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A Knock-Out Punch Hurts All Boxers

Dear Honorable Governor Cuomo:

Many boxers come from the most difficult of backgrounds. They have struggled and worked to try and make a better life for themselves. It isn't a sport that someone can pursue successfully without total dedication. As President of the NABF, a former amateur boxer and a decorated Police Officer, I know this first hand.

To remove the position of NYS Athletic Commissioner, and more-so, to risk removing Melvina Lathan, a woman whose family has a long association with the sport, would be a terrible mistake. This is a job that take complete focus and an inside appreciation of the sport. Melvina was a judge. Her husband is a respected Ring Side Physician. Melvina has reestablished INTEGRITY to the NYSAC which had been sorely missing for many years. Furthermore, as the first African American person to serve as NYS Athletic Chair, she is an icon. The boxers who engage in the arena deserves as much.

If you make this a Per Diem job, that's all it will be, a job. We need more. Don't deliver the knock-out punch that would hurt all boxers. The consequences could be deadly.

Respectfully,

Joseph Dwyer, NABF President