School of Business associate professor earns boxing certification

Associate Professor of Economics David Chaplin recently earned certification as an international referee and judge in amateur boxing.  The Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, awarded Dr. Chaplin the highest honor a referee/judge can attain.

There are over 3,000 registered amateur boxing officials in the United States, but only 21 possess the AIBA certification that has been awarded to Dr. Chaplin.  He is the only Idaho official qualified to referee or judge international matches.

Dr. Chaplin got started refereeing/judging while attending the Western Boxing Trials (one of the final Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) in Casper, Wyoming in March 1996 after noticing in a program that USA Boxing was encouraging interested officials to contact their headquarters. The upcoming officials’ certification clinic was scheduled a few months later at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, and since Chaplin lived in Fort Collins, Colo. at the time, he attended and became certified.

Dr. Chaplin refereed his first bout in Pueblo, Colo. the next month and has since officiated over 1,600 bouts.  Most recently, he both judged and refereed Feb. 10-13, 2010 at the Under-19 National Amateur Boxing Championships in Cincinnati, Ohio.