Dr. Mark L. Belafsky This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. CourierPostOnline - South Jersey's Web Site

   www.courierpostonline.com/apps - [Cached]

   Published on: 11/1/2006   Last Visited: 11/1/2006

   Mark L. Belafsky made boxing in New Jersey almost seem safe. MARK L. BELAFSKY
   ...
   Belafsky, 67, made his impact in the Sweet Science working on the New Jersey Boxing Commission for over 20 years. He was viewed as one of the top doctors in the sport of boxing.
   
   Under his guidance New Jersey was considered one of the safest states -- if not the safest -- for a fighter to make a living.
   
   "It is a real good feeling," Belafsky said about New Jersey's healthy reputation. "We would go to other states and tell them what we require. They told us we would never get any fighters in this state.
   
   "We don't have near the fights Nevada has, but we are a lot safer for it."
   
   And, Belafsky, who lived in Cherry Hill for more than 30 years, will be inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame for it tonight.
   
   Belafsky was not a ringside physician. Rather, his governor-appointed position was to oversee ringside physicians, "to ensure they are the finest possible," he said.
   
   "We have held training sessions for them regularly and it is my opinion that they are indeed the best," Belafsky said.
   
   In the early 1980s, not long after casino gambling arrived in Atlantic City, the New Jersey Boxing Commission, under former heavyweight great Jersey Joe Walcott of Camden, was reorganized.
   
   By legislative action, three divisions were set up under the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board -- an administrative arm, the athletic arm governing boxing and wrestling and the Medical Advisory Council.
   
   "This was unique at that time and also today," Belafsky said. "No state had a setup like this."
   
   Belafsky was appointed by Governor Tom Kean as the first member of the Medical Advisory Council and its first chairman.
   ...
   "I extensively researched the topic and determined that due to the nature of head injuries in boxing, headgear would not be protective against head injury, although it would be protective against facial injuries," Belafsky said. "We also realized we could not legislate the training sessions where many head blows occurred."
   
   The Medical Advisory Council under Belafsky also was responsible for the selection, education and training of ringside physicians.
   
   "At the beginning, we administered professional boxing, professional wrestling, and even "jello" wrestling," Belafsky said, referring lastly to mud-wrestling type events. "We needed to supply ringside physicians for all events in New Jersey."
   
   Belafsky hosted a medical meeting in Atlantic City that was attended by 50 physicians around the country. At that meeting he chaired, the first set of Unified Medical Rules and Regulations Governing Boxing was written.
   
   "These were quickly adopted in New Jersey and since then in many places around the world," Belafsky said.
   ...
   "I am very proud of the work that has been done," Belafsky said, "and the influence that The New Jersey Medical Advisory Council to the State Athletic control Board has had."

2. 2. SACB Leadership

   www.njdge.org/sacblead.htm - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/3/2001   Last Visited: 4/19/2002

   Mark L. Belafsky, M.D., F.A.C.S., Chairman