"For those who fight with honour in the ring — and live it outside."
The Rival Boxing Golden Glove is the highest honour in professional boxing — awarded once a year by Rival founder and CEO Russ Anber. It is not voted on by a committee. It is not given to the biggest name or the biggest purse.
The RBGG can only be awarded through a specific, sanctioned bout between two fighters who have been selected by Russ himself — elite athletes who have demonstrated both championship-level careers and irreproachable conduct throughout their lives.
The winner of the fight takes the RBGG. But to even be considered, both fighters must already be worthy of it. This is boxing's answer to the Nobel — proof that greatness inside the ring means nothing without the character to match it outside.
A fighter eligible for the RBGG must carry a career that speaks for itself — world titles, elite competition, defining moments in the sport. This is not an award for potential. It is awarded to those who have already proven themselves at the highest level, over years, against the best.
A boxer is also a human being. The RBGG demands that both fighters have shown consistent dignity, respect, and generosity throughout their lives — in their communities, toward their opponents, and in the way they carry the responsibility of being a public figure and a role model.
The RBGG trophy is not a generic prize. Every element of it is tied to the specific moment it was earned.
The RBGG inaugural bout will be announced by Russ Anber. The two fighters selected will be among the most respected figures in the sport — chosen not just for their records, but for what they represent as human beings.
Boxing has always been more than fighting. The greatest men I've known in this sport — in any corner, in any gym — were great because of who they were when the cameras were off.
I've been in boxing long enough to know what it costs a person to reach the top. It costs years. It costs your body. For most of these fighters, it costs far more than that. But the ones who get there and still treat people with dignity — those are the ones I want to celebrate.
The Rival Boxing Golden Glove is my way of saying: this sport produces extraordinary human beings. And those human beings deserve to be recognized for all of it — not just the punches they threw, but the lives they lived.
The trophy is a glove because that's where it starts. But the award is about everything else.