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Ex-Marine, ex-FBI agent, NAC exec has seen it all

You might say boxing is in Bobby Bennett’s blood.

Even if the red stuff only occasionally painted the ring canvas during his amateur forays as a kid in Queens and a U.S. Marine, enthusiasm for the sport courses through his veins. He’s an unabashed fan who also spent a decade judging amateur bouts far from the flash of ringside at the Strip’s megafight events. Now that’s dedication.

What made Bennett, 61, a surprising selection last year as executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission wasn’t his obvious affection for the sport. Plenty of former directors could say the same thing.

What makes Bennett intriguing is that, as an FBI case agent, he successfully worked one of the few professional fight-fixing investigations in recent history.

“I’ve been into boxing since I was a kid,” Bennett says, the borough accent still in his voice. “My dad sent me to boxing school in Queens as soon as I could walk.”

He remembers disliking the regimented use of barbells and calisthenics, but he had a fine time lacing up the big gloves and whaling away at opponents until someone fell. Technique wasn’t his strong suit, but he wasn’t short on tenacity.

In the Marines, he alternated between fighting and refereeing shipboard matches between units. “I was involved in a lot of smokers,” he says.

Somewhat different tactics are taught at the FBI Academy, but he still managed his share of scuffles. In a 25-year career, Bennett excelled as a street agent.

He worked undercover in a task force that indicted nearly two dozen members of a Hungarian organized crime theft and narcotics crew.

On the street, he bought 10 pounds of speed here, 10 pipe bombs there. He worked a murder-for-hire case and excelled at chasing bad guys.

Late in his career, he took on the organized crime-connected gang at Rick Rizzolo’s Crazy Horse Too topless club on Industrial Road and eventually came away with sweeping convictions. He finished with the FBI as part of the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

But the case that burnished Bennett’s name in the memories of the boxing community — and not entirely in a positive way — was his successful investigation of fight fixing allegations involving boxer Thomas “Top Dog” Williams, manager Robert Mittleman and others. The laydowns were arranged for bouts in Denmark and Las Vegas.

During the investigation, Bennett found some, but not all, local boxing officials were interested in rooting out corruption in a sport that essentially lives with a permanent black eye. He managed to work through the lack of trust.

“I learned that in any sport that you regulate, integrity must be second to none, and you must be very transparent,” Bennett says a few days before the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao megafight. “You have to be open and available to everyone and anyone who’s questioning why you’re doing what you’re doing. I tried to be fair, but I had a job to do.”

That’s not only the right thing to say to a reporter. It’s the way he wants the hard-to-love sport to be.

For years, in between FBI cases, Bennett quietly spent countless hours judging fights and benefiting from the mentoring of Pat and Dawn Barry of Barry’s Boxing.

Pat had boxed professionally, and both Barrys had worked in law enforcement. He realized years ago that if boxing is to survive with any integrity it can only happen with strict adherence to the rules and the grooming of a younger generation in the skills involved.

“I wanted to give something back to the kids athletically,” he says. “My time with Pat and Dawn was a fantastic learning experience. I decided to be an amateur judge. It’s something I can give back to the kids. I didn’t always have time to coach other sports, but this way I could still be helping out, doing something constructive for them.”

No doubt some of those youngsters reminded Bobby Bennett of certain tough little kids from Queens.

John L. Smith’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Email him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. Follow him on Twitter: @jlnevadasmith

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