Z Gorres Bill pushed

THE plight of Z Gorres may pave the way for better insurance coverage for other boxers in Las Vegas.

Frank Slaughter, who is one of the numerous individuals helping Gorres recover from a life-threatening injury, is pushing for a Gorres Bill in Nevada that will help raise the insurance coverage of boxers and MMA fighters from $50,000 to $1 million.

Slaughter, who is a boxing coach at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), said the bill will ensure that every fighter is well-covered and protected for their hospital expenses if an emergency occurs.

Pat Lundvall, the Nevada Athletic Commission chairman, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal late last month that the medical insurance for boxers and mixed-martial arts fighters will be discussed in their meeting this month.

The Journal also said that Slaughter’s proposal will require “promoters to pay into an insurance pool on a sliding scale. The bigger the event, the higher the premium.”

Slaughter cited the case of Gorres, who had a $50,000-coverage but whose hospital bills eventually reached $600,000.

Slaughter also talked about the proposed Gorres Bill when he attended a fund-raiser for the boxer at the Salo-Salo restaurant Las Vegas recently.

Aside from Slaughter, boxing trainers Tony Martin and Cornelius Edwards, who lost his WBC super featherweight title to Rolando Navarrete in 1981, were also present.

The fund-raiser, which was attended by Gorres’ doctor, Benito Calderon, raised $10,000.

“I am happy with the outpouring of support from the various organizations that attended the fund-raising and from various individuals who came and gave generously out of their kind hearts. I think there were about 150-200 people who came and showed they care,” Dr. Calderon said in a report posted at Philboxing.com.

Calderon also said they are planning another fund-raiser after the Pinoy Power 3 in Las Vegas

“It shows that wherever we Filipinos are, we possess that Bayanihan spirit and we are united in helping others who are in dire need. A lot of them (the attendees) were congratulating us for a well-organized and successful fund-raising event, not to mention that it took the planning committee barely two weeks to prepare,” Dr. Calderon said.