Recently reappointed as the head of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, Larry Hazzard is bringing back instant replay to combat sports events.

“In the interest of fairness, we should try to be as correct as we can be, especially decisions that can have an impact on the outcome,” Hazzard today told MMAjunkie.

The commissioner, who returned to the position after a seven-year hiatus, pushed to get the program back on line after the NJSACB used it for one boxing event in 2007 and made it available for an MMA event, though it wasn’t actually utilized.

Previous commissioner Aaron Davis elected not to use instant replay, but with Hazzard back at his old job after a seven-year hiatus, the NJSACB voted to make it permanent.

Promoters will shoulder the cost of providing a monitor to the commission that has access to replays of the action, but they are not required to do so at events (Hazzard could not provide an estimate of the cost). Instant replay will only be used during the one-minute rest period and at the conclusion of the bout for calls that are immediately correctable.

Hazzard said he’ll have a monitor for an upcoming boxing title fight between Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev on HBO, which takes place Nov. 8 at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.

NJSACB is not the first athletic commission to use instant replay. The Nevada State Athletic Commission instituted instant replay in 2009 and utilized it to disqualify now-champ Jon Jones when he threw several illegal 12-to-6 elbows at Matt Hamill.

Hazzard said he called for the practice to keep up with other major sporting events such as the NFL and MLB, where it’s an integral part of officiating.

“I just felt that it is time for the sport of boxing to get in step with modern day sports,” he said.

(Pictured: Larry Hazzard)