By Keith Idec
BoxingScene.com has learned that former New Jersey boxing commissioner Larry Hazzard will return next week to the position he held for 22 years before being unceremoniously removed from it nearly seven years ago.
Hazzard, 69, will replace Aaron Davis, who was Kansas’ boxing commissioner when he was chosen as Hazzard’s replacement six-plus years ago. Prior to his stunning outster in November 2007, the respected Hazzard had been the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board’s only commissioner from its inception in 1985.
Angered and baffled by his termination, Hazzard filed an unsuccessful whistle-blower lawsuit against Anne Milgram, then New Jersey’s attorney general, in January 2008. In it, he claimed Milgram outsted him because he exposed errors made by a subordinate.
Hazzard could not be reached for comment Wednesday morning, nor could Davis. A call to the SACB, which regulates boxing and mixed martial arts in New Jersey, went unanswered.
An annoucement regarding Hazzard’s rehiring is imminent. He is expected to resume his duties next week.
Before becoming SACB commissioner, Hazzard, known for his brutal honesty and no-nonsense approach, was one of boxing’s most consistent, fair referees. He had also served as a principal, vice principal and teacher in the Newark, N.J., school system.
Since his dismissal, Hazzard has worked for the Springfield, N.J.-based IBF, NBC Sports Network as an unofficial scorer for its “Fight Night” series and as board chairman of COMBATT, an Irvington, N.J.-based organization he founded that provides counseling, academic resources and athletics, including boxing training, to at-risk youth.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
