Danrex Tapdasan (left) joins Tony Weeks (middle) and Steve Willis (right) for a photo during the IBF Annual Convention. | Contributed photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Seasoned Filipino boxing referee and judge Danrex Tapdasan etched a historic milestone in his career after having been selected as the only Filipino and Asian who conducted the International Boxing Federation (IBF) referees seminar in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
It wasn’t just an ordinary referees seminar as Tapdasan gave a lecture to over a hundred boxing referees worldwide who were at the IBF Annual Convention.
Joining Tapdasan in conducting the seminar were Tony Weeks and Steve Willis, two of the most notable boxing referees in the world.
READ: Controversial Macado-Dumam-ag fight: GAB requested to review bout
Some of the most noteworthy attendees included Kenny Bayless, Mark Nelson, Celestino Ruiz, Luis Pabon, Roberto Ramirez, Charlie Fitch, Ricky Gonzalez, Robert Hoylande, and David Fieers.
READ: Taduran earns right to fight IBF champ after beating Amparo in Kumong Bol-anon duel
In addition, Canadian, German, French, and Polish referees were also present during the seminar.
IBF Annual Convention
The IBF Annual Convention ran from May 6-10, 2024.
READ: BAP to hold referees seminar and refresher course in Cebu
“It was an absolute honor and privilege to be selected and invited as one of the speakers of the 2024 IBF Convention Referee Seminar here in San Juan, Puerto Rico,” Tapdasan told CDN Digital.
“I highly appreciate the trust and confidence given to me by IBF Board led President Daryl Peoples, Ben Keilty, Carlos Ortiz, and my mentors/role models Steve Willis Francis Willis, and Tony Weeks to share my knowledge with all the best referees all over the world.”
Tapdasan was recently in Cebu to officiate the double World Boxing Organization (WBO) regional title bouts last May 1 in Mandaue City.
Before that, he also officiated the WBO Global light flyweight title defense of Boholano Regie Suganob against Japanese Kai Ishizawa on April 30 in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
Referee seminar
“It was an interactive seminar with all attendees having the opportunity to share their knowledge with the group. I learned a lot from all of my colleagues in this seminar I proudly represented my country, the Philippines in this endeavor,” said Tapdasan who is also a lawyer.
Tapdasan is a regular fixture in the Philippine boxing scene.
He already manned 555 bouts as a referee, 20 of them were world championships, 44 were regional championships, and 14 national championship bouts.
As a boxing judge, he already officiated 1,047 bouts, 28 of which were world championships, 74 were regional championships, and 15 national championships.