Retired Boxers Foundation
www.retiredboxers.org
As of December 2008, the Retired Boxers Foundation has completed ten years of service to retired professional boxers throughout the world. Unlike other major sports, boxing is the only professional sport that does not provide a pension for it's retiring athletes. The average age of retirement for a professional boxer is in his mid-thirties, although today's champions like Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins, "Sugar" Shane Mosely, the great Evander Holyfield and Roy Jones Junior, have chosen to continue their careers into their 40's. None-the-less, history says that 87% of all professional boxers will end their careers with some damage, from the bothersome to the incapacitating.
Alex "The Bronx Bomber" Ramos is the legitimate "poster child" for the sport of professional boxing, having fought nearly 300 fights as a 4 Time New York Golden Gloves winner and professional boxer with 50 plus professional bouts. Alex was a puncher and he also took shots that left him with damage to the frontal and temporal lobes. Alex had the determination and fortitude to go through intensive testing and treatment. How could he not? How do you guide your brothers in boxing if you, yourself do not have the courage? Alex is a boxer and he says he's "gonna die a fighter!" Alex is clearly the face of the retired professional boxer and feels lucky to have his own modest apartment with very few frills in his life. He knows things could be worse, and for too many retired professional boxers, they are.
Ramos lives for the Retired Boxers Foundation and for the brotherhood of professional boxers that he has embraced for nearly 30 years. The fighters know that their dignity will remain intact when they need a hand up. They also know that the RBF will come through for them, whether its help to pay the rent or the electricity, or a place for rehab. Not a day goes by when the RBF gets a call asking for a prayer, or help to get through the day. Alex answers his phone and his email, 24/7.
The Retired Boxers Foundation is an IRS 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation whose mission is to assist retired professional boxers in the transition from their glorious days in the ring to a dignified retirement. We operate on less than $15,000 a year, and most of the time, we have less than a thousand dollars in the bank. No one takes a salary. We appreciate all donations; no matter if it's $10 or $10,000 and all donations are tax deductible. Please consider the Retired Boxers Foundation when you are making your year-end charitable contributions. We cannot do it without you. For more information on the RBF, visit our website at www.retiredboxers.org or call us at (805) 955-9064.
Alex Ramos has suffered multiple grand mal seizures during the past four months and nearly died in August, but because he, himself, is a fighter, he will never give up. He lives to help others who need his help.