Congratulations to Jose Corpas, Ryan O’Hara, Matthew Aguilar, and Hector Franco upon receiving recognition for their work for NY Fights by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). The 2023 “Bernies” awards recognize excellence in boxing journalism. Yes, boxing journalism still exists.
Jose Corpas won two major awards. For the Boxing Column category, Corpas won first place for his column, “The Unattached Fighter.”
From the riveting narrative about the realities of amateur competition, Corpas wrote:
Corpas also won second place in the competitive Boxing Feature category (under 1,500 words) for his entry, “A Simple Gesture: Remembering Corpas vs. Laporte,” published on July 14, 2023. The feature story tells the tale of Corpas’ older brother, an amateur boxer whose loss to Juan LaPorte resulted in neighborhood bullying … until the victorious LaPorte stepped in to make things right.
In addition, Corpas won an Honorable Mention for Boxing Feature (over 1,500 words).
Matthew Aguilar won honorable mentions in the Boxing Column category and for the Boxing Feature (over 1,500 words).
His feature story examined the relationship between brothers Rudy and Genaro Hernandez and the quest to see the late Genaro Hernandez inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Aguilar’s farewell to Showtime Boxing, “For The Last Time, It’s Showtime” got the judges’ award for feature writing.
Ryan O’Hara received honorable mentions in both the Boxing Column category, and for Boxing Investigative Feature.
O’Hara’s examination of the drug testing controversy involving Alycia Baumgardner and her effort to clear herself won recognition in the Investigative Feature category.
In Column Writing, O’Hara’s hard-hitting editorial on domestic violence involving professional boxers was honored.
Hector Franco was recognized with an honorable mention in the Boxing Investigative Feature category for a piece looking back at the rematch between Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley on September 13, 2003, and the controversy after the storied rematch.
As Franco wrote:
“Oscar De La Hoya-Mosley 2 is a fight that deserves to be remembered as a no-contest or at least be cited with an asterisk despite what the record books leave written.
Maybe De La Hoya should have been awarded the victory, but the fight has more meaning than being a bad decision.
It’s a fight that should be highlighted as one that shows how drug testing and lack thereof can impact fights on the highest level.
Shane Mosley has never tested positive on any drug test and shouldn’t necessarily be villainized or have all his accomplishments questioned.
But he is an example of what could be taking place behind closed doors that has yet to come to light.”
Aguilar, O’Hara, and Franco were also Boxing Writers Award winners in 2022.
The judges for the 2023 BWAA Bernies were: Ron Borges, (former) Boston Globe and Boston Herald and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF); Tommy Deas, USA Today Sports Network; Bernard Fernandez (retired) Philadelphia Daily News, former president BWAA, member IBHOF; Wallace Matthews, Nat Fleischer Award winner, former BWAA President, member IBHOF; Jake Donovan, BoxingScene, Senior Writer; and Anthony Carter Paige, (retired) WFAN Radio and former BWAA President.