Albany

If inspector general reports could be scored, this would be a knockout punch to the way the state Athletic Commission has been run for the past several years.

In a blistering report, Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott found deep systemic problems with the way the commission functioned, as well as conflicts of interest among staff and leadership who had received gifts of wine and jewelry by boxing promoters. The commission's former director who was cited in the report, Melvina Lathan, a former boxing judge appointed during Gov. David A. Paterson's administration, resigned in 2015.

The commission will be responsible for overseeing safety at professional mixed martial arts competitions, which this year were legalized in New York.

Leahy Scott's report was sparked by the serious brain injuries Russian heavyweight Magomed Abdusalamov suffered in a 2013 bout in Madison Square Garden.

Leahy Scott found the commission was barely functional regarding its duties for oversight and to help ensure fighter safety.

Abdusalamov, for instance, was told to take a taxi to the hospital when he showed signs of distress after the fight, even though ambulances were nearby. The commission hadn't made provisions for translation services for the Russian-speaking fighter.

That was his last fight — the affair sparked a negligence lawsuit by the fighter who remains partially paralyzed and brain damaged, with his family on welfare in Connecticut.

The findings also appear to vindicate David Berlin, who recently left his job as executive director at the commission under pressure for blowing the whistle on problems at the organization, he said.

rkarlin@timesunion.com