Washington Informer

Through programs at D.C. Parks and Recreation centers White said that she is trying to reach “underserved youth” and make “boxing not bullets a better way of squashing beefs.” White also said that Babie Girl Productions has signed a number of promising fighters who include Donnell King, a cruiserweight and medical student from the District, Gary Jones from Maryland and Nigerian Akinyemi (AK) Laleye. White said that from July through early August she plans to put the boxers under the tutelage of the famed Tommie “The Duke” Morrison at his Wichita, Kan., facility. After that, White’s fighters will return for a series of local events.

“My goal is to bring boxing back in this area to the point where fans really respect it again,” White said.

She has been in the business since 2005 and will host a series of events starting with an amateur card at Hogate’s on the Southwest Waterfront, Wed., June 19.
 
White’s Babie Girl Productions plans to host professional bouts that she said “will be 8-bout events and feature top-ranked fighters” at Hogate’s starting in September.

“You go girl” is what White hears often from people in the sport. She is the World Boxing Federation (WBF) 2009 USA Promoter of the Year. Her last “Friday Night Fight Card” was at the D.C. Convention Center in Northwest in April. The event was well-attended and included local fan favorite and undefeated heavyweight contender, Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell.

Thousands of Washington area fans enjoyed events that also included Henry “Sugar Poo” Buchanan.

Fight fans know Oscar De La Hoya, Don King and Bob Arum as promoters of acclaim. Each has his own shtick of bluster and swagger coupled with acute business acumen that creates top-notch entertainment events. The difference between a skilled boxer you've never heard of and a skilled boxer named Muhammad Ali is often a good promoter. At the top of the game nowadays is De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, which just held the $100 million Sugar Shane Mosley vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. championship fight.

Often considered “a man’s sport”, women have always been a part of boxing’s ringside allure. While the economic returns can be substantial, White is in a realm that can be brutal. Boxing is a combat sport and martial art in which two people of similar weight fight using their fists. A boxing promoter is responsible for setting up and paying for everything involved in a boxing match and ensuring that all legal requirements are met.

Further, the promoter assumes all financial risk associated with the event, whether they pay for the event or secure secondary investors to guarantee costs are met. Costs include everything involved in the event, from the plastic cups that the beer is served in to the chairs for each corner of the ring to the ring itself, the round-number girl, the referee, the ticket sales, advertising, licenses and making sure the weigh-in scales are properly calibrated.

Hogate’s is the venue for Babie Girl’s upcoming productions.

“We plan to have a classy Black Tie event at Hogate’s in September. By that time, my fighters will be back from training camp and they will also be on the card” White said.

While ringside seats at the Convention Center bouts were $100; White said that Hogate’s setting will allow all patrons ringside views for a $75 admission.

The skill of a great promoter is knowing how to get as many paying customers to want to see the fight. White should get a lot of attention as she and her “marquee boxer” Donnell King go on a publicity tour that includes appearances on national television network programs that include BET’s The MoNique Show.

Right now, White is looking for sponsorship and donated equipment to assist her “Squashing Beefs” amateur boxing program. She can be contacted at www.babiegirlproduction.net.