Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz Congratulates Long-Time Panamanian Broadcaster Juan Carlos Tapia for Nomination to International Boxing Hall of Fame Class of 2021

Guinness World-Record Holder Tapia has Been Host of The Best of Boxing for the Past 45 Years

Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz sends his sincere congratulations to Panamanian broadcasting legend Juan Carlos Tapia for his third consecutive nomination for induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF).

Tapia, nominated in the Observer category for the Class of 2021, is a Guinness World Records holder as the creator and host of “LO MEJOR DEL BOXEO” (The Best of Boxing), the oldest televised sports program in the world still broadcasting with its original host. Beginning with its first broadcast on January 9, 1975, featuring a fight between Colombia’s Antonio Cervantes and Japan’s Shinichi Kadota, Tapia has been the uninterrupted host of The Best of Boxing for the past 45 years, soon to be 46.

The Best of Boxing is seen, free of charge, by millions of faithful fans every week in Latin American countries including Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, all of Central America, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico and has featured such fighting legends as Muhammad Ali, "Sugar" Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Julio César Chavez , Mike Tyson , Evander Holyfield , Oscar de la Hoya , Bernard Hopkins, Floyd "Money" Mayweather and Ricky Hatton, among other well-known boxers.

In addition, The Best of Boxing Online is a YouTube-based web show, broadcast twice a week and hosted by Juan Carlos Tapia Rosas and Daniel Alonso, with more than 4,000 subscribers and 1,500,000 views.

During his distinguished career, Tapia has been awarded distinctions and commemorative championship belts by the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF. He has also participated or been featured in several boxing-related documentaries and films.

“Juan Carlos Tapia is a huge part of boxing in a major part of the world for the past almost 50 years,” said Sampson Lewkowicz. “He deserves to be enshrined with the other greats who gave their lives to our beloved sport. He may not be as well known in the English-speaking parts of North America, but Juan Carlos is a living legend to millions.”

IBHOF inductees are decided by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an international panel of boxing historians cast votes. Voters from Japan, England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States. Ballots are distributed on October 1st and a news conference will be held in early December to announce results of the voting.