Letter from the Retired Boxers Foundation

September 16, 2000

Department of Consumer Affairs
CALIFORNIA STATE ATHLETIC COMMISSION
1414 Howe Avenue, Suite 33
Sacramento, CA 95825-3217

Dear Commissioners:

On behalf of the retired professional boxers who have fought in the
State of California, the Retired Boxers Foundation, an IRS 501(c)3
nonprofit corporation, we are requesting that the California State
Athletic Commission correct misinformation being disseminated by the
media in regard to the condition of the Boxer's Pension Plan.    The
Retired Boxers Foundation requests that the California State Athletic
Commission release the value of the Boxers Pension Plan Assets.
Incomplete information has been released to the media that implies that
the Boxers Pension Plan is nearly bankrupt because only the income has
been reported and not the assets.

The Wall Street Journal article (9/13/00) said that the "reserves were
reduced to $146,500 in the fiscal year that ended June 30, down from
$470,000 in 1998."      We have a copy of the ANNUAL PENSION REPORT FOR
PLAN YEAR 1998, provided to the Retired Boxers Foundation by your
office, which shows the "Present Value of Fund as of December 31, 1998"
is " $2,846,592.15."   The report also states that the "Net Annual
Income for Plan Year 1998" is $475,806.57.   Obviously, the articles
have reported the decrease in "income" rather than the Fund Balance
which is in fact, the assets of the Boxers Pension Fund   It is
incredibly misleading to the public to disregard the assets of the
Boxers Pension Fund. It is clear that many news sources are totally
unaware of the assets of the Boxers Pension Fund and we would like this
misconception cleared up.

Over the past few days, we have read and heard numerous reports that the
California Boxers Pension Plan is "in trouble" and "running dry" in
articles printed in the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, as well
as in many newspapers, websites and publications that pick up
information from the wire services. On Friday evening, September 15,
2000, Max Kellerman on ESPN's Friday Night Fights, quoted these articles
indicating that the fund was "nearly bankrupt."   In speaking to the
reporters who released the information, they quote the California State
Athletic Commission as the source of the information, as well as the
"sunset" report delivered to the California State Legislature.    It is
therefore, the responsibility of the State Athletic Commission to
clarify the wire reports.

While there is no doubt that income has diminished since 1998 because of
the increase in the number of bouts held on the Indian Reservations, it
is misleading to imply that the decrease in reserves (income) from 1998
to 2000 is primarily due to this occurrence. Your office informed the
Retired Boxers Foundation that the Pension Fund experienced nearly a 22%
increase in 1998 "due to the change in investment strategies with
Columbia Trust."   In February 1999, in a letter to the Retired Boxers
Foundation, your office advised the Retired Boxers Foundation that the
Pension Fund "which is currently with Columbia Trust, is in the process
of being transferred to Everen Securities" and that you expected the
return on your investments to be considerably less in the following
years.

We understand the concern that the California Athletic Commission has
about the loss of revenues if bouts continue to be held on the Indian
Reservations and if the Tribes decline to contribute to the Pension
Fund. We support any and all efforts to engage the California Tribes in
making contributions to the Boxers Pension Fund on behalf of
professional boxers.     HOWEVER, it is not right to misrepresent the
condition of the California Boxers Pension Fund reserves to make your
point. In fact, it causes undue anxiety for hundreds of retired
professional fighters who have made contributions to California's Boxers
Pension Fund.

The Retired Boxers Foundation applauds the State of California for
initiating the Boxers Pension Fund, but we also admonish the Athletic
Commission for the poor management of this Fund.   We have accumulated
significant files on the Boxer's Pension Fund, including reports from
the California Auditor General and legislative notes on the revamped
legislation.   In 1991, the Auditor General recommended that the Boxer's
Pension Fund be invested in a more competitive investment or money
market account.    The Auditor General also admonished the Athletic
Commission for failing to properly report the assets of the Pension
Plan: "The Commission did not ensure that adequate accounting records
were maintained. Accounting records for the pension plan should reflect
all of the pension plan's assets (such as those funds the commission
invests in the money market fund), liabilities (such as contributions
collected and interest earned), and expenditures (such as contributions
refunded to boxers, etc.)..    It appears that the Athletic Commission
continues to fail to report the pension plan's assets and therefore, are
responsible for the misinformation released to the press.

If managed properly, the California Boxers Pension Plan could have been
a model for every state that truly wants to provide for professional
boxers as they move from their glorious days in the ring to a DIGNIFIED
retirement.   We know that many efforts have been made to improve record
keeping and to improve the return on the investment of Pension Fund
assets.   We also know that your department and the commission are
inadequately funded to make all the changes that are necessary to be
totally efficient and to insure accuracy.    The Retired Boxers
Foundation will advocate for full funding for the management of the
California Boxers Pension Plan because it is so important to the retired
professional boxers that we serve, but we also expect that the Athletic
Commission demand complete integrity in not only management of this
fund, but in reporting the true assets of the fund.

Sincerely,
Jacqueline L. Richardson   Alex Ramos
Executive Director    Founder and President
RETIRED BOXERS FOUNDATION RETIRED BOXERS FOUNDATION