0-0 as a professional boxer but he was clowning all the people I’ve fought. So what’s his record? He ain’t even a pro boxer! So, I’m gonna fight February 25th and I’m gonna fight a guy that’s gonna be a pro debuter and I’m gonna beat him and then it’s gonna look on my record 26-0 at the time, fight a guy who’s 0-0.”

It came off like a bad joke. Although Longacre claims to be half-Creek and Yuchi, adding a tribe vs. tribe subtext to the fight, it’s still a mixed-martial artist-type (who thinks all because he’s great at one combat sport, he’s just as great at another) with a chip on his shoulder vs. the boxer who can’t believe his eyes and ears that he’s having to squander a slot in his career for him.And:As impatient as Tahdooahnippah is with the situation and having to prepare for a fighter he can only study from kickboxing and MMA tape, he’s even more short with the fact that Longacre comes off as a true (ethnically) self-loathing, cracked-mirror, black hat in this fight, somewhat the comic-book villain study. With Tahdooahnippah serving as the Native American Captain Marvel figure, Longacre is definitely Black Adam. Apparently, Longacre’s promoter is Dr. Sivana and his camp and fans are the Monster Society.

“Yeah, that’s what he says,” said Tahdooahnippah, as if fatigued with the thought, when asked how he felt about Longacre’s claims of indigenous pride. “I’m a Native American fighter. The way I live my life, I wake up; I’m a Native American man first. You know, because there are not very many of us, I’ve gotta display the best Native American warrior that anyone’s ever gonna see. But I think that [Longacre] is a fighter that is part Native American and that’s the difference between us. I’ve got native pride and he doesn’t. It was all over our Facebook pages and his promoter, Dale Cook, he’s got his friends calling me…’Oh, they’re just a bunch of ‘injuns.’ All his fans are just a bunch of ‘injuns’ getting drunk off of firewater. That’s why the paleface took their land.’ And I said, ‘What kinda Indian is gonna let his friends talk about his race like that?’ So that right there lets you know how much pride he has for his race. I’m not saying he’s this much or that much. It just lets me know his pride.”Comment:  Interesting how the writer compared the two fighters to comic-book characters. It's sort of an acknowledgment that a real-life boxer "warrior" and a fictional superhero "warrior" aren't that far apart.

For more on Comanche Boy, see "Comanche Boy" Webisodes and Comanche Boxer Does War Dance.

Native boxer starred in 1950s

Boxer Gaspar Indio' Ortega rediscovered

By Jim SheltonRondinone has spent the past few years researching the phenomenon of TV boxing, from its impact on the television industry to its influence in American households. He's in the process of writing a book about it, geared to a mass audience.

"Once upon a time, boxing dominated TV in a way we can't fathom today," he says. "It was regularly watched by 20 percent of Americans. At one point, in the late 1940s, as much as 50 percent of programming was boxing."And:Ortega, 74, of East Haven was one of the most popular TV boxers in the country. By Rondinone's count, he appeared in roughly 30 televised bouts, primarily in the 1950s.

Born in Mexico, the half-Indian, half-Mexican welterweight accumulated a professional record of 131-39-6, with 69 knockouts. He fought many of the top pugilists of his era (including Tony DeMarco, Kid Gavilan and Emile Griffith) and sometimes wore a Native American headdress into the ring. He is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame.Comment:  For the youngsters out there, this bit about TV boxing is true. Nor was it over by the early 1960s, as Rondinone claims. Seems to me you could watch boxing matches on TV many Saturdays throughout the '60s. Title fights featuring Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, and George Foreman were televised (on free network TV!) into the 1970s.

For more on the previous generation of Native boxers, see Heavyweight Champ to Get Native Name and Hipp in Athletic Hall of Fame.

Shawn Hawk the "Sioux Warrior"

Sitting down with Shawn ‘The Sioux Warrior’ Hawk

By Jack McNeelShawn Hawk, who fights under the title of “The Sioux Warrior,” is one of the top Native American boxers in the country. He moved to Chicago with his family when he was a child and soon started boxing. He returned to the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation when he was 16. Two years later he turned professional and now is a veteran of 22 professional fights, the most recent in early June.

Shawn’s dad, Ray Hawk, was an amateur boxer himself and the reason Shawn started boxing. Ray now has an organization called “Native American Warriors.” He manages and books fighters at events around the country.Wearing a chief's headdress is stereotypical even if a Sioux Indian does it. It trivializes the whole concept to compare a revered Native chief to a pretty good boxer.



Native American Warriors

By Jack McNeelRay Hawk, Crow Creek Sioux, started Native American Warriors because a large percentage of boxing takes place in Native American-owned casinos. “But you very seldom see a Native fighter on the card. You can bet if they were Puerto Rican-owned casinos there would be Puerto Rican fighters or if they were Mexican-owned casinos there would be Mexicans on the card. That’s the way it is in the boxing business.”

Hawk is concerned about young Native boxers. He’s concerned that if they can’t get fights they’ll quit training and fall by the wayside. “They go through the amateur ranks, try out for the Olympics and then they’re done without anybody looking out for them–managing them and getting them winnable fights and a decent purse. They often end up into drugs and booze and gang violence and we end up burying them at an early age. There’s something wrong with that.”"Native American Warriors" must be the least original name for a Native sports organization ever. I'd be impressed if any Native athletes didn't call themselves warriors.

Other than that, it sounds like Ray Hawk is trying to do good things. Yes, gaming tribe should invest in Native performers of all types--athletes as well as artists, musicians, comedians, and so forth.

For more on Native boxers, see Boxer Connects with Young Natives and World Champion Salish Kootenai Boxer. For more on gaming tribal support, see Why No Native Performers at Casinos? and Casinos Fund Cultural Projects.

Boxer connects with young Natives

Boxer has a message for First Nations youth

By Kent GilchristIn a couple of nights Junior Moar will be escorted into the River Rock theatre boxing ring by Aboriginal drummers and dancers in ancestral headdresses and warrior regalia.

The Canadian light heavyweight boxing champion believes the symbolic and entertaining entry serves a couple of purposes. It celebrates his belief in his heritage and his hope other First Nations young people will be swayed, and he thinks the drum gives him strength for the bout that will follow.

Saturday night, Moar will be the headliner of a West Coast Promotions card in a 10-rounder against American Billy Bailey, a former WBC U.S. boxing champion. And it will be Moar's first fight in nearly a year since he won the Canadian championship.

But this story is about connecting with young people. "I think it's better when I speak to these kids than hearing it from a teacher or policeman," says Moar, who took some time off after his wife Robin gave birth to their daughter Miller, now four months old.

"I'm more believable. I've done it"--meaning he's been in jail and turned his life around.

During the recent Paralympic Games the phrase "the strength of sport" was heard several times in the context of what sport can do for athletes with disabilities. Moar, former Vancouver Canucks tough guy Gino Odjick and before him Ron Delorme, now a Canucks scout, are using their high profiles in boxing and hockey to help influence young people away from taking a wrong path.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Comanche Boxer Does War Dance and Native Athletes Who Do Good.

Below:  "Junior Moar (left) readies a punch during a 2009 bout at River Rock Casino." (Nick Procaylo. PNG Files, The Province)

World champion Salish Kootenai boxer

World Champion Boxer Returns to Montana

By Beth CroughanMontana's only world champion boxer returned to the spotlight tonight. But it wasn't in the ring.

Marvin Camel is a two-time world champion boxer and member of the Salish Kootenai Tribe. He currently lives in Tavares, Florida, but came back to the Flathead Reservation to speak to tribal members.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Heavyweight Champ to Get Native Name, Boxers Vie for Middleweight Title, and Notable Native Athletes.

Puyallup honors George Foreman

George Foreman and sons feted by Puyallup tribal schools

Legendary two-time World Heavyweight Champion George Foreman was honored Friday afternoon with native dance, song and gifts from students and tribal members during a visit to a Puyallup tribal school.

By Nancy BartleyLegendary two-time World Heavyweight Champion George Foreman was honored Friday afternoon with native dance, song and gifts from students and tribal members during a visit to a Puyallup tribal school.

As he sat at the front of the Chief Leschi High School gym in Puyallup, young people sang traditional Coastal Salish songs and danced for him. They presented him with a carved necklace, and the Puyallup Tribal council members presented him with a blanket as a symbol of friendship.

Foreman, in town for his son George Foreman III's heavyweight fight tonight at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, has been applauded for his work with children and he agreed to drop by the school.

Puyallup Tribe Councilmember David Bean told Foreman the blanket they wrapped around him was the equivalent of a hug. And Councilmember Nancy Shippentower-Games praised him for being the only celebrity of the many who have come to the nearby casino to visit the school. The casino is owned by the Puyallup Tribe.Comment:  For a related subject, see Joe Frazier vs. Oneida Indian Nation.

Below:  "George Foreman Sr., left, spoke to students from both Chief Leschi schools at an assembly Friday. George Foreman III, center, and George Foreman IV, right, look on." (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times)

Heavyweight champ to get Native name

Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs, Honored With Warrior Name…

Shannon Briggs, Former Two Time Heavyweight Champion of the World, now a warriorShannon Briggs will be honored in the coming weeks by Native Indian Whitecap Dakota Reserve First Nation Sioux and Ojibwe tribes of Canada. Briggs, will be the first World Heavyweight Champion in world history to be given a Native Warrior name.

Being a full quarter Native Indian himself, Shannon accepts this honor with great pride. The purpose of a “sweat” is cleanse the soul, purify oneself; mind, body and soul. Others who have endured the heat of the ceremonial sweat state that it is 10 times hotter than an average sauna, which takes the internal temperature of the hut well above 140 degrees.

Ojibwe Medicine Man and Tribe Elder, Walter Linklater from Ontario will perform the historic ceremony in the town of Regina. While in Canada, Briggs will be visiting local schools, media outlets along with foundations directly related to Canadian Lung Associations in regards to his global awareness tour “Fight 2 Breathe.”Comment:  For more on the subject, see Hipp in Athletic Hall of Fame and Comanche Boxer Does War Dance.

"Comanche Boy" webisodes

‘Comanche Boy’ documentary a hit

By Sam LaskarisGeorge Tahdooahnippah, Comanche, has been rather successful in the ring.

And now the 30-year-old middleweight boxer is hoping to be a hit online.

Tahdooahnippah has teamed up with his director friend Thomas Yeahpau to create the “Comanche Boy” documentary series. “Comanche Boy” is often the moniker Tahdooahnippah is given when he’s duking it out in the ring.

The episodes, which are expected to be 15 to 20 minutes long, will enable viewers to get a better understanding of what Tahdooahnippah is all about, in and out of the ring.

The inaugural episode in the series was completed in May. It’s available on Tahdooahnippah’s Web site.

Episodes are also expected to be available on YouTube.

Besides footage from some of his fights, there will be candid interviews with the professional boxer, who compiled a rather impressive mark of 18-0-1, including 17 knockouts, in his first 19 bouts.Comment:  For more on Tahdooahnippah, see Boxers Vie for Middleweight Title and From Tree-Hugger to Boxer.

Two world championship fights on the rez

Casino hopes to become national player

By Leighton GinnThe Show rolled out the red carpet with all the bells and whistles. They put out an aggressive marketing campaign and did everything in their power to make Timothy Bradley's homecoming a big success.

Bradley defeated Nate Campbell with a third-round technical knockout to retain his WBO light welterweight title Saturday before a sold-out crowd.

Also on the card, rising star Devon Alexander defeated Junior Witter to win the WBC title that Bradley vacated.

Phil Cooper, the executive director of marketing for the Agua Caliente, said the fight helped The Show make a statement.

“Two world championship fights, for our first event? I'm so excited about what that says about our property and what the tribe has put into this part of the country,” Cooper said. “We want Southern California, California and this country to know we're a player.

“It drives the brand of the property. In this case, it puts us in the national spotlight, because it's Showtime.”Comment:  For more on the subject, see Native Boxing Network and Casinos Aid Native Boxers.

Navajo woman boxer

From self-doubt to validation

By Lorraine JessepeIt was a fall evening in 2005 when Mioshia Wagoner attended her first boxing event. At the time, Wagoner was sports editor of the Indian Leader at Haskell Indian Nations University.

A Navajo who was raised in tight-knit Native communities in Gallup, N.M. and White Cone, Ariz., Wagoner was attending Amateur Fight Night, sponsored by the Haskell Boxing Club, looking for a sports story.

Though she didn’t know anything about boxing, what she witnessed that evening captivated her for an entire year: Two women boxers going toe to toe in the ring, one pummeling the other with her power and skills.And:Still on the basketball team for Haskell, Yosh soon made up her mind that she wanted to add boxing to her sports repertoire. “My dad always told me I could do anything I wanted.”

So in 2006, she began her journey as a fighter with the Haskell Boxing Club. It would be a journey that led her to the Women’s World Boxing Championships in November 2008. Through it all, Yosh did not envision how far her determination would take her. It meant she would have to continue to train through periods of lingering self-doubt: “Am I good enough?”

In her brief boxing career, the 5 foot 7 inch southpaw has compiled a 6-3 record and become known for her power and speed. Beginning as a light heavyweight, her fighting weight has trimmed down from nearly 180 to 165 pounds. “My punches are cleaner, crisper, stronger.”Comment:  For more on the subject, see Comanche Boxer Does War Dance, Sovereign Nations Boxing Council, and Woman Wrestler from White Earth.

Hipp in Athletic Hall of Fame

Hipp to be inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame May 2Along with three other Native Americans, Joseph T. "Joe" Hipp has been enshrined into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.

Joseph Hipp, of the Blackfeet Tribe, was born Dec. 7, 1962, in Browning. World Boxing Federation A Heavyweight Champion, Hipp is considered the best boxer ever among the many Native American boxers of the past. He appeared 15 times on national television and won the World WBF Heavyweight Championship in 1995. Hipp also won the North American Heavyweight Championship in 1994 and fought for the World Boxing Association Heavyweight Championship in 1995.

Comanche boxer does war dance

A report on boxer George “Comanche Boy” George Tahdooahnippah:

TSS Prospect Watch:  Comanche BoyFor now, he’s pumped to be known as the Native American Boxing Council 168 pound champion, a title he earned with a 9-12-08 TKO7 of Jonathan Corn: “I’ll be bold and say that I’m the best Native American at middleweight in the US.”

Asked to point to a few Native American boxers who he looks to as role models, Comanche Boy is sort of stumped. I mention Danny “Little Red” Lopez as one native boxer who comes to mind, but we are both stumped after that. Joe Hipp, I come up with. The fighter mentions the multi-sport legend Jim Thorpe, an Oklahoma native, as a role model.

Comanche Boy isn’t looking to use his heritage as a gimmick, something to set himself apart in the climb to recognition. Sure, the pageantry and aura that accompany his war dance after he stops a foe, and his fans bang drums, and whoop and holler with Comanche fervor, makes a Comanche Boy KO a compelling sight. But he wants to build himself up into a well rounded sweet scientist, because he knows there will come a day when his game changing hook won’t be enough.Comment:  So Tahdooahnippah does a war dance and encourages his fans to bang drums and whoop. But he isn't using his heritage as a gimmick? I'd hate to see what he'd do if he were using his heritage as a gimmick.

For more on the subject, see Boxers Vie for Middleweight Title and From Tree-Hugger to Boxer.

Hipp to resume boxing?

Former Heavyweight Contender "Indian" Joe Hipp To Make Comeback Next Year?Back in the early part of this year, this writer had the pleasure of interviewing 90's heavyweight contender Joe Hipp, a member of the Blackfoot Indian tribe (hence his "Indian" nickname.) Hipp, who got as far as challenging for a version of the heavyweight title in 1995, and who had a great and memorable losing battle with Tommy "The Duke" Morrison in 1992, told me how he was planning to fight again in April or May of 2008. Now aged 46 and inactive since August of 2005, the 6'1" southpaw will apparently get his ring return, almost a year later than he had originally planned.

According to BoxRec.com, Hipp, 43-7(29), will box one Corey Williams on March the 7th in Billings, Montana. With something called the CBA heavyweight title on the line, Hipp will be contesting what will be only his fourth fight in almost ten years. Obviously, coming back after such inactivity and at such an advanced age, the likeable fighter will not be rushing things. Williams, a guy who will turn 30 on January 1st next year, is a fighter with a modest 7-9-2(4) record, and as such he will not present Hipp with any overt danger-although at his age and after having been out of action for so long, no fight can be considered a gimme for the 46-year-old veteran.More on Hipp:

Spooner Brings Indian Youth Closer to London OlympicsWith the sparring behind the scenes rivaling the boxing superstars in the ring, Native Voices Foundation's (NVF) "Future Olympian's Day Benefit in Spooner April 16, turned out an uplifting landmark for American Indian youth competing in the London Olympics," according to Olympic skier, Suzy "Chapstick" Chaffee, NVF's organizer.

Caption: Spooner's Future Olympians Benefit. Photo: Terrell BoetcherWorld Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Joe Hipp (Blackfeet), 2003 Native American Heavyweight Champion Harry Funmaker ("Ho-Chunk Hammer"), and South Dakota Golden Gloves director, Chissie Spencer (Seminole), wowed the region's rising stars with priceless coaching, and fans with exciting sparring at the Northwest Sports Complex.

"I'm thrilled how the benefit united Indian Country's leading casinos behind developing youth for Vancouver's 2010 and London's 2012 Olympics," said Barry ZeVan, beloved Minneapolis weatherman and original PR Director for Grand Casino Mille Lacs. Chaffee honored ZeVan there for raising her tribal consciousness 15 years ago, and producing "American Indian Homelands," an award-winning eye-opener.Comment:  I wonder if some tribal leader gave Hipp permission to wear the headdress, or if he decided to wear it on his own.

Sovereign Nations Boxing Council

SNBC sanctions first title fightSovereign Nations Boxing Council (SNBC) debuts tomorrow night (Saturday, November 22) when cruiserweights Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey and Eddie “The Iron Man” Gutierrez fight for the first SNBC title headlining a special card, promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc., at 4 Bears Casino in New Town, North Dakota.

SNBC links federally recognized tribes throughout the United States and Canada. SNBC’s mission is to develop, promote and help regulate boxing in a fair and professional manner by federally recognized tribes that are sovereign nations.

“What makes SNBC different from other native organizations is that it’s not based on race,” SNBC president Pat Packineau explained. “SNBC has been created to draw awareness that tribal casinos host numerous boxing events every year and our new organization unites tribes in the sport by having our own championship belt. Boxers of any race may capture the SNBC championship, as long as the title fight is contested on federally recognized land or have off-tribal sites approved in advance by the SNBC board of directors.

“The SNBC’s goal is to bring notoriety to Native American casino boxing events and recognize the athletes competing on Tribal Lands for SNBC championships. We’re excited to host the first SNBC title fight at 4 Bears Casino.”Comment:  Actually, membership in sovereign tribes isn't based on race either. People can be enrolled Indians even if they're largely or wholly non-Indian by "blood."

For more on the subject, see The Facts About Tribal Sovereignty.