The Story Behind the Story…                  As the above press release states, I retired as a professional boxing judge in April 2008 after having the honor of judging the Joe Calzaghe-Bernard Hopkins Championship fight.             In a previous article, I wrote how my career as a professional boxing judge started with the challenge from my friend, Jay Blood. This current article will explain how and why I started to plan during the past two years to merge my 40-year career as an insurance broker with my 24-year career as a boxing judge. One of the pictures displayed in my May 2008 article was of me with the then-current heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano (November 1955), a picture I will treasure always. More on that picture and its impact on me later in this article.   Confusion in the Ring             About two years ago, while judging some fights, I realized that some fighters did not understand the criteria the top-rated judges use in scoring. I noticed this even in fights that I didn’t judge. In several fights, had a losing fighter won more rounds on even one judge’s card, he would have won the fight or even the championship. I’ve heard and read interviews by champions and even TV commentators where they stated that the challenger in a title fight had to “take the title from the champion…that if a round was close, the judge had to score it for the champion.” That may have been true in boxing during the 1940s through the 1960s, but that is not true today.             Technically, there is no champion in a title fight once the bell rings signaling the start of the first round. The champion actually gives his belt to the supervisor or the local athletic commission, and the belt or title is actually “on the line.” Neither fighter has any advantage in a round. Whoever wins the three-minute segment, wins the round, whether it be the champion or the challenger.   Rocky Marciano and His Influence on Me             Now back to my meeting with Rocky Marciano in 1955. He had defended his title in fall 1955 against Archie Moore, which Rocky won. His record was then 49–0. (My picture was taken with him two months after he defeated Moore.) During our meeting, I remember his telling his trainer and my father that he was tired of training, and that he missed his family while he was away at training camp preparing for his last few fights. He was thinking of retiring. He was tired of the training, the special diets, the miles of roadwork, and the hours in the gym. It was suggested that he fight once more to then retire with a record of 50–0.             Several months after I met him, Rocky officially retired never to fight again. His record of 49–0 still stands; he is the only Heavyweight Champion to retire undefeated. However, he did become a renowned celebrity and after-dinner speaker, which he successfully did until his fatal plane accident in 1969.   To Protect Those They Love             We’ve all read stories about the plight of a lot of fighters who had not provided financial security for themselves or their families after they retired from the ring. One recently is Diego Corrales. He was killed about 14 months ago in a motorcycle accident, leaving his pregnant wife and several children with little or no life insurance.             So, two years ago, when I started thinking about consulting with fighters and trainers about the judges’ scoring criteria and the impact of the Diego Corrales tragic death with no financial planning, I though about the choice that Rocky Marciano made to retire. I decided that I would retire at “the top of my game” after judging a great fight, which I did.             Strangely, some former colleagues have asked me if I miss being a judge. I tell them if I thought that I would miss it, I never would have retired. Actually retired is not the proper word to describe my decision. The word retire means “to give up work, to cease active life, leave active service.” That is not what Rocky Marciano did, and that is not what I did. He was my inspiration to take my experience to another level…to do what no other insurance broker/boxing judge has done before.             Nature abhors a vacuum! I am now consulting with fighters about the art of scoring, and just as important, I am their financial advisor to help them plan to protect their families and themselves in the event of death or disability. In addition, I have been very fortunate to be hired as a boxing writer on two Web sites, along with writing for Amici magazine and doing radio and TV commentating for fights. I also will continue to write for La Voce.             The Nevada State Athletic Commission appointed my wife Lisa as a professional boxing judge in June 2007. When I saw the enthusiasm and excitement she experienced, I realized that it was time for me to fulfill my dream of becoming a financial consultant and boxing consultant. I am busier in the sport of boxing that I have ever been.             As my press release states, I have been fortunate to be a part of so many great fights and to travel to so many wonderful countries, making many friends all over the world. My career as a judge has far exceeded any goals that I could have set.             I have been truly blessed and am enjoying my new career with the excitement and enthusiasm that I had 24 years ago when I became a boxing judge. It was time for me to move on and expand my horizons.               Chuck Giampa, veteran boxing judge, has retired from his position as a boxing judge to pursue a career as a boxing consultant and continue as a sports columnist. Chuck was appointed as a judge in 1984 and has had an illustrious career, judging many memorable championship fights. He has judged more than 120 world championship fights, in addition to many Regional and International title fights in Italy, England, Wales, France, Germany, Panama, Argentina, Korea, and Japan.             As an insurance broker since 1969, he will be the first insurance broker in Nevada specializing in the insurance needs of sports figures. He is president of Chuck Giampa & Associates, Inc., and Network Insurance Services, Inc.