Commissioner ouster stirs ire

Larry Hazzard figured if he was a squeaky wheel, he would get the grease.

Hazzard got the grease all right; the rails were greased to the point where he was ridden out of his job as New Jersey’s boxing commissioner.

The one-time referee, who had been appointed to the state regulatory board in 1985 and had championed fighter safety for the 22 years he was in the position, was dismissed Wednesday by state Attorney General Anne Milgram.

Hazzard claims he was fired because he was not happy with the performance of some employees who worked on the state’s athletic control board. He was hoping to meet with New Jersey Gov. John Corzine to discuss his concerns. Instead, he was out of a job.

“Obviously, this administration doesn’t want anybody complaining,” Hazzard told the New York Post on Thursday. “The mistake I made was to complain and ask for help. I guess they didn’t appreciate it.”

A Milgram spokesman said: “It was time for a change. It’s a few months into her own administration, and she’s been examining division directors, and she wanted to make a change.”

Sylvester Cuyler was named Hazzard’s interim replacement.

The dismissal of Hazzard, which came following him attending his nephew’s funeral Wednesday and days before Saturday’s Joan Guzman-Humberto Soto WBO junior lightweight title fight at the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City and a major UFC mixed martial arts card that same night at the new Prudential Center in Newark, sent shock waves throughout the boxing world.

“I’m flabbergasted,” said Marc Ratner, a former executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission and currently the vice president for regulatory affairs for Ultimate Fighting Championship. “(Hazzard) is one of the best administrators in the world. He’s a no-nonsense guy who cared about the safety and welfare of the fighters.”

Veteran boxer Bernard Hopkins also was angry.

“He was always looking to improve the sport and never feared speaking his mind for the greater good of boxing,” Hopkins said in a statement released by Golden Boy Promotions. “The bigger question here, and as far as I know, Ms. Milgram did not consult with anyone within the boxing community to get opinions to base her decision on.”

• CORTEZ SELECTED — The Nevada Athletic Commission selected veteran referee Joe Cortez to work the Dec. 8 world welterweight championship fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Ricky Hatton at the MGM Grand Garden.

The commission assigned Dave Moretti and Paul Smith of Las Vegas and Burt Clements of Reno to handle scoring.

Mayweather has been training in Las Vegas the past few weeks, and Hatton will arrive Friday from England.

• MAYWEATHER-HATTON UNDERCARD — Jeff Lacy returns to the ring for the first time in nearly a year to headline the Mayweather-Hatton undercard.

Lacy, who tore the rotator cuff in his left shoulder last year, meets Peter Manfredo Jr. in a 10-round super middleweight fight. Lacy is 22-1 with 17 knockouts, the loss coming to Joe Calzaghe in March 2006. Manfredo (28-4, 13 KOs) also lost to Calzaghe, by TKO in April.

The WBO junior featherweight title will be on the line as Daniel Ponce De Leon defends his belt against Eduardo Escobedo. Ponce De Leon (33-1, 30 KOs) has successfully defended his title five times, the most recent coming in August when he scored a first-round TKO victory over previously undefeated Rey Bautista. Escobedo (20-2, 14 KOs) is riding a seven-fight win streak.

Rounding out the undercard will be a 10-round lightweight rematch pitting Wes Ferguson against Edner Cherry. Cherry defeated Ferguson in June in a 10-round decision.

The undercard will begin at 6 p.m.

• TAYLOR TRAINER CHANGE — Emanuel Steward is out as the trainer for Jermain Taylor, who lost his middleweight title to Kelly Pavlik in September.

When the rematch takes place Feb. 16 at the MGM Grand Garden, Ozell Nelson will be in Taylor’s corner. Nelson was Taylor’s amateur coach.

Taylor (27-1-1) struggled in his four fights since teaming with Steward. He fought to a draw with Winky Wright, beat Kassim Ouma and Cory Spinks and lost to Pavlik.

Nelson said another reason for Steward’s departure was that the veteran trainer has a busy schedule leading to February.

“Manny’s a great, great trainer,” said Lou DiBella, Taylor’s promoter. “This doesn’t diminish anything.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2913.