By Mitch Abramson
 
The man who stood up to Evander Holyfield and James Toney, who once chaired one of the most powerful commissions in boxing while at the same time writing plays about gamblers and mobsters and other nefarious figures, is trying to headline again in the sport, even if he never really left.
 
Ron Scott Stevens, the former chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, who made headlines by putting Evander Holyfield on indefinite suspension and suspending James Toney for testing positive for a banned substance, has quietly served as a consultant for several promoters since he was surprisingly removed as chairman of the commission by the secretary of state in 2008.
 
Since then, the man who was popular among boxing scribes because of his accessibility, who calmed the waters following the death of boxer Beethavean Scottland in 2001 after his appointment two years later, has been writing plays, hanging around the business and doing consultant work here and there for such outfits like Ring Promotions and Darko Promotions, he says.
 
But now Stevens, who started in boxing as a promoter and spent 14 years as a matchmaker for Cedric Kushner when Kushner had practically every good heavyweight (back when there were good heavyweights), who was in the running for executive director posts at both the California and Nevada State Commissions, says that he’s looking to get back into the business full-time as a matchmaker, that he once again wants to be in the hot seat of working in boxing full-time, doing something that he says comes naturally to him.
 
And Stevens says he’s been in discussions with several promotional firms about coming board, an admission that could change the complexion of the sport and add a familiar face with his addition if he finds a happy landing.
 
“I’ve let a couple promoters know that I’m available,” Stevens said earlier this month. “And I’d like to get back into it. I’ve been keeping abreast of fighters for the last few months so when I do get back into it I can hit the ground running.”
 
In the meantime, Stevens is optimistic he gets a job.
 
He misses the excitement, the adrenaline, hanging around the fighters, proving he can make good fights while at the same time developing prospects from the ground up.
 
Stevens was profiled in The New York Times in 2006 for his dual-existence as chairman of the New York commission and also a playwright.
 
So he’s used to being in the limelight and Stevens is confident a return to prominence as a matchmaker is realistic.
 
“I’m hopeful,” Stevens said. “It’s something I have a natural instinct for, making good fights. I’m very thorough and I make sure the fights happen. I never had an event fall through. I work diligently and hard to make sure they’re good matches. It's something that I've always been good at.”
 
More recently, however, Stevens caused a splash when he decided to put Holyfield on indefinite suspension after he was dominated by Larry Donald in a decision loss in 2004 at the age of 42 at Madison Square Garden.
 
The reason given was “poor performance” and it seemed applicable given his poor performance that night.
 
Up to that point, Holyfield, a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, had won only two of his previous nine fights.
 
However, with his acclaim and almost mythic reputation, Steven’s decision to suspend Holyfield made national headlines, thrusting Stevens into the middle of a debate on whether Holyfield should be able to fight.
 
Stevens was praised for his decision but also criticized by those who thought a fighter should have the right to decide if he wants to make a living boxing.
 
“I did what I thought was right at the time,” said Stevens, who also briefly worked as a matchmaker for the Bronx-based promoter Joe DeGuardia in 2010-11. “It wasn’t grandstanding. It was something that I thought was necessary.”
 
Stevens also removed and fined Norman Stone, the former manager and trainer for heavyweight John Ruiz for misbehavior in the eighth round of Ruiz’s bout with Andrew Golota the same night as Holyfield's fight with Donald. Stone was punished with a $1,000 fine and suspended for 60 days. 
 
After Holyfield passed a battery of tests, Stevens lifted the suspension and Holyfield was allowed to continue his career.
 
Stevens also entered the national debate in 2005 after he suspended Toney for testing positive for a banned substance, following a decision victory against Ruiz at Madison Square Garden on April 30 for the WBA heavyweight title.
 
Toney’s promoter Dan Goossen reportedly excused the positive test by saying Toney was taking medication following surgery on his biceps and triceps tendons that contained nandrolone, an anabolic steroid and that it wasn’t for any competitive advantage.
 
Still, the win for Toney was changed to a no-decision and he was suspended 90 days and fined $10,000. Stevens said he reinstated him after he paid a fine and later passed a drug test.
 
"Toney was using the steroid to deal with an injury," Stevens said in a text. "If I thought it otherwise, he would have had his license revoked for a year and then would have had to apply for reinstatement. That revocation would have to be honored throughout the U.S."

Stevens said he also fined the promoter Dino Duva for looking at the scorecards during a match involving one of his fighters, Samuel Peter.

Of his time as chairman of the commission, Stevens says he’s most pleased that under his watch, there were no serious injuries in the state of New York and that he presided over an increase of fights.
 
But Stevens says he’s no longer driven by a desire to serve as a regulator.
 
Now, he wants to return to his roots as a matchmaker, where he made fights for such notables as Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko Hasim Rahman, Shane Mosley, among others.
 
And he’s eager to make matches for the next crop of champions on the horizon.

"Lots of stuff happened while I was chairman but no critical injuries or ring fatalities," he said. "And no scandals like no-show jobs. The commission operated as a team and with the people who worked with and for me, a lot was accomplished. But now it's back to the promotional side of boxing and as you know, the dramatist in me will be allowed to make crowd-pleasing events while serving the promotional entity I'll work for."

Mitch Abramson covers boxing for the New York Daily News and BoxingScene.com