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Brief
History
Since
the birth of boxing sport in Iran in 1941, when the sovereignty of Iran
was shaken by the waging forces of World War II, and until few years before
the Islamic revolution in 1978, the pictures of the Assyrian athletes have
decorated the pages of the national Iranian sports literature.
Alexander
Auseepof (Shura) is one of the founders of the sport of boxing in Iran.
Along with Alexander, the names of other renowned athletes such as the
late George Eissabek, Eisar Eilkhanof, William Adamzadeh, Wilhelm Yonani,
Ehs Abhari, and Ramon Babaei decorate the pages of the sport history of
Iran.
Ramon
Babaei, born in 1941, is the last Assyrian boxing champion member of the
Iranian national boxing team, He is one of several Assyrians throughout
the history of sports in Iran that has contributed to the success of Iran
in the national sports arenas. In 1971, he won the Gold Medal in the Asian
championship contest, thus making his country of Iran proud of having raised
an Assyrian son like him, and his Assyrian nation proud of a son that has
brought her recognition and appreciation.
Ramon
started his boxing career at an early age under the directions of the late
George Eissabek. During his colorful career from 1961 through 1971, Ramon
won many regional and national Iranian contests that led to his membership
in the Iranian National Boxing Team; a position sought after by many athletes.
The
following is a list of Ramon's boxing events participations and accomplishments
as a member of the Iranian national boxing team in the 63.5 kilogram level:
The
Iran-Turkey games (1963)
The
Asian Olympics (1966)
The
Asian boxing Championship games (1967)
The
Iran-Rumania games (1968)
The
Asian Boxing Championship games (1970)
The
Asian Boxing Championship games (1971 - Champion)
After
earning the championship title in the 1971 Asian games, Ramon retired from
his boxing career and married his sweetheart in 1972. He continued his
activity in Iranian boxing and became a nationally known referee. He then
refereed in the Asian games which led to further success where he became
an international boxing referee.
In
1979 Ramon and his family moved to the Untied States and settled in Los
Angeles, California. He continued his involvement in international boxing
until 1984 when he retired having held the prestigious office of the President
of the association of the Southern California Boxing Referees. The following
is a list of the games where Ramon was in the ring as a referee:
U.S.
National Boxing Team versus the European Common Wealth Championship Team
(Reno, Nevada - 1981)
U.S.
National Boxing Team versus the Yugoslavian National Team (Louisiana -
1982)
The
International Boxing Championship contest (Los Angeles - 1983)
The
National U.S. Boxing Championship contest t (Colorado - 1984)
Ramon lived with his bittersweet memories of the past, his beloved wife Frida and his child in Glendale suburb of Los Angeles, California. Ramon
satisfies his desires for boxing by watching the games on the screen of
his home television set.
Ramon
Babaei passed away on March 10, 2019, but his love for boxing and his boxing
stories remained with him until the very end.
Written
by Kurosh Bet Yonam
English
translation by Bellos Nisan
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