More than three dozen retired boxers belatedly received, or are in the processing of receiving, payment from an obscure California boxing pension plan, the most in its 40-year existence, according to The Los Angeles Times
Last week, The Times confirmed that the California State Athletic Commission had doled out 33 checks last year for a total of $531,000, the most since the commission began distributing monies from the California Professional Boxers’ Pension Plan in 1999. A handful of other fighters are in the process of being paid. The average number of fighters that receive benefits from California is less than 10 a year, according to The Times.
Despite the positive uptick, the number of former boxers who are still owed money is legion.
The plan itself, which is funded through ticket sales, was created in 1982, but few, including eligible boxers, knew of its existence. It was not until The Times’ own investigation last May that fighters and the broader public became aware of one of the few social services that exist in professional boxing in the United States. In the course of its investigation, The Times discovered that few boxers were actually notified of their benefits, which led to most accounts being unclaimed. There were reportedly six years in the 2000s when not a single pension payout was made.
The pension applies to fighters who fought at least 75 rounds in the state, with no more than a three-year break, regardless of where they reside. Eligible boxers can claim the pension when they turn 50; their payout is calculated by the number of rounds they fought and the size of their purses.
At the moment, 165 retired fighters are eligible for the pension, according to The Times.
The Times found out that by the time the commission gets around to contacting boxers, their addresses on file are no longer up to date. In the May article, The Times reported that more than a dozen boxers had no idea they were entitled to the plan until they had been contacted for comment.
After The Times Article, the athletic commission, which is currently led by Andy Foster, hired investigators to shore up its efforts to contact beneficiaries.
Late payments hurt boxers because the amounts owed are not adjusted for inflation.
According to documents obtained by The Times, the largest payout in the history of the pension was $203,000 to “Sugar” Shane Mosley in 2022.
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.